Taking a page (see what I did there?) out of my former teammate and his awesome Carlito Crush Diaries (@JKortesi81), I was inspired to write about my own experiences in the DSFL. Hopefully this gives me something cool to look back on and reflect on my playing career when I’m old and retired.
I was the top defensive end in Alabama and started all 3 years I was there on the team. I had an ACL tear in our NCAA playoff game against Clemson and spent my senior year recovering. It wasn’t easy for me to sit on the sidelines while my team and draft stock suffered. I had to work hard in rehab to get my knee working right again, but I still lost a lot of my speed.
When the season ended and my rehab was done, I finished my degree in Sports Management and moved on to getting back in shape. I didn’t have any job opportunities lined up because I knew I was a 4 star recruit and could try to get back to where I was in time for the professional leagues. I still couldn’t get my speed and agility back to where it was before my injury, so I thought it was time to switch to defensive tackle considering I still had lots of upper body strength. Once I started bulking up with weights at the gym, I worked on trying to become a nose tackle. I wanted to come back as the biggest, baddest, MFer you’d ever seen.
When I was ready, my agent informed me of the National Simulation Football League and how the developmental league there would be a good idea for me to join. I heard a bit about the league and watched a few Ultimus games so I kinda knew some of the teams (Arizona Outlaws, Orange County Otters, and that team with the Taco Bell-like mascot in Philadelphia) and I thought it would be a good step for me to move forward with a professional career.
The Developmental Simulation Football League was in the middle of week 10 when I began my contract negotiations with the league. I went on the waiver wire and a team out of Portland ended up using their waiver position to put in a claim for me. When I met with Aaron and Rashaad Brooks, the team was 7 and 2 and just beat their division rivals in Norfolk and were on a 4 game winning streak. The brothers turned things around really quick this season and they really impressed me with how well the offense was firing. They said they were excited to have me on the team and I was looking forward to playing with one of the best defensive ends I’d seen in Andreas Waiters and NSFL vet Otto Von Gernhardt. It was a match made in heaven. I was trying to become a pure nose tackle and they happened to run a 3-4 defense that would put me in the best situation for me to rack up stats.
I got to play my first game in Portland and I suited up for the Pythons as their starting defensive tackle against the Norfolk Seawolves. It was a rush to play in this game and it was my first one since the end of my junior year in college. It was a close game at the half with us leading 10-3 and the Seawolves were able to get a touchdown in the 3rd to catch up 13-10. Our defense held out and was able to keep the Seawolves from scoring again in the 4th quarter. I finished the game with 3 tackles and 1 tackle for loss so it was a decent showing for my first start.
GRADED
I was the top defensive end in Alabama and started all 3 years I was there on the team. I had an ACL tear in our NCAA playoff game against Clemson and spent my senior year recovering. It wasn’t easy for me to sit on the sidelines while my team and draft stock suffered. I had to work hard in rehab to get my knee working right again, but I still lost a lot of my speed.
When the season ended and my rehab was done, I finished my degree in Sports Management and moved on to getting back in shape. I didn’t have any job opportunities lined up because I knew I was a 4 star recruit and could try to get back to where I was in time for the professional leagues. I still couldn’t get my speed and agility back to where it was before my injury, so I thought it was time to switch to defensive tackle considering I still had lots of upper body strength. Once I started bulking up with weights at the gym, I worked on trying to become a nose tackle. I wanted to come back as the biggest, baddest, MFer you’d ever seen.
When I was ready, my agent informed me of the National Simulation Football League and how the developmental league there would be a good idea for me to join. I heard a bit about the league and watched a few Ultimus games so I kinda knew some of the teams (Arizona Outlaws, Orange County Otters, and that team with the Taco Bell-like mascot in Philadelphia) and I thought it would be a good step for me to move forward with a professional career.
The Developmental Simulation Football League was in the middle of week 10 when I began my contract negotiations with the league. I went on the waiver wire and a team out of Portland ended up using their waiver position to put in a claim for me. When I met with Aaron and Rashaad Brooks, the team was 7 and 2 and just beat their division rivals in Norfolk and were on a 4 game winning streak. The brothers turned things around really quick this season and they really impressed me with how well the offense was firing. They said they were excited to have me on the team and I was looking forward to playing with one of the best defensive ends I’d seen in Andreas Waiters and NSFL vet Otto Von Gernhardt. It was a match made in heaven. I was trying to become a pure nose tackle and they happened to run a 3-4 defense that would put me in the best situation for me to rack up stats.
I got to play my first game in Portland and I suited up for the Pythons as their starting defensive tackle against the Norfolk Seawolves. It was a rush to play in this game and it was my first one since the end of my junior year in college. It was a close game at the half with us leading 10-3 and the Seawolves were able to get a touchdown in the 3rd to catch up 13-10. Our defense held out and was able to keep the Seawolves from scoring again in the 4th quarter. I finished the game with 3 tackles and 1 tackle for loss so it was a decent showing for my first start.
Quote:Ready for grading - 625 words
GRADED