(S3) - PT #1 - Rookie Spotlight

[BOOM™]

[Elhomi]

Ricardo Rodriguez

[Elhomi]

Ricardo Rodriguez

[7hawk77]

I don't have a single rookie that I am most excited to see.

I have three.

First up is Bayley, the new cornerback for the San Jose Sabercats. The sabercats already had the best shut down corner in the league (based on passes defended) and had a glaring weakness in the other side of the field due to Peterson retiring after the sabercats traded for him.
The good news is John Canton has done a lot of practice and is a great cornerback. Bayley is going to follow in his footsteps with a man to man archetype and it will work beautifully with our team.

Next up is Calkewlated Chambers the third. He is the new defensive lineman for the sabercats. Dan Miller and Calkewlated Chambers played together at LSU and proved to be a good tandem there. Dan is more of the mauler where Chambers seemed to be much quicker on the draw to get the quick penetration. This should prove useful as they both specialize in stopping the run and pass respectively.

Finally the last rookie I'll talk about is Blewitt.
Iyah Blewitt is a rookie kicker and punter. This is something that the sabercats desperately needed. If we would have had a decent kicker/punter last season, we would have probably won an additional 3 games. He seems super talented and we are excited the value he will bring to our defense just due to field positioning from good punts as well as the field goals that we can achieve from failed drives.

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[Deusolis]

For good, bad or indifferent (but definitely good) the most important rookie this season will be Philadelphia quarterback Clifford Rove. After the last round of off-season workouts, it became obvious that Rove had surpassed incumbent starter Jameis Christ due to the latter's questionable work ethic. The Liberty's massive off-season, inking linebacker AC Hackett to the richest contract in NSFL history and trading for star tackle Mark Ramrio, has the potential to play both ways in terms of pressure on Rove. On the one hand, adding even more talent to an already star-laden defense means that it won't be on him to carry the Liberty to victory. On the other hand, there are expectations now. Between off-season moves and the chatter of Liberty players, this team has real pressure to succeed. The Liberty defense has the opportunity to be special but, barring historical dominance, the team will still need good quarterback play to live up to its potential.

That all said, if there's any quarterback in the league built for this moment, it's Cliff. After all it's not easy to supplant a Season 1 Vet at the toughest position in football. And regardless of the self-imposed expectations, the Liberty don't need Rove to put the team on his back. There are offensive play-makers around him, including the league's best tight end and last season's touchdown leader. If he can limit his turnovers and get the ball out on time, the Liberty will be sitting pretty come playoff time.

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[Bwestfield]

[HalfEatenOnionBagel]

The rookie I am most interested in seeing this preseason is the young man from Hawaii that the Liberty drafted, Eli Kamaka. Kamaka declared for the draft pretty late and as such wasn't part of the big media wave that accompanies draft season. In fact, it wasn't until shortly before declaring that Kamaka was even sure he would be playing professional football at all. But, with DE Ottokar Von Gerhardt dealing with nagging injuries and unable to practice lately just as the Liberty have made some key acquisitions on defense, it was necessary to bring in another player that could step up.

Kamaka boasts a ton of untapped potential, but may need some time to develop in order to fully reach it. The preseason will provide him with a ton of opportunities to learn and grow, but also to show the Liberty that they can count on him to start at defensive end this season. Along with Mark Ramrio and Drew Davidson, a lot of weight rests on the rookie Kamaka's shoulders to help generate a pass rush that was absolutely non-existent for Philadelphia last season. The coaches are hoping to see Kamaka provide a spark on defense and be a part of the defensive unit that can help make them a playoff contender.

[Ben]

The rookie I am most excited to see this year is the one opening up running lanes for Ardie Savea. During the draft there was an audible gasp when the Las Vegas Legion selected Wallace Stone, a la Anthony Bennett 2013. There has been speculation that there may be ulterior motives to this pick. Since Ardie Savea’s agent has become GM, the Legion have drafted two offensive linemen and swapped their top defensive end to the offensive side of the ball. Whether or not this will help Savea’s numbers remains to be seen.
Wallace Stone, the 6’8” 340-pound offensive lineman from Canada had not played football at a college level, therefore providing little tape for NSFL teams to watch. Stone was also not available during the draft combine, making this prospect a big unknown and to many, a big gamble by the Legion.
Wallace Stone has been out to prove doubters wrong since the draft, putting in work at training and the weights room. “and I'll be gaining more and more strength, I'll rekt everyone who want to touch my QB” quote, Wallace Stone, 2017.
Clearly a favourite of the GM’s, Stone’s agent (who is usually focused on representing hockey players), worked her magic to get the rookie a 3 year 10-million-dollar contract. This is unprecedented in the NSFL.
Whether Stone lives up to this impressive rookie contract is anyone's guess, but I’m excited to see the results.
@Evok

[runrunpasspunt]

Eivar Gustavvson (almost definitely got the name wrong, sorry) is the rookie I'm looking most forward to watching this season. Dude should be starting along with me, Bork, and Ricky Maddox to create what should be the most terrifying D-line in the DSFL. With all the opportunities me and Bork should create in the middle, I look forward to a player as talented as Eidar juking out the tackle and getting sack after sack until their QB is completely drained of the will to live, nonetheless play.

Eidar is an active dude who's had some cool posts in the locker room and on the NSFL Media page and I really think he'll be the dude that cements this defense as one of the great ones. He's been playing in Season 2, so he has a head start over much of the rookie class (including my guy Fitzfatrick), and the boost of TPE we've gotten at the start of the season should make Eidur a feared competitor against all seven teams we meet with this season. I’m really happy to call this guy my fellow rookie teammate, and I can’t wait to see just how this season unfolds with him on the line.

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[Archon]

The rookie I'm most excited to see in action this preseason is Wraiths defensive end Eidur Gustavsson. We came into the league and onto Yellowknife in the same draft class and I've seen his excitement about our prospects in the upcoming year. It can be difficult to be the new people on a team but @Kris has fit in like OJ Simpson's hand into a bloody glove. Ok, maybe a bit better than that. He posted a monster analysis ranking teams by their branding, starting location, and roster appeal, showing he's no slouch when it comes to media production. The Wraiths locker room has been high energy this offseason, setting the stage for Gustavsson to make a dramatic impact on the Wraiths' newly revitalized defense in conjunction with the position switch of incoming defensive end Ricky Maddox. I expect Gustavsson to get plenty of sacks and forced fumbles this preseason in order to turn the ball over to the glorious Wraiths offense. Regardless of what happens in my own career in the league, I will always remember the first preseason I ever had in a locker room and the hope, energy, and excitement I felt from it, and all my fellow spookyghost rookies like Eidur Gustavsson are a part of that experience.

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