02-19-2024, 04:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-20-2024, 09:49 AM by lemonoppy. Edited 1 time in total.)
Miller Light, nephew of Busch Light, is about to begin his rookie season as a member of the Sarasota Sailfish. How did he get to this point? This is the question that everyone is asking. After a series of exclusive interviews with Miller, this is a look at how Miller got here. What was his upbringing like? What did he learn in the DSFL? What are his goals and aspirations? All will be answered in this exclusive look at Miller Light in: It’s Miller Time- Cracking Open a Cold One
The High School Years
Miller Light, born June 10th, 2039 grew up in a football family. Miller was born the same year that his uncle, Busch, was drafted by the New Orleans Secondline into the ISFL. Miller was holding a football before he could walk, and was frequently brought to ISFL games to cheer on his uncle. At age 5 Miller asked to play football, but his parents were concerned for his health and said no. It wasn’t until 2048 when Busch retired that he was able to convince Miller’s parents to allow him to play under Busch’s coaching. Miller was an instant star on the team with a high football IQ. His raw talent, paired with the coaching from Busch, made Miller a star in high school. Growing up in Morgantown, West Virginia, his goal was to play for the Mountaineers.
The College Years and The Draft
Out of high school Miller was highly recruited and went to the Mountaineers. Unfortunately, the team was not competitive, and Miller wanted to play against the best. After his freshman year he knew he would have to transfer to play against the best and prepare himself for the DSFL. Miller transferred to Vanderbilt and all of a sudden, he was a big fish in an even bigger pond in the SEC. On his team he was a star, but the competitors in the SEC challenged him, and that only made him hungrier leading into the DSFL Draft.
Ahead of the DSFL draft, Miller was recruited by the Portland Pythons for their Ultimini push. Despite a loss in the Ultimini, his time on the Pythons was essential in his transition to the DSFL. Miller had high aspirations for the DSFL draft, with goals of going in the first, and a drive to outdo Busch who was drafted Round 2 pick 6 by the London Royals. Unfortunately, Miller struggled at the combine with a 4.55 40 time and only 15 reps on the bench press. In due time it would become clear that the scouts noticed. The only shining part of the combine was the Wonderlic, where he scored a 39, the highest score of all non-quarterbacks in the draft. It turns out the Vanderbilt education paid off! When draft night came, Miller sat and watched as the picks of the first round ticked away, and he was shocked to find himself sitting there at the conclusion of day 1. His competitive nature did not handle being passed over very well. It did not take much longer to Miller find his landing spot. “And the 14th pick of the 2060 DSFL Draft, the Norfolk Seawolves select, Miller Light out of Vanderbilt.” Despite the later selection than he expected, Miller was happy to be drafted higher than his uncle Busch, and to end up on a team where he was happy to slot in as an immediate upgrade in the secondary.
DSFL Season 1
Going into the DSFL Season, Busch was the best free safety and the second best safety overall on the team (behind strong safety Simon Winston). The Seawolves needed help all over the defense, and because of Miller’s relation to ISFL LB Busch, the Seawolves felt comfortable playing Miller all over the defense. Miller was expected to get to the ball quick and break up passes. It was his job to be an instant leader on the defense.
The Preseason
The preseason is always an opportunity for teams to try new formations, different structure, and to test out the rookies. Even though the games “do not matter”, Miller felt as nervous as if it was the Ultimus. The first preseason game was against the Bondi Beach Buccaneers. Before the game Miller met with Busch on the sideline for some pregame advice. Busch told him to relax and have fun, “and remember nephew… it’s Miller Time.” This lit a fire in Miller and he played with all of his cylinders firing! In his first game as a Seawolf, he had two pass deflections, his first interception, and two tackles! Light’s interception boosted his confidence, but unfortunately, it was not enough to stop the Buccaneers high powered offense. Bondi Beach would score 35 and the Seawolves could not keep up with 31. The team stat lines were similar with almost identical yardage 386-384, but the seawolves had four turnovers and gave up 21 points in the fourth quarter. As a team, the loss was frustrating, going into the fourth quarter with a 24-14 lead. Individually, Miller was happy with his performance and decided that he had would it took to play at the top of the DSFL.
