Ashley Owens
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 | |
| No. 25 – Colorado Yeti | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Runningback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | July 5, 2009 (aged 51) Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin |
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Username: | run_CMC |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Sturgeon Bay High School |
| College: | Wisconsin |
| ISFL Draft: | 2032 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1 |
| DSFL Draft: | 2031 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
Player stats at ISFL.net | |
Ashley Owens (born January 5, 2009) is an American football runningback for the Austin Copperheads of the National Simulation Football League (NSFL). He was selected first overall in the 2032 ISFL Draft (S17), out of San Antonio, who had previously selected him first overall in the 2031 DSFL Draft (S16). Prior to his professional career, he played college football at University of Wisconsin.
Contents
Early years
Ashley Owens was born July 5th, 2009 to Marissa and Johnathan Owens. The youngest of three children in a working-class family, Ashley's life seemed unremarkable. Born and raised in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, it seemed unlikely he'd ever leave. By the time he started high school at the aptly named Sturgeon Bay High School, the farthest Ashley had been from home was Chicago, when he and his father went to see a rivalry game of the Green Bay Packers versus the Chicago Bears. Ashley's brother finished high school when Ashley was just thirteen, and proceeded to get a job working at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, the same shipyard his father worked at. Two years later, his sister graduated and went to the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay to study Education, making her the first in the Owens family to attend a four-year university. Ashley, a middle of the road student who worked part-time jobs for all of high school, expected to join his father and brother at the shipyard come graduation. However, he'd follow in his sister's footsteps instead. Despite not playing football in middle school, Ashley quickly became the star of Sturgeon Bay High School's football team. Though a small high school of just 400, in a city of just 10,000, he showed he was something special. It would be unfair to call him either a runningback or a wide receiver, as Ashley Owens did it all. Elusive and quick with good hands, but also bulky enough to simply run through defenders at the high school level, Ashley lined up frequently at every skill position. This raw talent got him noticed by college scouts across the northern midwest, earning him offers to play from (most notably) Northwestern, Western Michigan, and University of Wisconsin at Madison. UW at Madison offered the most financial support, and so that's where he ended up.
College career
As a freshman, Ashley saw little action on the field, and in the time he got, he failed to produce. He struggled to adapt to a new environment, going from a small city where he was never far from home and family, to what seemed a sprawling metropolis of a quarter of a million people in Madison, Wisconsin. He also struggled with the new pace of the game; bigger, stronger opposing players meant Ashley could no longer truck people when taking a handoff out of the backfield. This led to him being mostly useful as a wide receiver, and as it turned out, much of Ashley Owens' threat was his versatility. In high school he was a good runner and a good receiver, which amounted to an excellent player. In college, division 1 football, Ashley couldn't run, which left him as an average receiver lacking many fundamentals. This was true for his first year, anyways. The summer came and went, and Ashley came back stronger, and more prepared. Bulked up and having spent countless hours in agility drills, Owens could run again. Though still unable to simply run through anyone but cornerbacks, Ashley now had the skills and frame to run the ball adeptly, slipping through tight holes in the line with speed and gaining every possible yard after contact. This opened up his receiving game, as the opposing defenses struggled to know if the Badgers offense was running it up the middle, throwing it underneath, running Owens on a jet sweep, etc.
In his sophomore year, Ashley went back to truly being a receiving back, once again listed on the depth chart as the running back, and securing the second spot. In junior year, with the graduation of the Wisconsin Badgers' first string runningback, Ashley Owens moved to the top. Although the team's overall performance was nothing special, finishing second in the Big Ten West, Ashley had a career season, reaching 1800 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns (9 rushing, 7 receiving). Nearing the end of his junior year, however, the Wisconsin Badgers landed one of the top runningback prospects in the nation. A true runningback, not a receiving back like Ashley, the coaches informed Owens that the recruit would be taking snaps as the number one runningback and Ashley would return to a mostly receiving role and reliever runningback. This did not sit well with him, and so at the advice of his father, and then his newfound agent, Ashley Owens declared for the 2031 DSFL Draft (S16).
College career statistics
Come back to this bit. Not sure how to generate the table yet
Professional career
| Ht | Wt | 40‑yd dash | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
205 lb (93 kg) |
Ashley Owens was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2032 ISFL Draft (S17) by the Austin Copperheads, thus joining an exclusive group of players drafted first overall in both the NSFL and DSFL draft (the San Antonio Marshals drafted him first overall as well). After joining Austin, Ashley Owens signed a contract that gave him a player option in his third year - this detail is important soon. The year before Owens was drafted, the Copperheads drafted a different running back, Mako Mendonca, with the 5th overall pick. Although Owens and Mendonca functioned well as an effective tag team, dominating opposing teams both in the air and on the ground, Owens surprised fans by taking his player option and departing the team after his second season. Rumors swirling around the league say that Owens took his option in order to strong arm Austin into giving him a higher paying contract with more stat-based guarantees, but that deals didn't proceed quickly enough, and a strong free agency push by the Colorado Yeti won him over. After joining Colorado on a rather attention-grabbing contract, with player options conditional on stat accumulation, Owens proceeded to have his most successful year yet (although, in first two years he had already managed to take home Offensive Rookie of the Year, as well as the Offensive Flex Pro Bowl spot). Some have classified Owens as a diva who will jump ship if the going gets tough. In response to critics, Owens has verbally committed to staying with the Yeti "until (they've) won at least 3 'ships", granting that they continue to honor his verbal agreement that he'll stay the clear lead running back on the team.
Professional career statistics
| Career statistics | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Attempts | Yards | Touchdowns | Catches | Yards | Touchdowns |
| 2032 (S17) | AUS | 13 | 185 | 749 | 4 | 80 | 671 | 3 |
| 2033 (S18) | AUS | 13 | 177 | 623 | 7 | 67 | 692 | 2 |
| 2034 (S19) | COL | 13 | 264 | 1004 | 9 | 61 | 572 | 5 |
Achievements and records
Come back to this later
