Julio Tirtawidjaja

Julio Tirtawidjaja

Julio Tirtawidjaja in 2035
No. 17 – Tijuana Luchadores
Position:	Runningback
Personal information
Born:	(2014-12-12)December 12, 2014 (aged 46) Jakarta, Indonesia
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:	Gretna High School
College:	University of Nebraska-Lincoln
ISFL Draft:	2036 / Round: 6 / Pick: 66th
DSFL Draft:	2016  / Round:  / Pick: 244
Career history
Tijuana Luchadores
Roster status:	Active

Julio Tirtawidjaja (born December 12, 2014) is an American football runningback for the Chicago Butchers of the National Simulation Football League (NSFL).

Early years

Julio Tirtawidjaja was born in Jakarta, Indonesia to Edward Tirtawidjaja and Stella Tirtawidjaja (née Salim). He is the oldest of four siblings, with two brothers and a sister. Growing up in Jakarta, Tirtawidjaja played soccer, tennis and rugby union but decided to focus on rugby when he was 11 years old. He and his family moved to Gretna, Nebraska in his sophomore year of high school when his father got a job as the general manager at the local Kawasaki manufacturing plant. Tirtawidjaja immediately joined the rugby team at Gretna High School then later in the fall joined the football team, initially as a way to stay in shape during the rugby offseason. He had his first carry late in the season during the game against Kearney High School when the starting running back got injured. Tirtawidjaja went on to help his team win the state championship. Offer letters from D-2 and FCS schools started coming in. Unfortunately, in the following spring season, he tore his ACL during rugby practice, putting him out for the rest of the rugby season and his senior football season. Offer letters from college coaches stopped coming his way when Tirtawidjaja tore his ACL prior to his high school senior season. He decided to enroll at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln after graduating from Gretna High School to stay close to his family.

College career

Tirtawidjaja initially joined the rugby club at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln but decided to walk-on for the Huskers football team after being encouraged by his high school football coach. He was one of three players who tried out to be accepted to the team. He spent his freshman year on the scout team. Entering his sophomore year, Tirtawidjaja started getting game time as a special teamer where he shined the first game of the season, forcing a fumble and recovering it for a touchdown against UCF. As the season progressed, Tirtawidjaja started getting snaps as running back and cemented his spot as the change-of-pace back to power back Devine Ozigbo. His breakout game came against Iowa in the last Big Ten regular-season game, where he rushed for 124 yards and caught a 50-yard touchdown. Nebraska played Stanford in the Rose Bowl, and just like in high school, Tirtawidjaja followed his breakout performance a dominant showing as he rushed for 221 yards and three touchdowns on 25 rushing attempts. Nebraska went on to win the Rose Bowl 45-3 and broke their 5-season streak of postseason loss. His strong performance convinced Nebraska head coach Scott Frost and his staff to award Tirtawidjaja a scholarship. He earned the starting spot in his junior season and built on his dominant performance from his sophomore year. In the game against Ohio State, Tirtawidjaja rushed for 200 yards and scored three touchdowns, helping the Huskers to a 35-17 victory against the Buckeyes. His receiving ability was also displayed in the game against Wisconsin where he lined up in the slot for the majority of the game and finished with 150 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Tirtawidjaja's led the Big Ten in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns with his dominant performance game after game. The Huskers went on to beat Michigan in the Big Ten Conference Championship and LSU in the CFP Final. Tirtawidjaja did not seem to slow down in his senior season, again leading the Big Ten in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Tirtawidjaja also continued to dominate in the air, catching ten touchdown passes in his senior year with the Huskers. His 500 all-purpose yards against Wisconsin in his senior year remained as one of the most dominant showings in recent college football history. The Huskers went on to win the Big Ten and CFP for two years in a row.

College career statistics

			Rushing						Receiving				Kick Returns			Punt Returns			Special Teams
Season	Team	GP	Att	Yds	Avg	Yds/G	Long	TD	Rec	Yds	Long	TD	Yds	Avg	KR TD	Yds	Avg	PR TD	FFum	FRec	TD
2032	NU	6	100	540	5.4	90	45	7	25	325	50	3	250	25	0	300	15	0	5	3	1
2033	NU	6	100	540	5.4	90	45	7	25	325	50	3	250	25	0	300	15	0	5	3	1
2034	NU	6	100	540	5.4	90	45	7	25	325	50	3	250	25	0	300	15	0	5	3	1
2035	NU	6	100	540	5.4	90	45	7	25	325	50	3	250	25	0	300	15	0	5	3	1

Professional career

DSFL

Tirtawidjaja was invited to the S21 Prospect Bowl where he was assigned to the New York Poodles. Prior to the draft, he went back home to Indonesia to apply for a new visa that will allow him to stay in the United States longer if he was drafted by a DSFL team. This caused him to miss interviews with GMs and private workouts in front of DSFL scouts. Many speculated Tirtawidjaja has withdrawn from the draft and stopped playing football. However, Tijuana Luchadores GMs, Bagel and Jay_Doctor were able to reach out and interviewed him. They also gave him a guarantee that they will pick him in the DSFL Draft and wrote a recommendation letter to the US Department of Immigration to help his visa application process. Tirtawidjaja was able to get his visa approved only a couple days before the S21 Prospect Bowl. Despite being jetlagged and slightly out of shape, he was able to give a decent showing. In the first game against the Miami Grenadiers, Tirtawidjaja rushed for 132 yards on 32 carries, averaging 4.1 yards per rushing. In the second game against the New England Atoms, he rushed for 81 yards on 20 carries, averaging 4 yards per rushing. His jetlag showed in his lack of focus, missing holes and forcing plays to the outside. This caused his draft stock to fall even further with no sudden interest from other teams. Despite all of that, the Luchadores kept their promise and drafted Tirtawidjaja late in the draft with the 244th pick, the second running back drafted by the team after Richard Gilbert.

