An Interview with Norfolk GM Ryan Negs
Sconnie McHits here, and I'm proud to be joined by Norfolk Seawolves GM Ryan Negs to take a deep dive into the mind of a DSFL GM. Let's get right into it.
Ryan, tell me a little bit about what the plan was for you and your war room staff entering the scouting period? What characteristics were you looking for in future players? Were there certain positions you wanted to fill?
Thanks for having me on Sconnie! Entering the draft, there was a lot of excitement in the war room as it was my first draft with my GM TMosura. We’re still going through a rebuild, so for us we wanted some great users that we believed would fit into our locker room. We truly believe a great locker room breeds great activity and this drafts philosophy was no different.
We got pretty ravaged with call ups this year, so going into the draft we didn’t have any specific positional needs. The only position we really felt we needed at least one of was QB due to losing ours this season. However we couldn’t have been happier with the positions we came out of the draft with. All around just proud of the guys in the war room.
Take our readers into the mind of a GM during the draft. How was that process for you? Were you anxious? Excited? Nervous? Was it fast-paced? Slow-moving?
I couldn’t have been more excited during the draft. The prospect of bringing in new players to our locker room and be able to see them on the field is a feeling like no other. However, in my first draft as a GM I quickly realized how nerve wracking it could be! The few picks before you are on the clock, where a prospect or two is up that you want and you don’t know if they will fall to you definitely strikes some nervousness. However, we were lucky enough to play our cards properly and got the players we wanted who would fit the best with us.
The draft itself definitely felt slow paced right after we put in selection as we all just eagerly waited to be back on the clock. Once the a team a few picks before us was on the clock though it was fast paced, everyone get ready. That’s when you start asking the questions: who do we wanna pick? Who will we take if our prospect is gone? What might these teams do so we can prepare?
All of these things made my mind race like never before. It was definitely an experience to remember.
Wow, that sounds super interesting! Let's shift gears to the upcoming season. What are your predictions for your team? Who do you think will be the teams to beat in the DSFL?
For the upcoming season, I predict that we will have improvement from last year. The year prior we had some stars on defense like Miles Weperom, Sigo Hendricks, Stewart Hellraiser, and Hououin Kyouma. With Weperom gone, it’ll be tough but I believe we have definitely added a lot of depth to our defense that will make it better.
On offense, we return two stud running backs and a star left tackle. Add a new quarterback and two new receivers, and we should be a force on that side as well. I don’t wanna put a number on it but I definitely see improvements from last year! With two new safeties, two new linebackers, and a new defensive tackle we are in a spot to succeed with the returning players as well.
The DSFL team to beat might have to be the team that I originally played for, the Minnesota Grey Ducks. The champ is still the champ until they’re beaten.
How are you adjusting to being a new GM? What advice would you have for those who may be interested in pursuing a GM spot in the future?
I’d like to thing I’m adjusting well to being a new GM. I feel like my past experience in the Minnesota war room and also being in the Philadelphia war room I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot from the great GMs I’ve had the luxury of having. Not to mention, I’ve got a fantastic group in the Norfolk war room that have been so supportive and helpful with the transition. It has also been really great having a more experienced GM in TMo as my partner who is always there to help and work with me to help me learn.
For those who may be interested in pursuing a GM job in the league, I think the first step is to just put yourself out there. Take some with your team and enjoy the experience, learn what they’re about, and get acclimated to the locker room. After That, let the GMs know you’d be interested in getting involved in scouting/management side and prove that you would be a good addition! Once you’re in, just learn as much as possible. The best advice I can give is to just learn and be active once you get into a war room. People will notice if you put in the work.
Well said! Is there anything else you'd like to share with the readers?
Good luck to everyone this year! Norfolk best Folk!
There you have it folks! Negs, thank you so much for your time today, I really appreciate it!
Absolutely it was my pleasure! Thank you for taking time to interview me!
