Willeh Strong
Strong at his first combine appearance | |
No. 3 – Colorado Yeti | |
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Position: | Linebacker |
Personal information | |
Born: | Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. | January 26, 2039 (aged 25)
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Weight: | 250 lb (113 kg) |
Username: | Wetwilleh |
Career information | |
High school: | Ballers High School |
College: | Clemson University |
ISFL Draft: | 2063 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1 |
DSFL Draft: | 2062 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1 |
Career history | |
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Roster status: | Active |
Willeh "The King" Strong (born January 26, 2039) is an American football linebacker for the Colorado Yeti. He played college football for Clemson University (Clemson) and in the DSFL for the Portland Pythons.
Contents
Early years
Willeh Strong was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Ivana Strong and Iam Strong. With a liking for the defensive side of football, Strong attended Ballers High School as a Linebacker. Due to his size and raw ability, Strong got the starting position his freshman year and started making a name for himself. This led to the Baller High Ballers winning three state championships in the years he played where their defense dominated the opposition. Keen on lifting weights, Strong broke the North Carolina state high school record at 17 with an astounding 170 kg max press. This, combined with his performance on the football field gave him the title of "The King" of the Queen City. To top off his stats, he finished his senior year with an average of 18 tackles a game alongside 8 sacks and 4 interceptions to achieve a final state championship. With these accolades, Strong signed his declaration of intent to play for the Clemson Tigers to add to their already monster defense.
College career
Strong had a rocky start his freshman season at Clemson, tearing both pectoral muscles during a training camp which caused him to set most of the season. This didn't stop him from having an impact though as he still found some playing time towards the end of the season for a respectable 13 tackles and 2 sacks. While Clemson missed the playoffs due to a subpar offense, Strong's next year began to turn heads as The King had returned to his original playing form. Strong led his Clemson defense in tackles, sacks, and interceptions leading to an undefeated season and winning his first national championship and an MVP as well. It seemed the Clemson dynasty under Doba Swonney was beginning to the approval of Tiger fans. Strong continued his dominance his next two years with two more national championships and another MVP to boot. He finished his senior season with an average of 15 tackles per game, 7 sacks, and 8 interceptions, proving to be a valuable asset to the Clemson University all-star defense. fff
Career statistics | Defense | ||||||||||
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Season | Team | Games | Tck | TFL | FF/FR | Sck | Int | PD | Sfty | TD | Blk P/XP/FG |
4 | Clemson | 48 | 473 | 126 | 18/11 | 21 | 17 | 48 | 3 | 9 | 7/7/7 |
Professional Career
DSFL Draft
Willeh Strong was taken with the 1st overall pick in the 2062 DSFL Draft (S47) by the Portland Pythons. Strong was seen as the most active player in both locker room and the media and this mixed his playmaking ability told Portland all they needed to change their team around with their first pick of the draft. Seen as a surefire top 2 pick in mock drafts, Strong was already projected to go early in the draft with a great career ahead of him.
S47
Strong's rookie debut in the DSFL on the Portland Pythons was rocky to say the least as the team started 1-4 in the first five games of the season. This included two heartbreaking back-to-back losses against Minnesota and Tijuana at home but things would begin taking a turn for the better. After being at the bottom of the division again, the Portland head office made some playbook changes to finish the season winning 8 out of their 9 remaining games and finishing the season 9-5. This included beating both Minnesota and Tijuana away as well as beating the London Royals in the final game of the season in a "win and in" scenario. During this miraculous showing by the Pythons, Strong was making a name for himself as well. He finished the S47 season in the DSFL as the TFL leader as well as one of the top defensive rookies in the class, even rivaling some of the players considered veterans in the DSFL.
In the playoffs, Portland's first game was again against the Minnesota Grey Ducks away. Initially down 0-27, the Pythons slithered back in the 4th quarter with an outstanding showing from both offense and defense to win the game 28-27 and go to the Ultimini. This championship game was against the Tijuana Luchadores who the Pythons have now faced 11 times in the Ultimini. A dominating offense of TIJ against the comeback machine of POR made for a great game where, although TIJ led 23-14 in the beginning of the 4th, showed POR making yet another 4th quarter comeback to win 28-23. A combination of the game-winning touchdown pass by Tyler Higbee II and the game-ending forced fumble by Willeh Strong gave the Pythons yet another trophy after a disappointing previous season, making the Pythons go from Last to First.
S48
After being drafted 1st overall to the Colorado Yeti, Strong was pulled up to the ISFL right away to help the Yeti out after an unpleasant prior season. While things looked up for the Yeti after preseason games, COL ended up having a historic winless season with one of the worst defenses in league history. Even with Strong having a DRotY level performance, it wasn't enough. The Yeti offense finished with just 259 points scored which was the lowest among teams as well as 609 points allowed which was the highest among teams. Although there were plenty of games where Strong and the Yeti only lost by one possession, turnovers and blowouts were a summary of the season which led to an 0-16 record. With the Yeti losing their QB to retirement, they look to get another in the S49 draft and hope they can have a better turn around with Strong and other rookies getting better as the season progresses. The Yeti, once again, have the 1st overall pick in the upcoming draft and look to bolster both offense and defense to try and turn their season around and break the current losing streak. Strong hopes to have a similar season in terms of numbers but would enjoy getting a win to celebrate as well. With another disappointing season, the Yeti miss the playoffs and Willeh Strong is yet to see what victory is like up in the big leagues, but things may soon change in upcoming seasons.
ISFL Combine Results
Ht | Wt | 40‑yd dash | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | BP | Wonderlic | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
250 lb (113 kg) |
4.39 s | 4.35 s | 7.28 s | 32.8 in (0.83 m) |
10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
36 reps | 30 | ||||
2063 ISFL scouting combine (S48) |
ISFL Draft
Strong was taken as the 1st overall pick in the 2063 ISFL Draft (S48) by the Colorado Yeti. After a rough previous season where the Yeti went 1-15 and given up the 2nd most amount of points in the ISFL, they decided on using their first overall pick on the star LB to bring some youth to the organization. After many talks with the COL GMs, it was decided Strong would be their 1OA giving the elusive double 1OA to Willeh Strong. Strong hopes to strengthen the COL defense right away alongside fellow rookies Jet Larsen and Adolin Collins.
Career Statistics
Career statistics | Defense | ||||||||||
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Season | Team | Games | Tck | TFL | FF/FR | Sck | Int | PD | Sfty | TD | Blk P/XP/FG |
2062 (S47) | Pythons | 14 | 109 | 16 | 4/1 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
2063 (S48) | Yeti | 16 | 117 | 8 | 2/0 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
Postseason statistics | Defense | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | Games | Tck | TFL | FF/FR | Sck | Int | PD | Sfty | TD | Blk P/XP/FG |
2062 (S47) | Pythons | 2 | 19 | 3 | 1/0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
Achievements and records
- Team
- Individual
- DSFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (1): 2062 (S47)
- DSFL MVP, DPotY Nominee: 2062 (S47)
- ISFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (1): 2063 (S48)