S21 DSFL Season

Tirtawidjaja started the season in Tijuana playing behind Ed Barker and Richard Gilbert in the depth chart. He did not get many carries but was able to convert his limited touches to touchdowns. In his first carry in the DSFL, Tirtawidjaja went for 9 yards to score a touchdown against the Minnesota Grey Ducks. His only touch of the game helped the Luchadores to tie 16-16 before losing 16-19 in the last minute from a field goal by the Grey Ducks. Tirtawidjaja's second touchdown of the season came against the Portland Pythons where his touchdown once again tied the game for the Luchadores. Unfortunately, Tijuana ended up losing the game on the back of a 70-yard run by Portland's Tatsu Nakamura. Despite the lack of playing time, Tirtawidjaja was able to develop quite well under the tutelage of Luchadores' coaching staff.

DSFL career statistics

			Rushing					Receiving
Season	Team	GP	Att	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
2036 (S21)	TJ	14	13	70	5.4	13	2	5	28	5.6	7	30

NSFL

Tirtawidjaja came into the S22 NSFL Draft without much tape for scouts to study. His lack of playing time in Tijuana was a major concern voiced by many analysts. Due to his limited production, high doubts were made regarding his ability to produce in the NSFL. He was projected to be a developmental player and expected to stay at least an extra season in the DSFL with the Tijuana Luchadores. Mock drafts did not list him to be taken by teams until the late rounds.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	4.34 s s	4.12 s s	7.28 s	30.1 in (0.76 m)	124 ft 5 in (37.92 m)	25 reps reps	9

On draft day, Tirtawidjaja was selected 66th overall by the Chicago Butchers. He was the Butchers' second draft pick after Dallas Birddogs linebacker Benson Bailey Jr. in the 2nd round. Tirtawidjaja is poised to become one of the cornerstones for the rebuilding Butchers. He will be replacing the gap left by Ryan Leaf Jr. and play alongside Farley Hank.

S22 NSFL Season

Julio Tirtawidjaja started the season behind Farley Hank in the depth chart. Tirtawidjaja did not have significant impact in the first few games of the season. In the first game of the season against the Philadephia Liberty, Tirtawidjaja had 3 rushing attempts for 16 yards and 3 receptions for 20 yards. He had a similar stat line in the second game of the season against the Baltimore Hawks, only rushing 4 times for 12 yards with no receptions. However, Tirtawidjaja started to show his ability when the Butchers played the Wraiths in week 3. In the 24-14 loss to the Wraiths, Tirtawidjaja ran 19 times for 79 yards, outrushing Farley Hank for the first time in the season. He continued his performance in the next game against the Yeti with a 17 rushing for 64 yards and 2 receptions for 5 yards performance. Tirtawidjaja truly broke out in week 7 in the 36-20 loss against the Otters. He rushed for 22 times and gained 86 yards, scoring his first touchdown of the season. He cemented himself as the focal point of the Butchers' ground offense in the next game against Honolulu, where Chicago won its first and only victory of the season. Tirtawidjaja rushed for 30 times, gaining 120 yards in the 9-5 win over the Hahaluas. He continued his workhose-like performance in week 8 against the Outlaws where he had 28 rushing attempts for 103 yards and a touchdown. Prior to the week 9 matchup against Philadephia, starting QB Rose Jenkins got traded to Sarasota and Chicago signed free agent Frankie LaFleur as her replacement. This meant Chicago will have to rely even more on Tirtawidjaja's legs to get the offense going. He rushed 20 times for 90 yards in the loss against the Liberty. In week 10 against the Baltimore Hawks, Tirtawidjaja had his lowest rushing attempts since week 2, rushing 15 times for 72 yards. In the following week against Yellowknife, the Butchers got shut out and Tirtawidjaja's 16 rushing attempts for 74 yards not enough to help the struggling offense to get going. In week 12 against Colorado, the Butchers only scored a field goal the entire game despite Tirtawidjaja rushing 26 times for 94 yards and a reception for 21 yards. In the last game of the season against Sarasota, Tirtawidjaja had an average game, rushing 17 times for 51 yards. The Butchers ended the season with a 1-12 record and Tirtawidjaja ended the season with 75 yards shy of 1000 rushing yards. Tirtawidjaja also was the rushing yards leader among rookie running backs.

Professional career statistics

			Rushing					Receiving
Season	Team	GP	Att	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
2037 (S22)	Butchers	13	230	925	4	19	2	20	122	6.1	21	0

Achievements and records

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