(928 words)
Payout: 100% @g2019
Sconnie McHits here, and I'm proud to be joined by Norfolk Seawolves GM Ryan Negs to take a deep dive into the mind of a DSFL GM. Let's get right into it.
Ryan, tell me a little bit about what the plan was for you and your war room staff entering the scouting period? What characteristics were you looking for in future players? Were there certain positions you wanted to fill?
Thanks for having me on Sconnie! Entering the draft, there was a lot of excitement in the war room as it was my first draft with my GM TMosura. We’re still going through a rebuild, so for us we wanted some great users that we believed would fit into our locker room. We truly believe a great locker room breeds great activity and this drafts philosophy was no different.
We got pretty ravaged with call ups this year, so going into the draft we didn’t have any specific positional needs. The only position we really felt we needed at least one of was QB due to losing ours this season. However we couldn’t have been happier with the positions we came out of the draft with. All around just proud of the guys in the war room.
Take our readers into the mind of a GM during the draft. How was that process for you? Were you anxious? Excited? Nervous? Was it fast-paced? Slow-moving?
I couldn’t have been more excited during the draft. The prospect of bringing in new players to our locker room and be able to see them on the field is a feeling like no other. However, in my first draft as a GM I quickly realized how nerve wracking it could be! The few picks before you are on the clock, where a prospect or two is up that you want and you don’t know if they will fall to you definitely strikes some nervousness. However, we were lucky enough to play our cards properly and got the players we wanted who would fit the best with us.
The draft itself definitely felt slow paced right after we put in selection as we all just eagerly waited to be back on the clock. Once the a team a few picks before us was on the clock though it was fast paced, everyone get ready. That’s when you start asking the questions: who do we wanna pick? Who will we take if our prospect is gone? What might these teams do so we can prepare?
All of these things made my mind race like never before. It was definitely an experience to remember.
Wow, that sounds super interesting! Let's shift gears to the upcoming season. What are your predictions for your team? Who do you think will be the teams to beat in the DSFL?
For the upcoming season, I predict that we will have improvement from last year. The year prior we had some stars on defense like Miles Weperom, Sigo Hendricks, Stewart Hellraiser, and Hououin Kyouma. With Weperom gone, it’ll be tough but I believe we have definitely added a lot of depth to our defense that will make it better.
On offense, we return two stud running backs and a star left tackle. Add a new quarterback and two new receivers, and we should be a force on that side as well. I don’t wanna put a number on it but I definitely see improvements from last year! With two new safeties, two new linebackers, and a new defensive tackle we are in a spot to succeed with the returning players as well.
The DSFL team to beat might have to be the team that I originally played for, the Minnesota Grey Ducks. The champ is still the champ until they’re beaten.
How are you adjusting to being a new GM? What advice would you have for those who may be interested in pursuing a GM spot in the future?
I’d like to thing I’m adjusting well to being a new GM. I feel like my past experience in the Minnesota war room and also being in the Philadelphia war room I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot from the great GMs I’ve had the luxury of having. Not to mention, I’ve got a fantastic group in the Norfolk war room that have been so supportive and helpful with the transition. It has also been really great having a more experienced GM in TMo as my partner who is always there to help and work with me to help me learn.
For those who may be interested in pursuing a GM job in the league, I think the first step is to just put yourself out there. Take some with your team and enjoy the experience, learn what they’re about, and get acclimated to the locker room. After That, let the GMs know you’d be interested in getting involved in scouting/management side and prove that you would be a good addition! Once you’re in, just learn as much as possible. The best advice I can give is to just learn and be active once you get into a war room. People will notice if you put in the work.
Well said! Is there anything else you'd like to share with the readers?
Good luck to everyone this year! Norfolk best Folk!
There you have it folks! Negs, thank you so much for your time today, I really appreciate it!
Absolutely it was my pleasure! Thank you for taking time to interview me!
(928 words)
Payout: 100% @g2019