10-04-2022, 02:07 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-06-2022, 01:45 PM by dude_man. Edited 1 time in total.)
Origins
Frank Dux was born in San Diego California as an Army rat. His dad served, his grandfather served, and so on and so forth. However, Frank grew up knowing he did not want to follow this familial lineage and wanted to break the metaphorical chains that the United States government and war in general had placed on his family (and many others) for generations. He was born with tremendous athletic ability and essentially had a football in his hands from a young age. Frank had no siblings and moved constantly due to his dad’s deployments so he would just run imaginary goal line plays on the bases they were stationed at. After years and years of doing this, Frank built up the muscle memory to be an explosive back who had amazing ball carrier skills which he showcased once he got to high school. It was pretty obvious from the get go that Frank was going to be an incredible running back and he found that this could be his chance to breakaway from his expected military service set forth by his father by working hard enough to play college football and maybe, just maybe he could make it to the International Simulation Football League. At the least he could play college ball and make it to the Developmental Simulation Football League but if he’s going to aim high, then he’s not settling for just the DSFL. First though, Frank had to get through high school.High School Years
During his freshman year it just so happened to work out that his family would settle back down in San Diego California for the foreseeable future. Since he missed most of the summer workouts and two-a-days, he did not make varsity which was his goal, but he did make junior varsity and tore it up all season. He was never brought up to varsity which would have been a storybook beginning of his high school career but nevertheless Frank felt pretty good about his freshman football experience. With his Sophomore year beginning and having a full summer of workouts with the team, Frank was set to take over the starting running back duties and it did happen. Frank had a pretty incredible season rushing over 1200 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns. If you added in his receiving stats, he had over 1500 all purpose yards and was a pretty effective returner for the team. The team itself didn’t really have the supporting cast it needed for Frank and they ended up losing in the Southern California High School Playoffs in the first round.
As Frank’s junior year began, he started receiving recruitment calls from Division two schools. By this time, he had bulked up a little bit but still maintained his speed and was poised for a breakout season. About halfway through the season he started getting calls from schools like Kent State, Tulane, and Georgia State. The team finished the regular season at 8-2 and was ready to make a run in the high school playoffs. They got to the semi-finals where they got beat up pretty good by last season’s high school champions. Despite the disappointing end of the season, for Frank personally, he was receiving a lot of scholarships from Division one schools like Michigan State, Cal, Arizona State, and Texas Christian University. He had rushed for over 1600 yards and 18 touchdowns and had over 2000 all purpose yards. He wasn’t ready to make a decision and wanted to build up his athletic resume a bit more before making the biggest decision of his life. Not to mention his family expected him to go to Army and play football there then serve the country.
Frank kept his cards close to his chest especially with his family as they wouldn’t understand, mainly his dad. The team went on to have some struggles to the surprise of many finishing 7-3 and narrowly making the high school playoffs. The team fought tooth and nail and made their way to the high school championship game. To this point, Frank had rushed for 2000 yards on the season with 24 touchdowns and 2500 all purpose yards. He worked his way to being able to pretty much play wherever he wanted in college as a top 25 recruit for his class. The ultimate goal though was to win the high school championship which they went out and did in dominating fashion. They finally got their big win and the first in his school’s history.
The big decision had not come and gone yet as Frank still had not picked a school to play at nor had he had his talk with his family regarding his plans after college really. He finally sat down and talked everything through with his family and he and his dad came to an understanding that he would follow this dream of his until he either succeeded and made it to the International Simulation Football League or he failed and would at least get a college degree for free. So with that weight off of his shoulders, Frank Dux narrowed his list of schools down to three. The University of Tennessee, Northwestern University, and University of Wisconsin. All three had pros and cons from the degrees they offered in environmental sciences and the pedigree each had for football whether recent or in the past - not to mention the beautiful campuses. At the end of the day, Frank found one thing that stood out among the rest and that was the running back pedigree that the University of Wisconsin had. It was a tough decision to make but Frank knew it was the right one.
