I was a part of the S24 draft and it was definitely surprising to me. I'd talked with several teams in detail and had some really good conversations to where I felt confident I'd slot in at the late first, early second range. I'd made particularly strong connections with recruiters from the Hawks who were close to Tonzy, a fellow draftee whom I'd grown close with through the league, and the Second Line, where mithrandir who recruited me to the league was not in the war room, but was well connected. I felt fairly confident that one of those two teams would select me. However, to my surprise, when NOLA traded up to the 5th pick of the 2nd round, they went with a different linebacker, Busch Light. I did go the very next pick, 18th overall, but the team that drafted me was a big surprise. The Arizona Outlaws. I had to look back through my discord discussions to find a very short scouting conversation with them that I honestly had forgotten. I was honored to be taken, though, and ready to get to work. However, a year later I was being called upon to be a DE and I'd been really clear from day one of scouting conversations that I would be willing to switch positions only for a short time with a plan to get me back to LB. They did not have such a plan in place so I asked to be traded. While this was not how I'd envisioned my time in the ISFL beginning, what it did accomplish was the perfect time to go on the trade block. I was acquired for a second round pick to become one of the inaugural members of the Berlin Fire Salamanders, before the expansion draft had even occurred, and have gotten to see this team from development of a LR all the way to 4-0 to start season 28. I'm really happy with how things turned out, and while I'll always wonder what it would have been like to go to NOLA, I'm definitely happy with where I am now! Go Fire Sallys!
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