It's difficult to talk about a "welcome to the league" moment when you've yet to take a snap in professional football, but for some players... there are other occasions that fit the bill. For Raphael Delacour, having an ISFL Hall of Famer for a dad could have meant that his first game in high school was pretty rough. Not the case, in the end, since Delacour senior is also a local hero. That all changed at college though.
As if being at Harvard wasn't tough enough, Raphael declared Advanced Standing in his freshman year, while also trying to lock down a place on the Crimson football team. When he finally did get a shot, handling a kick return... the opposition were sure to make sure he knew where he was. It's hard to tell whether it was because of his famous father, or his academic inclinations, or maybe a combination of the two, but it was a rough welcome nonetheless. Made worse by his own relatively small stature.
"Yeah I just remember these guys being bigger and stronger in general than anyone I'd faced before." He remembers. "I actually got hit so hard I lost my helmet on that play, and to be honest, I thought I'd lost my cleats too," Raphael explains. "I'd never been hit like that before. One second I was running, next I was looking at clouds. I don't even remember the hit really, I just know it was brutal because it was just so fast. Like someone pulled the floor away from under my feet like a rug. And all of a sudden I didn't have my helmet on anymore."
Despite all that, Raphael insists his coach was impressed though. "When I came off, he gave me a pat on the shoulder and said 'good job holding on to the ball'," he says. "I don't remember giving it to the ref, but I guess instinct kicked in."
I didn't get back in the game that day as a precaution," he adds. "They put me through concussion protocol. First time I'd had to do that."
As if being at Harvard wasn't tough enough, Raphael declared Advanced Standing in his freshman year, while also trying to lock down a place on the Crimson football team. When he finally did get a shot, handling a kick return... the opposition were sure to make sure he knew where he was. It's hard to tell whether it was because of his famous father, or his academic inclinations, or maybe a combination of the two, but it was a rough welcome nonetheless. Made worse by his own relatively small stature.
"Yeah I just remember these guys being bigger and stronger in general than anyone I'd faced before." He remembers. "I actually got hit so hard I lost my helmet on that play, and to be honest, I thought I'd lost my cleats too," Raphael explains. "I'd never been hit like that before. One second I was running, next I was looking at clouds. I don't even remember the hit really, I just know it was brutal because it was just so fast. Like someone pulled the floor away from under my feet like a rug. And all of a sudden I didn't have my helmet on anymore."
Despite all that, Raphael insists his coach was impressed though. "When I came off, he gave me a pat on the shoulder and said 'good job holding on to the ball'," he says. "I don't remember giving it to the ref, but I guess instinct kicked in."
I didn't get back in the game that day as a precaution," he adds. "They put me through concussion protocol. First time I'd had to do that."
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