The results of the annual workout day for ISFL prospects are here, and this season's class of one hundred and fifty-two have provided us with ... let's say a variety of ... you'll see. Spoiler alert: We have a new record holder in one event. Oh, now you have to keep reading. Muahahahahaha!

As usual, the scouting combine took place over a few days, giving ISFL front office people a chance to get a look at their potential draft selections in a controlled environment that doesn't at all replicate game conditions. So why do we do it? Uh... 

Anyway, first up, the quarterbacks



Alright, fair disclosure. I know Jackie Daytona. Good guy. And even while fully cognizant of my bias here, I can say he's a strong prospect. Overall, he's probably the best QB in this year's draft. I say probably because there's not much between him and Matt Peterson -- fun fact: I also know this guy. Hashtag famous friends. 

The reason I would rank Daytona over Peterson is that he looks sharper, to my eye. That split second quicker to evaluate his options when I was watching the throwing drills, you know? He also has a pretty good range. This doesn't mean I don't see the potential for Peterson to be the best QB in this class, though. Peterson is the superior athlete and it's not even close. With the league looking for quarterbacks to be more versatile these days, there's a reasonable chance this could make him more attractive to GMs looking for someone to lead their team in the future.

I won't say the other two options here -- Trent Blackburn and Uncle Rico (no relation) -- are *bad* but they don't measure up to Daytona or Peterson in my view. Neither is even as athletic as Daytona, and neither seemed to have the same zip on their passes, or swiftness of processing that the others had.

Next up, let's look at the runningbacks.



I say this every year, but it bears repeating. Runningbacks in the ISFL are overwhelmingly built for speed. So naturally, the thing we're looking at first here is those forty times. Jameson Vermillion's 4.24 seconds is only one hundredth of a second off the all-time record -- that's fast. But I don't think it's unfair to say he's a north-south guy. He doesn't have the same leg strength and cut ability as some of the others in this class. 

The most elusive in the class is likely to be Darren Pama, I think. His 3-cone time is the best in the class, and his shuttle is the best we've seen in twenty-four years. Yeah. That's what we're dealing with here. In the history of the league, only four players have clocked a better shuttle time than Pama's. And it reads like a who's who of speediest ISFL players: Josh Garden, Reg Mackworthy, Boss Tweed, and Stormblessed. 

You know how I said ISFL runningbacks are overwhelmingly built for speed? Well, Buster Bawlls is not one of those guys. His 40 reps at the bench and downright abnormal intellect (seriously, guys... it's rare a runningback in this league scores above the teens in the wonderlic; it's fuckin embarrassing, to be honest with you) suggest he's got a bit of a "Doctor Hulk" vibe going on. Sure he's not big enough (or smart enough) to play on the line but this guy could be a very useful option for teams who utilise a fullback or want an extra receiving option in the backfield.

That all said, I'm not sure either of the these is actually the pick of the bunch. For that, I'd turn to Mike Rotchburns. Hear me out. Rotchburns is stronger than Bawlls -- his forty-eight reps at the bench tie second best all-time display, and are easily the best result for a skill position player -- while possessing pretty solid speed (4.39 seconds in the 40 yard dash is still above average for an ISFL runningback) and roughly average athleticism overall. Why am I rating the "average" guy above the others? Well, Rotchburns doesn't appear to be specialised in the same way. He's more versatile, can plug into most teams and do a job. That's valuable. You can always refine him after you pick him in the draft.

The rest of the class, there's potential for some of these guys, like Terry Yaki or Anders Christiansen, to really develop their game in the DSFL for a year or two before breaking out in the big leagues, but I'm not sure I've seen enough from them to really compare them to the aforementioned quartet. They'll intrigue GMs who are partial to project players, I suspect, but they'll still really have to knuckle down if they want to be feature backs at the highest level.

On to the wide receivers. 



Okay first of all, let me ask something. Did Dakota Grossman forget they're a tight end or something? Their performance, to me at least, looked more like what I'd expect from a tight end honestly. They've got that power, but none of the speed or guile that's usually associated with the wide receiver position. I can see them making waves as a possession receiver maybe, though. Weirdly enough.

Normally I'd point out the standouts in the class, but this year it's tough. There are at least seven really good prospects here and there's not much between them. Harley Fank is the quickest (barely), Crossley perhaps the most agile overall (best shuttle time, 3rd on the 3-cone drill), and Adam C. Spencer has the best vert, broad jump, and 3-cone time... but that group of seven are clustered within 0.11 seconds on the forty, 0.12 seconds on the shuttle, and 0.19 seconds on the 3-cone drill; with the majority of them within a few inches of each other on the vertical and broad jump categories -- four within 3 inches of each other and six within 1.1 inches of each other respectively.

