With the Season 27 Prospect Showcase coming to an end with a victory for the Auckland Laser Kiwis, the prospects now turn their attention to the upcoming DSFL draft. Many stocks were affected, and the offensive players predictably took a hit in the face of the defensive quality they had to deal with. However, a lot of eyes are now on the promising group of wide receivers, and the tape their play in the Prospect Showcase yielded, with more than a few eyes being cast on tri-national possession wideout Saleem Spence.
Spence, alongside many of his fellow positional comrades, struggled quite a lot against the high quality secondary schemes employed by the opposing defensive co-ordinators, as only Luke Quick managed to achieve more than the 4 catches a game most expect from top-end receivers in the DSFL. Spence finished with 29 receptions for 395 yards and 2 touchdowns in 9 games for the Jakarta Seafarers -- numbers comparable to those he achieved in a brief 2 game semi-pro stint with the semi-pro Battleford Bandits of the SIFL.
Spence of course had to share the pass-catching load with highly-touted first option wideout Bayley Cowabunga, who achieved 30 receptions for 444 yards and 5 touchdowns. The prospect out of Georgia is widely regarded as having a high floor and high ceiling, and is expected to be a first round pick in most mock drafts. Having a primary wideout ahead of him on a quarterback's read progressions was a fairly new experience for Spence.
"It did kind of affect things." admitted Spence. "Everywhere I've been except first year of college I was the primary option, and I had to take a bit of a backseat so we could spread the ball around. And that's fine, Bayley's a talented player and I hope we end up as teammates. But any player out here wants the ball, and wants to show what they can do all the time, and wants all the action to go through them. I wanted to show off what I could do, but it didn't work out that way, and we were always against tough, tough defenses anyways and needed to spread the ball around."
Despite his somewhat lackluster performances against some talented DBs, Spence did catch some scouting eyes. Offenses are expected to struggle more in the lower pro ranks, with last seasons ISFL play averaging around 12 points per game more than DSFL play, so lower numbers are to be expected. Scouts focus more on perceived upside in this case, and Spence's ceiling is rated highly.
"People criticize Spence for not playing against top-tier competition, but he didn't look any more out of place than any other American college receiver in this Showcase." said one DSFL scout. "Sure, the numbers weren't great, but the defenses were strong and the quarterbacks were all inconsistent and working out the kinks in their throwing motion and read progression. Spence is a quiet professional and a good presence on the field, and he's got raw physical tools, he's got a high ceiling, he should be fine."
Inconsistency at Quarterback was certainly a problem for the Jakarta Seafarers. The performance of both their primary wideouts were greatly affected by highly regarded QB Red Arrow Jr. having a fairly miserable showing at the Showcase, completing only 49 passes in 161 attempts for 618 yards, 4 TDs, and 3 interceptions, capped off with a brutal 13-for-34 showing in the 10-0 semifinal loss to the Maccu Picchu Sols. (Who the FUCK named these teams?)
By contrast, second QB Jacob Raske out of LSU surprised many with his performance, completing 57 for 122 for 692 yards in 1 fewer start, and led all prospects in the Showcase with a 46.7% completion percentage, but it wasn't enough to elevate the Seafarers passing attack to great heights, with the team averaging less than 150 yards per game in the air. However, Raske was a vital part of Spence's best game, hitting him 6 times for 76 yards and some key 1st downs in a 21-14 win over the eventual champion Auckland Laser Kiwis.
Regardless, with Spence's performance in the books, he is widely seen as around the 4th best wideout available in the draft out of the 7 available, and is projected as a 3rd or 4th round pick. Luke Quick's superior performance in the Showcase and projected star talent have put him as a #1 in many mocks, while Bayley Cowabunga is suspected to be #2. Spence is regarded as being a notch below those two in the pecking order, alongside other hopefuls Sam the Onion Man and Chunt the Badger, and perhaps slightly ahead of Kenzie Cupz and Latavius Jackson. Wide Receiver Speedy Quicktin impressed in the Showcase for the Chernobyl Radioactives, but its not known if he'll be on the radar due to perceived lower long-term upside and attitude issues.
All 8 teams in the DSFL have said to have reached out to Spence and are interested in drafting him, but its unknown who among them will ultimately pull the trigger, as ISFL prospects commitments are still up in the air and team needs will be hammered out presumably up until the day of the draft itself. The talent crop amongst these draftees, who will enter the Season 28 ISFL draft at this time next season, is said to be a promising one, with more depth than usual, and it could be likely that Wide Receiver falls lower on a team's priority list, with high caliber defenders also on the board in priority positions.
Regardless, while Spence is disappointed about her performances when matched against other prospects, he remains upbeat over his future prospects.
"I didn't get to put my best foot forward against the other prospects, but I'm training hard for the next season." said Spence. "If I'm drafted, I'll give whoever picks me the maximum effort, and if I'm not, I'll ply my trade elsewhere, maybe return to Saskatchewan for a song with the Bandits, hit up some other semi-pro leagues, whatever I gotta do to stay active as a player. I'm working out four hours each day catching passes, working on my speed, and I'll be ready for whatever happens."
