Dogwood Maple

Dogwood Maple

Maple after clinching the SEC Eastern crown.
No. 27 – Norfolk Seawolves
Position:	Safety
Personal information
Born:	(2017-04-27)April 27, 2017 (aged 44) Atlanta, Georgia
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	197 lb (89 kg)
Username:	dogwoodmaple
Career information
High school:	Grady High School
College:	Georgia
DSFL Draft:	2040  / Round: 1 / Pick: 7
Career history
Norfolk Seawolves (2040 - )
Roster status:	Active

Dogwood Maple (born April 27, 2017) is an American football safety for the Norfolk Seawolves of the Developmental Simulation Football League (DSFL).

Early years

Dogwood Maple was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Maple's father was the pitching coach for nearby Grady High School, which helped start a life-long love of sports. He grew up playing basketball, baseball, and football, before focusing on the latter two in his teenage years. He attended Grady High School and, while being coached by his father, was a standout pitcher for the Knights. He led the region in ERA and strikeouts three times and led the Knights to the State Championship in 2033.

He was also a standout on the football team, spending most of his time as the team's starting safety. In four seasons on the gridiron, he broke the state record for most interceptions and was twice named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Super 11 teams, which highlight the best players in the state.

He was heavily recruited by Power Five universities in both sports, but ultimately decided to pursue football and committed to the University of Georgia and head coach Kirby Smart, Jr.

High School Rating

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Dogwood Maple S	Atlanta, Georgia	Grady	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	Nov 4, 2035
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 93
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

College career

After arriving on campus, Maple was immediately thrust into the safety rotation and found himself as the top backup to Richard LeCounte IV. Maple spent that season playing in spot duty, starting on all of the special teams units, and soaking up all the knowledge he could from LeCounte IV. In all, he recovered two fumbles and totaled 19 tackles as the Bulldogs won 11 games and finished off the season with a Sugar Bowl victory.

LeCounte IV declared for the draft following Maple's freshman season, which led to the young sophomore being named one of the starting safeties for Georgia. He started every game for the Bulldogs and immediately flashed his talents. He hauled in three interceptions and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the 2035 SEC Championship Game. He was named to the All-SEC second team following the year as Georgia won their first SEC Championship in five years.

The next season, Maple again started every game for the Dawgs and helped anchor one of the top secondaries in all of college football. He led the team with eight interceptions and tacked on 64 tackles and two sacks. For the first time in his career, he was named a first-team All-SEC player and an AP first team All-American. Despite being ranked as a projected first round pick, Maple decided to return to school and play his senior season in Athens. He was named a permanent team captain for his final season as the Bulldogs entered the preseason as the consensus #1 team in the country.

In his final season for the Bulldogs, Maple yet again started every game for Georgia and helped anchor the nation's top defense. He helped lead the Dawgs to an undefeated national championship and was named the College Football Playoff's MVP with 23 tackles and two interceptions in the two games. In all, he led the nation in interceptions (11) and was named a consensus All-American. He also took home the 2037 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back.

College career statistics

Career statistics			Defense
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
2034	UGA	12	19	1	0/2	0	0	1	0	0	0/0/0
2035	UGA	12	55	3	1/0	0.5	3	7	0	1	0/0/0
2036	UGA	12	64	4.5	2/1	2.0	5	10	0	0	0/0/0
2037	UGA	12	82	6.0	3/2	3.5	11	14	2	0	0/0/0

Professional career

DSFL career

Following his stellar college career, Dogwood Maple joined the DSFL and immediately garnered interest from multiple teams. After discussions with various general managers, he chose to sign with the Norfolk Seawolves. He joined Norfolk during the regular season of 2038 and was primarily brought on to help shore up their defensive backfield and prepare for their postseason run. Maple was thrown into a reserve role and he was routinely named Most Important Practice Player in the weeks leading up to the 2038 postseason and was crucial in mimicking opposing teams' players. He was twice named Scout Team Player of the Week and relished his role on the team.

Despite losing the final regular season game of the season, the Seawolves eventually entered the postseason as the #3 overall seed and matched up against conference rival Tijuana in the opening round. Maple spent the practice week mimicking Tijuana's standout WR Doug Howlett to help prepare the Seawolves defense. As a result, Norfolk upset the top-seeded Luchadores in the wildcard round 20-17 in overtime, which clinched Norfolk's second consecutive trip to the Ultimini. For Ultimini prep, Maple was again thrown into a scout team role where he mimicked Royals WR Tre’Darius J’Vathon. Norfolk's defensive backs coach praised his work ethic and noted how helpful Maple had been in giving the defense unique looks and scoutign in postseason prep.

Ultimately, the Seawolves' playoff run came to an end with a 24-17 loss to Royals in the Ultimini. Following the loss, Maple immediately began to prepare for the DSFL Draft and began having meetings with front offices around the league.

Following his initial season on waivers with the Seawolves, Maple declared for the S25 DSFL Draft. After attending the DSFL Combine and meeting with various general managers during the pre-draft process, he was considered a first-round talent and one of the top two safeties in the draft. At the Combine, he measured in at exactly 6'1" and weighed in at 197 lbs. He ran a blistering 4.49 40 yard dash and combined that with one of the top shuttles (4.09), three-cone (6.71) and broad jumps (10' 0") of any defensive back. He was ultimately selected by the Norfolk Seawolves with the seventh overall pick and signed a rookie contract worth $6 million. He enters the S25 season as one the starting safeties for Norfolk and has already garnered some early attention from ISFL scouts.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	4.49 s	4.09 s	6.71 s	38.5 in (0.98 m)	10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)	16 reps	40

Achievements and records

• 2040 DSFL Draft - 1st round, 7th overall pick

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