*Jamie Nkiah Offseason Interview

Drizzy · (This post was last modified: 09-29-2020, 12:21 AM by Tesla.)

Jamie Nkiah Offseason Interview

Despite his status as one of the highest TPE safeties in the league, Jamie Nkiah has certainly never been the kind of person to grab headlines on the field or off it. Taken at the bottom of the S20 Draft, after a host of inactive players who never saw the light of day in the league and after the Chicago Butchers made the decision to literally not take anyone instead of taking him, the last few seasons have seen Jamie try and do his talking out on the field by getting the job done and putting up the best numbers he can. He's done an okay job so far, earning a spot at the Pro Bowl last season, but a bit of a dip in form this time around has likely left him on the outside looking in. This is despite a lot of time and energy invested in improving his abilities, and the net result is that Jamie has been left feeling a little confused. "It's honestly a tough pill to swallow knowing that I turn up for practice earlier than any of the guys who get the big numbers, spend just as long grinding and working on improving, do everything I can to just be better and still things don't really go my way" he told us in a candid interview earlier today. "I can't think of this season as anything other than a huge disappointment. The team played better but we still fell short, and for me the individual return on the time I'd invested just wasn't there".

Two seasons ago, Jamie had signed a monster 3 season extension with the fledgling Sarasota Sailfish on the eve of free agency after not long joining the team from the Arizona Outlaws. The high dollar figure involved with the contract was obviously a large motivator for Jamie to remain in Florida, and he believes that he's done everything he could have to live up to the contract that was handed to him. "Look, Sarasota has been good to me. They took care of me financially when I needed it and they helped me get a footing in the league. For a young player from an agency that's not established in the ISFL, that's all you can really ask for". The elephant in the room at this point is Jamie's contract situation and his future with the Sailfish. He will become an unrestricted free agent once again in a season's time. While last time the two parties were able to come to an agreement on a deal before free agency opened, it's not clear whether that's likely to be the case for a second time. "I'm focusing on football at this point. I'm at a point in my career where I need to get the best out of a situation for it to reflect in my numbers. I'm chasing greatness and it's really important for me as a person to be in the kind of environment where I'm challenged to be great. I have a lot of love for Sarasota and the fans out here, but I need to make the move that's right for me and my career. Honestly, I don't know what that is at this moment exactly. I'm going to see how this upcoming season plays out and then assess my options. I want to be able to focus on football for now, and then when the time comes that my contract is up and I'm a free agent, I'll be able to assess what is out there and make the judgement on what's the right thing for me to do in my career". I pushed Jamie a little bit more on this, trying to get down to the root of the question; will he be signing an extension with the Sailfish this upcoming season? "Right now, I don't see myself signing any contract until free agency discussions open next season. Having all my options open is important to me so the opportunity to be able to hear from other teams out there will be something that I think I'll be interested in".

Our conversation turned then to the bigger picture. Jamie isn't the youngest person in the room anymore, and as he gets into what would be considered his prime years, he's painfully aware that he isn't getting any younger. "It's a weird transition honestly. You have to go from being the "apprentice" to the "master" real quick, almost before you know it. Being one of the older guys on the team is a different change of pace though, I like having the opportunity to teach the younger guys something and help pass on the lessons that I've learned over the years". I shifted the conversation a little bit to try and work out how long he had left in the tank, and his answer was unsurprisingly certain. "Man, I'm playing this game until they tell me I have to stop. I feel great, I'm happy to put in the hard work and the grind to get to where I want to be and I know what's expected of me. Honestly, as long as there's a team out there that's able to give me a spot to play on, I'm going to be in this league". I jokingly asked him to put a number on it. "I figure I got at least another 8 seasons left in me. That's not an exaggeration, like I said, until the day comes that I'm told by other people that it's over, I'm giving everything I can to this game".

When looking back at S24, it seems like the season was certainly one that gave Jamie a more positive outlook about the situation on the league as a whole, and it's something that he credits to the change in situation in Sarasota this season. "Every run the team has had before this, we've been the underdogs, always having something to prove and being the team that everyone looks past. To shift things up this time around and be a legitimate contender was a nice feeling, it was good to go out there and have teams take you seriously and be scared of what you could do to them. There's a lot of dogs on the team at the minute man, I know we lost a couple of guys because of expansion and stuff but I'm thinking maybe we can go back out there and take it further this time around. I want to go all the way, winning the Ultimus has been my dream since I was a kid honestly, so getting it done out there would be a pretty crazy experience. We came close this season, and I know we can beat Colorado if we run back that conference championship game. We'll see what happens, but we're confident". The landscape of the ISFL has changed dramatically this offseason with the addition of two new expansion teams into the mix, but there's no denying that Jamie and the Sailfish are going to be hard for any team to look past, and it seems like that's a fact that's known by those on the team.

With Jamie reaching an interesting time in his career, being able to have this kind of conversation gives us some interesting insights into exactly what the future might hold for him. He's thoroughly locked in to delivering results this season, and with him soon to surpass the 1000 TPE mark, it's only natural that he start holding himself to a high standard and pushing to be among the very best. His is an interesting storyline to follow for those who know about him, and while he is one of the quietest voices in the league and easily overlooked, he's hoping that now is the time that changes and people begin to give him the credit he deserves. Jamie Nkiah's time is now, and it's going to be a lot of fun to see what he does with it.