The second preseason game pit the Norfolk Seawolves against the high powered offense of the Tijuana Luchadores. This was undeniably going to be a test for Miller and the rest of the Seawolves defense. Light played an ancillary role and had 5 tackles, behind fellow rookie Mayo with 7 tackles in the game. Despite playing sideline to sideline, the Luchadores’ offense was too much for the young defense to handle. Tijuana’s quarterback, Breezy Jr., put up a perfect passer rating, four touchdowns, 325 yards, on only 18 for 23 passes. Truly Madden numbers, even for a preseason game. It was a painful loss at 52-28, and coach punished the team for it with sprints. The next week of practice focused on trying out Miller in coverage to see if he could be an asset there.
The third preseason game against the Dallas Birddogs was set up to be the Seawolves’ get right game on both sides of the ball. Both offenses were moving, with 81 total attempts, 500+ yards, and 5 touchdowns between both quarterbacks. As for Light, he was moved around and put into more of a coverage position with the team. As a result Miller ended up with only 1 touchdown, but led both the seawolves and birddogs with 4 pass deflections (the next highest players had only 2 pass deflections). Miller always wants to lead the way in tackles, but he is constantly reminded by teammates and coaches that a pass deflection is more valuable than tackles. Both teams played great in this one, but the Seawolves squeezed it out, 37-31. The score did not reflect the lopsided nature of this one, with the Seawolves getting ahead 21-0 in the first quarter. Most of the production by the Birddogs was done in garbage time. Everyone got a chance to play on the seawolves side of the ball. This gave Miller and the rest of Norfolk some momentum leading into the final preseason game against the Kansas City Coyotes.
The fourth and final week of the preseason was played against the Kansas City Coyotes in Kansas City, a notably difficult environment for away teams with rowdy and enthusiastic fans. As the last game of the preseason, Light new it was time to put on a show for the GM. This was his last chance to show what he had to the coaches in order to win a starting role on the defense. Pregame he met with Busch and cracked open a cold one as a pre-celebration. They agreed, it was Miller Time. Miller left it all out on the field, 5 tackles, 2 pass deflections, and 2 interceptions, named defensive player of the game. Unfortunately, his huge effort came up short again, 27-33 Coyotes. In the after game press conference, Miller voiced his displeasure. After the biggest game of his career, his team still lost. It took management telling him that it was just a preseason game to calm him down. All of that to say, the preseason allowed Miller and the rest of the seawolves try some things out and prepare for the regular season. A 1-3 preseason record was not promising, and the regular season would prove that to be the case.
The High School Years
Miller Light, born June 10th, 2039 grew up in a football family. Miller was born the same year that his uncle, Busch, was drafted by the New Orleans Secondline into the ISFL. Miller was holding a football before he could walk, and was frequently brought to ISFL games to cheer on his uncle. At age 5 Miller asked to play football, but his parents were concerned for his health and said no. It wasn’t until 2048 when Busch retired that he was able to convince Miller’s parents to allow him to play under Busch’s coaching. Miller was an instant star on the team with a high football IQ. His raw talent, paired with the coaching from Busch, made Miller a star in high school. Growing up in Morgantown, West Virginia, his goal was to play for the Mountaineers.
The College Years and The Draft
Out of high school Miller was highly recruited and went to the Mountaineers. Unfortunately, the team was not competitive, and Miller wanted to play against the best. After his freshman year he knew he would have to transfer to play against the best and prepare himself for the DSFL. Miller transferred to Vanderbilt and all of a sudden, he was a big fish in an even bigger pond in the SEC. On his team he was a star, but the competitors in the SEC challenged him, and that only made him hungrier leading into the DSFL Draft.
Ahead of the DSFL draft, Miller was recruited by the Portland Pythons for their Ultimini push. Despite a loss in the Ultimini, his time on the Pythons was essential in his transition to the DSFL. Miller had high aspirations for the DSFL draft, with goals of going in the first, and a drive to outdo Busch who was drafted Round 2 pick 6 by the London Royals. Unfortunately, Miller struggled at the combine with a 4.55 40 time and only 15 reps on the bench press. In due time it would become clear that the scouts noticed. The only shining part of the combine was the Wonderlic, where he scored a 39, the highest score of all non-quarterbacks in the draft. It turns out the Vanderbilt education paid off! When draft night came, Miller sat and watched as the picks of the first round ticked away, and he was shocked to find himself sitting there at the conclusion of day 1. His competitive nature did not handle being passed over very well. It did not take much longer to Miller find his landing spot. “And the 14th pick of the 2060 DSFL Draft, the Norfolk Seawolves select, Miller Light out of Vanderbilt.” Despite the later selection than he expected, Miller was happy to be drafted higher than his uncle Busch, and to end up on a team where he was happy to slot in as an immediate upgrade in the secondary.