The Season 27 DSFL Draft is set to take place in Dallas tomorrow.
Spence, alongside many of his fellow positional comrades, struggled quite a lot against the high quality secondary schemes employed by the opposing defensive co-ordinators, as only Luke Quick managed to achieve more than the 4 catches a game most expect from top-end receivers in the DSFL. Spence finished with 29 receptions for 395 yards and 2 touchdowns in 9 games for the Jakarta Seafarers -- numbers comparable to those he achieved in a brief 2 game semi-pro stint with the semi-pro Battleford Bandits of the SIFL.
Spence of course had to share the pass-catching load with highly-touted first option wideout Bayley Cowabunga, who achieved 30 receptions for 444 yards and 5 touchdowns. The prospect out of Georgia is widely regarded as having a high floor and high ceiling, and is expected to be a first round pick in most mock drafts. Having a primary wideout ahead of him on a quarterback's read progressions was a fairly new experience for Spence.
"It did kind of affect things." admitted Spence. "Everywhere I've been except first year of college I was the primary option, and I had to take a bit of a backseat so we could spread the ball around. And that's fine, Bayley's a talented player and I hope we end up as teammates. But any player out here wants the ball, and wants to show what they can do all the time, and wants all the action to go through them. I wanted to show off what I could do, but it didn't work out that way, and we were always against tough, tough defenses anyways and needed to spread the ball around."
Despite his somewhat lackluster performances against some talented DBs, Spence did catch some scouting eyes. Offenses are expected to struggle more in the lower pro ranks, with last seasons ISFL play averaging around 12 points per game more than DSFL play, so lower numbers are to be expected. Scouts focus more on perceived upside in this case, and Spence's ceiling is rated highly.
"People criticize Spence for not playing against top-tier competition, but he didn't look any more out of place than any other American college receiver in this Showcase." said one DSFL scout. "Sure, the numbers weren't great, but the defenses were strong and the quarterbacks were all inconsistent and working out the kinks in their throwing motion and read progression. Spence is a quiet professional and a good presence on the field, and he's got raw physical tools, he's got a high ceiling, he should be fine."
Inconsistency at Quarterback was certainly a problem for the Jakarta Seafarers. The performance of both their primary wideouts were greatly affected by highly regarded QB Red Arrow Jr. having a fairly miserable showing at the Showcase, completing only 49 passes in 161 attempts for 618 yards, 4 TDs, and 3 interceptions, capped off with a brutal 13-for-34 showing in the 10-0 semifinal loss to the Maccu Picchu Sols. (Who the FUCK named these teams?)
By contrast, second QB Jacob Raske out of LSU surprised many with his performance, completing 57 for 122 for 692 yards in 1 fewer start, and led all prospects in the Showcase with a 46.7% completion percentage, but it wasn't enough to elevate the Seafarers passing attack to great heights, with the team averaging less than 150 yards per game in the air. However, Raske was a vital part of Spence's best game, hitting him 6 times for 76 yards and some key 1st downs in a 21-14 win over the eventual champion Auckland Laser Kiwis.
Regardless, with Spence's performance in the books, he is widely seen as around the 4th best wideout available in the draft out of the 7 available, and is projected as a 3rd or 4th round pick. Luke Quick's superior performance in the Showcase and projected star talent have put him as a #1 in many mocks, while Bayley Cowabunga is suspected to be #2. Spence is regarded as being a notch below those two in the pecking order, alongside other hopefuls Sam the Onion Man and Chunt the Badger, and perhaps slightly ahead of Kenzie Cupz and Latavius Jackson. Wide Receiver Speedy Quicktin impressed in the Showcase for the Chernobyl Radioactives, but its not known if he'll be on the radar due to perceived lower long-term upside and attitude issues.
All 8 teams in the DSFL have said to have reached out to Spence and are interested in drafting him, but its unknown who among them will ultimately pull the trigger, as ISFL prospects commitments are still up in the air and team needs will be hammered out presumably up until the day of the draft itself. The talent crop amongst these draftees, who will enter the Season 28 ISFL draft at this time next season, is said to be a promising one, with more depth than usual, and it could be likely that Wide Receiver falls lower on a team's priority list, with high caliber defenders also on the board in priority positions.
Regardless, while Spence is disappointed about her performances when matched against other prospects, he remains upbeat over his future prospects.
"I didn't get to put my best foot forward against the other prospects, but I'm training hard for the next season." said Spence. "If I'm drafted, I'll give whoever picks me the maximum effort, and if I'm not, I'll ply my trade elsewhere, maybe return to Saskatchewan for a song with the Bandits, hit up some other semi-pro leagues, whatever I gotta do to stay active as a player. I'm working out four hours each day catching passes, working on my speed, and I'll be ready for whatever happens."
The Season 27 DSFL Draft is set to take place in Dallas tomorrow.