I wouldn't be surprised to see some of these guys fall way down the draft order as a result, since teams can pick secure in the knowledge that the difference between their first choice receiver and their seventh choice isn't all that big.

That's enough about wide receivers though. We also have tight ends to check out [actually we don't this year, unless you count Grossman - Ed.]

Oh. Okay then.

Uh, on to the offensive linemen, then. 



Medicinal Toblerone really out here running a 4.53 seconds in the forty. Check this mans for TPE. Actually, only 33 reps on the bench... never mind. My mans is either clean, or really bad at doping. Only two guys lifted less in this class of offensive linemen. I'm inclined to think Tobes just didn't really give it his all, though. He looked a bit like he was going through the motions, to be honest.

Much like the forty with runningbacks, there's a marquee event for offensive linemen. The bench. And it is here that we find that new record I mentioned earlier. Adam Mellott's 49 rep display goes one better than Mike Rotchburns' excellent 48 and beats the record set three years ago by Bruce Buckley. It's been incredible watching the arms race (geddit? arms? bench press?) these past few years between linemen on both sides of the ball, as they finally matched and then surpassed a twenty year old record held by ISFL Hall of Famer Dan Miller. Hopefully, it continues.

It's difficult to assess offensive linemen based on what we see at the combine, though. Sometimes you get a clear standout, an athletic freak... but not really this year. Sure Toblerone and Roth look to be the superior athletes overall, while Mellott is the clear winner in terms of pure strength... but what does any of this tell us about their ability to pull guard or create lanes and so on? We really need to have some kind of practical assessment to go alongside the combine... 

Enough about my random thoughts though. Time to switch sides and look at the defensive linemen now.




With forty-two defensive linemen in this class, I think this may be the largest defensive lineman class the league has ever seen, and my word are some of these guys terrifying. This is why you'll never see me, or any of my children, for that matter, appear in the ISFL as a quarterback. We got dudes here pulling 40 reps of 225 lbs and clocking sub 4.4 second forty yard times. This guy Tex Wrecks has a broad jump of nearly eleven feet. Oh. Hell. No.

Once again, I don't really know how I'm supposed to assess this group. There's a large number of guys all pretty close to each other in terms of ability, and with offensive lines in the ISFL getting stronger and stronger, defensive linemen are perhaps more important than they've been since the days of Jayce Tuck. With that in mind, despite the insane depth here -- I count a solid fifteen prospects who are probably good enough to start immediately on some ISFL teams -- we might see GMs prioritise this position a bit more than you'd expect. 

A strong defensive line is crucial, and drafting the right people can set you up for a long time. ISFL defensive linemen are obscenely durable, capable of playing ten years at a pretty high level if you manage their training load effectively. Someone like Dave Batista, who is among the brighter guys in this class, might have a bigger upside in that sense, in terms of managing himself more carefully. I suspect the interviews will determine more than anything who among these guys gets picked up earliest. My discussions with other ISFL scouts, and a few GMs I'm friendly with have given me some insight into who is likely to be taken off the board in the first couple of rounds, but I can't divulge that information here I'm afraid. League policy.

Moving back a level, we have linebackers. 



I've mentioned this before, but with safeties no longer permitted to line up in linebacker slots, the position has become more important for many teams. Speed at linebacker is crucial -- remember what I said about runningbacks? -- and so you end up with some nasty dudes with very versatile skillsets. I personally judge linebackers quite harshly. One of the first questions I ask is "can this guy play a role in coverage if necessary?" and if the answer is not a definitive yes, he's not a solid linebacker prospect for the ISFL in my opinion.

With that in mind, I think it's not unfair to suggest that around half of these prospects have a long way to go before they'll be ISFL ready. Particularly Regius Goliathus. My man, a word of advice: don't smoke weed the night before the combine starts. I don't really know how else to explain these numbers. 

Among the good prospects here, there are a few names that catch the eye in particular. Hank Winchester's 4.27 time in the forty is remarkable. Fastest time ever recorded by a linebacker, only one defensive back has been quicker, and it would be a top ten time among runningbacks even. That's something to behold. Richard Leaking also possesses fearsome speed (one hundredth of a second slower than Winchester in the forty), but he doesn't have the same hit power, the same versatility, in my view. 

Jimi DeSoto, Rusty Rucker, Guy Fields and Gary Goodman are all similarly versatile, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see any of the trio be the first linebacker off the board. If I had to pick among them, I'd say DeSoto and Rucker are probably a smidgeon ahead of Goodman and Fields, owing to their sharpness in making a read on the play. Burfict, Tate and McBobby aren't far behind either. All very strong prospects who could play important roles as rookies, I suspect.