College Years
The step from high school to college wasn’t as bad as Frank thought it would be since he moved around a lot and was physically gifted. The school part wasn’t much of a concern due to the fact Frank was interested in his major and knew that he would need to fall back on it if a major injury ever happened. Freshman year saw Frank as the primary backup running back at Wisconsin and it was a role he was okay with and something that helped him develop as a pass catcher in third down situations. It was an amazing year overall as the Badgers ended up going 10-2 and winning the Big Ten championship game and went on to win the National Championship over Alabama 24-17 where Frank had a modest 50 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards. Overall on the season, Frank Dux had 800 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards with 5 total touchdowns.Winning a championship year one was definitely not a thought in Frank’s mind but it’s a weight that any athlete feels lifted off their shoulders. With the starting running back last season getting drafted it was next man up and Frank took the reins without question. Wisconsin had lost their starting Quarterback to the draft as well so it was a bit of a down year but the team pulled through with a decent 8-4 and made the Tostitos Bowl where they played Texas A&M. During the regular season, Frank put up 1200 rushing yards, 600 receiving yards, and 18 touchdowns which was a great starting point for his goal of making it to the Developmental Simulation Football League before getting to the International Simulation Football League. The Tostitos Bowl was a tough fought battle that ended in a narrow defeat to Texas A&M by the score of 24-27. The loss was tough but it was great motivation to move on and get better personally for Frank and with that he looked forward to his Junior Season and the prospect of breaking out and maybe leaving school early to fulfill his dream of playing football at the next level.
Junior year was one for the books Wisconsin and Frank as the team went undefeated with a 12-0 record, a Big Ten championship, and a National Championship appearance (more on this in a little bit). Frank went on to rush for 1800 yards, 400 receiving yards, 24 touchdowns and was a relatively successful returner for the Badgers. He ended up finishing second in Heisman voting to the shock of many. Frank shrugged it off but deep down he used it as motivation for the future. The championship game was a hard fought battle against the Georgia Bulldogs that went to three overtimes. In the end, the Badgers came away with the win 48-45. Despite this being his Junior year, Frank couldn’t help but feel that this was the closing of a chapter for him. He had been a part of two championship teams here in Wisconsin, he got to be a part of an undefeated season, and finished second in the Heisman vote which is more than a lot of players can say. So what else is there to do other than try to win the Heisman and risk injury for one more season of college football? Scouts had been following him since his sophomore year and knew of his speed, power, ball carrier vision and skills, and have seen him improve as a pass catcher since becoming a Badger.
During the offseason there was a lot of back and forth on what he wanted to do - did he want to maximize on his exposure and success to get drafted high or get a solid signing bonus as a fallback or did he want to go back to Wisconsin for one additional season, try to win the Heisman, win a third championship, and possible risk injury as well. This was another conversation he needed to have with his family and while they’ve come to understand his ability and the fact his dream isn’t that far out of reach - they still had reservations about leaving school early. He’s already on a free ride and the bonus money would still be there if he waited a year. That way he’s not using his bonus money towards finishing his degree. After talking in circles, he knew deep down that his decision was already made weeks prior but he just wasn’t able to convince himself because he wasn’t able to convince his family. So, Frank decided to hire an agent and declare for the draft. He knew his college career was over and that this was the best chance of making something out of his situation than ever before.
Preparation For The Draft
Frank had a great Pro Day that boasted of his plus speed, plus agility, and incredible footwork. The biggest concern for him was staying healthy and making sure he had good interviews once he got to the combine. There were some rumblings of Frank’s desire to play for certain teams and hasn’t decided on how to go about informing teams that he has no desire to play for them. This may come as a surprise but as much as Frank wants to make it into the league he also wants to be put into a situation where he will succeed and be utilized correctly. This realization came to him when he met with his agent, now retired future Hall of Famer, Tugg Speedman told him to not be afraid of voicing his concerns and putting himself in a position to have the best career possible. Tugg advised that he was thrown into a situation that wasn’t working for him and he had to voice this and ended up getting moved halfway through that season where he ended up having an incredibly productive and successful career with the New York Silverbacks. With that wisdom, Frank has been preparing to almost interview the interviewee on why he should consider playing for that team since he has proven himself at every level and has been a durable player to this point. While this could hurt his draft stock, on the back end it could result in more life changing contracts and maybe one day competing for Most Valuable Player awards and hopefully one day being immortalized in the International Simulation Football League.Code:
2015 words