Over the last couple of weeks, the National Sim Football League (NSFL) has seen a large number of new draftees sign their paperwork announcing their decision to enter the Season 2 draft. While we are only coming off of the inaugural season, the league already has a large and notorious list of members. Day by day, and hour by hour it seems, new blood continues to flow through the NSFL's veins.
One of those draftees is cornerback Xavier Newman out of Florida State. Newman is a relative unknown player with almost no personal background to find whatsoever. When leagues like this start to gain traction, you will often see guys like this come into the league, seemingly out of nowhere. So what exactly do we know about this youngster? Well, Newman was a redshirted Freshman after breaking his clavicle in a freak petting zoo accident. Xavier got a little too close to the alpacas, and it mule kicked him into and over the barrier wall. After flipping over the wall, Newman fell on his neck and back which caused the break.
Newman returned to the Seminoles' field the next season and would start at both wide receiver and cornerback throughout the season. Newman was highly known for his bone crushing hits, and his blazing speed to outrun his defenders on offense. While he played most of his Freshman season at wide receiver, it was the defensive game he loved the most. The feeling you get when you drive your shoulder directly into the chest of a receiver, causing him to fumble the ball...there's no other feeling like it: power. It was like a drug to him, and he was definitely an addict.
Throughout the rest of his career at FSU, Newman only played on defense at cornerback and soon anybody who was anybody took notice of his skills and tenacity. In his 56 games under Jimbo Fisher, Newman recorded 139 total tackles along with 12 interceptions and 4 sacks. Xavier would win his first NCAA trophy winning the Bednarik award in his final season.
Just like every other draftee/rookie, Newman has strengths and weaknesses to his game. First, let's take a look at his strengths. As stated above, Newman is a big time tackler. It's going to be very tough whether you're a receiver or a running back trying to evade his grasp. Make sure you have good hands because he loves to jar the ball loose after a monster hit. Second, he is one of the faster defensive backs we have coming to the league this season. Newman ran an incredible 4.31 40 yard dash earlier this week at the pro combine. Finally, as a defensive back needs, Newman has a very high football intelligence. He is quick at reading the opposing offense and quick to read the play-action.
Now is where we see the negatives about Newman. His strength is definitely a huge concern among NSFL scouts. He decided to skip on the bench press portion of the combine, raising concerns as to whether or not his clavicle is as healthy as he will tell you it is. His next weakness is his hands. Don't expect this kid to tally up many interceptions during his first couple of seasons. During his Freshman season, Newman had an ACC worst 12 dropped passes. Finally, his work-ethic/activity is definitely a question mark. Having no idea who Newman is or where he popped out from, we don't know whether or not he will show up to practice every week. While he may state differently, no one will know until the season starts and we see exactly how Newman has progressed.
So now, instead of declaring for the NFL, Newman has taken the road less traveled and has decided to declare for the NSFL's season 2 draft. Although he is projected to be a late round draft pick, whatever team and their general manager decides to take the risk on him, he will certainly take a lot of people by surprise. Watch out for Xavier Newman come draft day, because even certain NFL soon-to-be Hall of Famers were drafted in the 6th round.
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One of those draftees is cornerback Xavier Newman out of Florida State. Newman is a relative unknown player with almost no personal background to find whatsoever. When leagues like this start to gain traction, you will often see guys like this come into the league, seemingly out of nowhere. So what exactly do we know about this youngster? Well, Newman was a redshirted Freshman after breaking his clavicle in a freak petting zoo accident. Xavier got a little too close to the alpacas, and it mule kicked him into and over the barrier wall. After flipping over the wall, Newman fell on his neck and back which caused the break.
Newman returned to the Seminoles' field the next season and would start at both wide receiver and cornerback throughout the season. Newman was highly known for his bone crushing hits, and his blazing speed to outrun his defenders on offense. While he played most of his Freshman season at wide receiver, it was the defensive game he loved the most. The feeling you get when you drive your shoulder directly into the chest of a receiver, causing him to fumble the ball...there's no other feeling like it: power. It was like a drug to him, and he was definitely an addict.
Throughout the rest of his career at FSU, Newman only played on defense at cornerback and soon anybody who was anybody took notice of his skills and tenacity. In his 56 games under Jimbo Fisher, Newman recorded 139 total tackles along with 12 interceptions and 4 sacks. Xavier would win his first NCAA trophy winning the Bednarik award in his final season.
Just like every other draftee/rookie, Newman has strengths and weaknesses to his game. First, let's take a look at his strengths. As stated above, Newman is a big time tackler. It's going to be very tough whether you're a receiver or a running back trying to evade his grasp. Make sure you have good hands because he loves to jar the ball loose after a monster hit. Second, he is one of the faster defensive backs we have coming to the league this season. Newman ran an incredible 4.31 40 yard dash earlier this week at the pro combine. Finally, as a defensive back needs, Newman has a very high football intelligence. He is quick at reading the opposing offense and quick to read the play-action.
Now is where we see the negatives about Newman. His strength is definitely a huge concern among NSFL scouts. He decided to skip on the bench press portion of the combine, raising concerns as to whether or not his clavicle is as healthy as he will tell you it is. His next weakness is his hands. Don't expect this kid to tally up many interceptions during his first couple of seasons. During his Freshman season, Newman had an ACC worst 12 dropped passes. Finally, his work-ethic/activity is definitely a question mark. Having no idea who Newman is or where he popped out from, we don't know whether or not he will show up to practice every week. While he may state differently, no one will know until the season starts and we see exactly how Newman has progressed.
So now, instead of declaring for the NFL, Newman has taken the road less traveled and has decided to declare for the NSFL's season 2 draft. Although he is projected to be a late round draft pick, whatever team and their general manager decides to take the risk on him, he will certainly take a lot of people by surprise. Watch out for Xavier Newman come draft day, because even certain NFL soon-to-be Hall of Famers were drafted in the 6th round.
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GRADED