Speaking of making reads, Wasrabi Gleel is fantastic in this regard and while he doesn't have the same athleticism as some of the others mentioned here, he's no slouch. That advantage in reading the situation might be more than enough to make up for having "only" a 4.4 in the forty. The same cannot be said for Jack Jackson Jr, however. Despite having the ability to make reads on par with Gleel, Jackson Jr simply doesn't have the degree of athleticism required to be a starting middle linebacker at ISFL level. Yet. 

Now we reach my personal favourite position group; the defensive backs. 




Another deep group, with around a third of the thirty-six having elite potential in my view. The strongest prospects among the group most likely QuakStak and Lavigne, who were also very highly rated going into the DSFL draft. This doesn't mean they're the best in the group, though. There's a case for pretty much any of the first twelve names listed here. 

Considering the depth at this position group again, it wouldn't surprise me to see GMs hold off on selecting defensive backs in the first round, with a view to picking them up a bit later. Outside that elite group of around twelve, you're taking punts though. You might see someone take a late flier on someone like Tyrone Biggums, whose quickness I assume was honed dodging cops and corner boys. You can't teach speed. Similarly, players like Alexander-Arnold, Blackfyre and Lenkins are all decent prospects, who may just require an extra season or two in the DSFL to hone their craft. It's hard to tell with defensive backs sometimes. I suspect a lot of teams will be trying to pick up one of the elite talents as well as a mid-tier selection, so the majority of these guys will be picked up in the early-middle rounds with only the guys who had absolute 'mares on the combine weekend still likely to be available in the late, late rounds.

Yeah that means you, Fletcher, Blackshear and Callahan.

Finally, we come to special teams. I'll be honest, I only include this because the kicker mafia make me do it. Who ever heard of a sport where kicking in the most important attribute?
(for those of you who don't get the joke, I'm a retired soccer player/coach)



I feel like I say this every year now, but why do we insist on making these guys do the same exercises as the others? That skills challenge thing can't get here soon enough.

As usual, there are a couple of guys who... look I'm trying not to be cruel. Bloomfield couldn't do a single rep, and couldn't finish the forty in under six seconds. Sometimes I swear kickers are the mathletes of the ISFL world, and I'd bet some of them at least, have been stuffed into lockers at the professional level. I'm just saying.

Fencik and Burton are quite literally identical in their results here, which may or may not translate to on-field performance. It's really a pointless exercise in trying to translate the number of bench reps a kicker makes, to how well they can kick field goals... I suppose you can maybe say a good vertical and broad jump correlate with better kick power? I really don't know man. Someone save me from this misery and devise a skills challenge already. 


To wrap things up, some notes about this season’s combine.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that none of this year's prospects broke into the top ten list for the Wonderlic... but you'd be wrong. Jackie Daytona's 44 ties for 9th overall. Good job JD.

Jameson Vermillion's 4.24 seconds in the 40 yard dash is phenomenal, but still falls short of the all-time record of 4.23 seconds, set twenty-four years ago and equalled last season by Baltimore runningback Mai Fukushuu.

As previously mentioned, Adam Mellott sets a new record in the bench press with 49 reps. The only time we have any record of a superior number is when Tim Pest -- later found to be a drugs cheat -- allegedly managed 52 reps shortly after the combine, while training with the Arizona Outlaws. Mike Rotchburns' 48 reps are the best showing by a skill position player of all-time. Quite the achievement.

No new faces on the three cone drill leaderboard, though Adam C. Spencer was only four hundredths of a second away. Unlucky, pal.

Gary goodman's 36.2 inch vertical was best in class, and good enough for tenth all-time, though it should also be noted that only one person in the last twenty three years has recorded a better jump (Douglas Quaid in season 21). The remainder of the top ten leaderboard is measurements taken at the inaugural combine, twenty four years ago.

In the broad jump, FootballLeague takes fourth all-time with a 136.7 inch leap, ahead of classmate Xmus Flaxon Jaxon-Waxon, Dukburg QuakStak, and Dan Foster (who all also made the top ten leaderboard with leaps of 135.6, 135.5, and 134.9 inches respectively).

Darren Pama's 3.93 second shuttle run is fifth best all-time, and the best in the last 24 years -- the only names ahead of him took part in the inaugural combine. The next fastest time this year was 4 seconds flat. 

Additionally, Darren Pama is this year's workout warrior, with five of his seven event results placing in the 96th percentile or higher, among all ISFL athletes, all-time. We'll overlook the fact that he likely got his name wrong on the Wonderlic.