It's every player's dream to star in the NSFL, but there are many paths to get there. Rick Skuff's path has been anything but traditional so far, playing his first season of football ever in college and getting expelled for impermissible applied organic chemistry after just two seasons. It's little surprise, then, that the Baltimore Hawks saw him as a bit of a project when they took him in the fifth round and will be sending him back down to the Minnesota Grey Ducks this year.
"It wasn't really that surprising, or disappointing. I loved this year with the Ducks. We've got a lot of the same guys back this year, which should terrify everybody. It gives me a chance at some more touches and some time to hone my skills before I make it to the big show. Maybe if I didn't feel so at home in Minnesota I wouldn't be so at ease with it, but I guess I'm just lucky to fit in so well both places."
The move wasn't a shocker, since the Hawks were not desperate at RB and needed to keep a few players down to conserve cap space. Talks of moving Skuff around the field seem not to have been enough to keep him at the highest level of the sport this year.
The Hawks also sent back down fellow Duck Matt Hole and rival linebacker Shepherd Marshall, with whom Skuff had had an altercation earlier in the year.
"I'm excited for another year with Matt in Minnesota. He's a monstrous pass rusher and he's going to be eating those guys alive down there. As for Shepherd... I'd just about made peace with having to play with him this year, but when I got the news I was going back to the DSFL the first thing I checked was if he was too. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm glad he was. Maybe we'll put our differences behind us after this season, but while we're wearing different jerseys I'm coming for him."
Expectations are high in Minnesota this year, for Skuff and for the team. The team is coming off of back to back Ultiminis, and consistency is a hard thing to hold on to in a league with as much turnover as the DSFL. Asked about his expectations for the upcoming year Skuff had this to say.
"It's going to be a grind for sure; it always is. But we've got some great talent coming back, some great talent coming in, and a great organization behind us. Anybody picking against us is throwing away money. As for myself, I think I'll be getting the ball some more this year than last year, with Yoda moving on. And I'm putting in the work; I plan to be a totally different back than I was last year. I'm going to work so hard they don't have a choice but to give me the ball, and by the end of the year I don't think the Hawks will want to be without me for another season."
"It wasn't really that surprising, or disappointing. I loved this year with the Ducks. We've got a lot of the same guys back this year, which should terrify everybody. It gives me a chance at some more touches and some time to hone my skills before I make it to the big show. Maybe if I didn't feel so at home in Minnesota I wouldn't be so at ease with it, but I guess I'm just lucky to fit in so well both places."
The move wasn't a shocker, since the Hawks were not desperate at RB and needed to keep a few players down to conserve cap space. Talks of moving Skuff around the field seem not to have been enough to keep him at the highest level of the sport this year.
The Hawks also sent back down fellow Duck Matt Hole and rival linebacker Shepherd Marshall, with whom Skuff had had an altercation earlier in the year.
"I'm excited for another year with Matt in Minnesota. He's a monstrous pass rusher and he's going to be eating those guys alive down there. As for Shepherd... I'd just about made peace with having to play with him this year, but when I got the news I was going back to the DSFL the first thing I checked was if he was too. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm glad he was. Maybe we'll put our differences behind us after this season, but while we're wearing different jerseys I'm coming for him."
Expectations are high in Minnesota this year, for Skuff and for the team. The team is coming off of back to back Ultiminis, and consistency is a hard thing to hold on to in a league with as much turnover as the DSFL. Asked about his expectations for the upcoming year Skuff had this to say.
"It's going to be a grind for sure; it always is. But we've got some great talent coming back, some great talent coming in, and a great organization behind us. Anybody picking against us is throwing away money. As for myself, I think I'll be getting the ball some more this year than last year, with Yoda moving on. And I'm putting in the work; I plan to be a totally different back than I was last year. I'm going to work so hard they don't have a choice but to give me the ball, and by the end of the year I don't think the Hawks will want to be without me for another season."