Interviewer: so tell me about what was going through your head when Minnesota called you for a waiver pickup after the draft?
Blackfyre: Well, I knew I wasnt going to be drafted. I had just torn my meniscus after my junior year. I sat almost all of me Senior year. This is an injury most players dont come back from. So I already knew most of the teams wouldnt want to take that chance of reinjury. But I had a little bit of hope after a scout from the Grey Ducks contacted me. He asked me some questions, and I thought for sure, this is it....im going pro. Then round after round went by with no phone calls. I lost hope, i waznt going to make it. I still had aspirations to come back the following year, but I was dissapointed. The draft ending and I was ready to break down. Then I got the call. They picked me up on waivers. Smart for them, didnt have to waste a draft pick on an unknown with injury history. I just knew I couldnt let them down. I had to make it worth it.
Interviewer: Tell me about your Rookie debut, S24 preseason. How do you think you did?
As a team we played well, we went 1-3 but its the preseason. As for me, it was overwhelming at first. The lights, the crowd, all eyes are on you. They want to see if you are going to be a bust. If you think too much then you will be. You just have to play. Game one was a tough game all around. I finished with 3 tackles, made the QB panick a few times with misdirections, helping lead to incompletions. But it was overall an average performance on my part. Gam two is when I made an impact. Ill never forget this play.
The crowd is going wild, shaking the ground, its so loud it almost makes your head spin. My hair is drenched in sweat, hanging down my shoulders. Waiting for the Royals to come back from timeout I am just taking in the moment. We have a huge lead, ive made a few good tackles, our defense is dominating every aspect of the field. This is what you live for. Anyways the royals come back from timeout, they break the huddle and head into singleback formation. Cortez looks over the defense, he looks broken, weve been hammering him all night, but hes a hell of a competitor, he wont give up on a game no matter what. So he starts to audible, and its nearly impossible to hear with the crowd noise. Ive moved up to cover the TE in man coverage and I get a feeling I know whats coming, but I wasnt entirely sure. They had done this formation a few times already, rhen it clicked, I remembered. Its gonna be play action. Cortez hikes and I shoot the gap. I timed it perfectly on the snap, as soon as he looked up I saw the fear in his eyes and BAM I take him straight to the turf, hard. I get up and Im pumped! I start shouting, the crowd goes wild, the whole defense gets hype like they do with any sack. But this felt different. It was surreal. My first sack in the DSFL. Time slowed down, I could feel the heat from the lights, every emotion I had been bottling up came out right at that moment. Ill never forget it.
Interviewer: Did your emotional performance in week 2 help your breakout game in week 3?
Blackfyre: Oh of course! I had really come out of my shell. I was back to my old self. Before I had reservations about if I could still play at a high level. All my doubts went away. Of course my teammates are nothing but supportive so thats a big help, but on a personal level I really came out of my shell. I didnt have nerves coming into that game. I was really fired up, and when the whistle blew I was on top of the ball before I even knew it. Seven tackles might not seem like much compared to some others, but for me its just made me realize that ive still got it.
Interviewer: Well thank you for your time Damian. Great job out there, cant wait to see you back at it week one.
Blackfyre: No, No, Thank You. Keep your eyes open for #33, I have a feeling your going to be seeing it alot.
Blackfyre: Well, I knew I wasnt going to be drafted. I had just torn my meniscus after my junior year. I sat almost all of me Senior year. This is an injury most players dont come back from. So I already knew most of the teams wouldnt want to take that chance of reinjury. But I had a little bit of hope after a scout from the Grey Ducks contacted me. He asked me some questions, and I thought for sure, this is it....im going pro. Then round after round went by with no phone calls. I lost hope, i waznt going to make it. I still had aspirations to come back the following year, but I was dissapointed. The draft ending and I was ready to break down. Then I got the call. They picked me up on waivers. Smart for them, didnt have to waste a draft pick on an unknown with injury history. I just knew I couldnt let them down. I had to make it worth it.
Interviewer: Tell me about your Rookie debut, S24 preseason. How do you think you did?
As a team we played well, we went 1-3 but its the preseason. As for me, it was overwhelming at first. The lights, the crowd, all eyes are on you. They want to see if you are going to be a bust. If you think too much then you will be. You just have to play. Game one was a tough game all around. I finished with 3 tackles, made the QB panick a few times with misdirections, helping lead to incompletions. But it was overall an average performance on my part. Gam two is when I made an impact. Ill never forget this play.
The crowd is going wild, shaking the ground, its so loud it almost makes your head spin. My hair is drenched in sweat, hanging down my shoulders. Waiting for the Royals to come back from timeout I am just taking in the moment. We have a huge lead, ive made a few good tackles, our defense is dominating every aspect of the field. This is what you live for. Anyways the royals come back from timeout, they break the huddle and head into singleback formation. Cortez looks over the defense, he looks broken, weve been hammering him all night, but hes a hell of a competitor, he wont give up on a game no matter what. So he starts to audible, and its nearly impossible to hear with the crowd noise. Ive moved up to cover the TE in man coverage and I get a feeling I know whats coming, but I wasnt entirely sure. They had done this formation a few times already, rhen it clicked, I remembered. Its gonna be play action. Cortez hikes and I shoot the gap. I timed it perfectly on the snap, as soon as he looked up I saw the fear in his eyes and BAM I take him straight to the turf, hard. I get up and Im pumped! I start shouting, the crowd goes wild, the whole defense gets hype like they do with any sack. But this felt different. It was surreal. My first sack in the DSFL. Time slowed down, I could feel the heat from the lights, every emotion I had been bottling up came out right at that moment. Ill never forget it.
Interviewer: Did your emotional performance in week 2 help your breakout game in week 3?
Blackfyre: Oh of course! I had really come out of my shell. I was back to my old self. Before I had reservations about if I could still play at a high level. All my doubts went away. Of course my teammates are nothing but supportive so thats a big help, but on a personal level I really came out of my shell. I didnt have nerves coming into that game. I was really fired up, and when the whistle blew I was on top of the ball before I even knew it. Seven tackles might not seem like much compared to some others, but for me its just made me realize that ive still got it.
Interviewer: Well thank you for your time Damian. Great job out there, cant wait to see you back at it week one.
Blackfyre: No, No, Thank You. Keep your eyes open for #33, I have a feeling your going to be seeing it alot.