DSFL Season 1
Going into the DSFL Season, Busch was the best free safety and the second best safety overall on the team (behind strong safety Simon Winston). The Seawolves needed help all over the defense, and because of Miller’s relation to ISFL LB Busch, the Seawolves felt comfortable playing Miller all over the defense. Miller was expected to get to the ball quick and break up passes. It was his job to be an instant leader on the defense.
The Preseason
The preseason is always an opportunity for teams to try new formations, different structure, and to test out the rookies. Even though the games “do not matter”, Miller felt as nervous as if it was the Ultimus. The first preseason game was against the Bondi Beach Buccaneers. Before the game Miller met with Busch on the sideline for some pregame advice. Busch told him to relax and have fun, “and remember nephew… it’s Miller Time.” This lit a fire in Miller and he played with all of his cylinders firing! In his first game as a Seawolf, he had two pass deflections, his first interception, and two tackles! Light’s interception boosted his confidence, but unfortunately, it was not enough to stop the Buccaneers high powered offense. Bondi Beach would score 35 and the Seawolves could not keep up with 31. The team stat lines were similar with almost identical yardage 386-384, but the seawolves had four turnovers and gave up 21 points in the fourth quarter. As a team, the loss was frustrating, going into the fourth quarter with a 24-14 lead. Individually, Miller was happy with his performance and decided that he had would it took to play at the top of the DSFL.
The second preseason game pit the Norfolk Seawolves against the high powered offense of the Tijuana Luchadores. This was undeniably going to be a test for Miller and the rest of the Seawolves defense. Light played an ancillary role and had 5 tackles, behind fellow rookie Mayo with 7 tackles in the game. Despite playing sideline to sideline, the Luchadores’ offense was too much for the young defense to handle. Tijuana’s quarterback, Breezy Jr., put up a perfect passer rating, four touchdowns, 325 yards, on only 18 for 23 passes. Truly Madden numbers, even for a preseason game. It was a painful loss at 52-28, and coach punished the team for it with sprints. The next week of practice focused on trying out Miller in coverage to see if he could be an asset there.
The third preseason game against the Dallas Birddogs was set up to be the Seawolves’ get right game on both sides of the ball. Both offenses were moving, with 81 total attempts, 500+ yards, and 5 touchdowns between both quarterbacks. As for Light, he was moved around and put into more of a coverage position with the team. As a result Miller ended up with only 1 touchdown, but led both the seawolves and birddogs with 4 pass deflections (the next highest players had only 2 pass deflections). Miller always wants to lead the way in tackles, but he is constantly reminded by teammates and coaches that a pass deflection is more valuable than tackles. Both teams played great in this one, but the Seawolves squeezed it out, 37-31. The score did not reflect the lopsided nature of this one, with the Seawolves getting ahead 21-0 in the first quarter. Most of the production by the Birddogs was done in garbage time. Everyone got a chance to play on the seawolves side of the ball. This gave Miller and the rest of Norfolk some momentum leading into the final preseason game against the Kansas City Coyotes.
The fourth and final week of the preseason was played against the Kansas City Coyotes in Kansas City, a notably difficult environment for away teams with rowdy and enthusiastic fans. As the last game of the preseason, Light new it was time to put on a show for the GM. This was his last chance to show what he had to the coaches in order to win a starting role on the defense. Pregame he met with Busch and cracked open a cold one as a pre-celebration. They agreed, it was Miller Time. Miller left it all out on the field, 5 tackles, 2 pass deflections, and 2 interceptions, named defensive player of the game. Unfortunately, his huge effort came up short again, 27-33 Coyotes. In the after game press conference, Miller voiced his displeasure. After the biggest game of his career, his team still lost. It took management telling him that it was just a preseason game to calm him down. All of that to say, the preseason allowed Miller and the rest of the seawolves try some things out and prepare for the regular season. A 1-3 preseason record was not promising, and the regular season would prove that to be the case.