Draft Steal

Draft Steal

Steal after being claimed by Dallas on waivers during S33
No. 96 – Austin Copperheads
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(2026-09-06)September 6, 2026 (aged 34) Barstow, California, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	215 lb (98 kg)
Username:	Troen
Career information
High school:	Barstow High School
College:	Fresno State
Career history
Dallas Birddogs (2048 (S33)-2048 (S33)) Bondi Beach Buccaneers (2049 (S34)-2049 (S34))
Roster status:	Active

Draft Steal (born September 6, 2026) is an American football corner back for the Austin Copperheads of the International Simulation Football League (ISFL).

Early years

Draft Steal is an American football player. Born in Irvine, California, Steal moved to Barstow at the age of 12. Steal had no experience in playing football before this move, though remarked in an interview about growing up as a fan of the local Otters. After moving, Steal attended Barstow High School and became interested in playing football due to the then-NSFL career of alum Troen Egghands. Following in Egghands' steps, Steal played defensive end in his 4 years at Barstow High, leading the Aztecs to three district championships and setting the school career record for sacks. Steal was a four-star recruit our of college and had scholarship offers from several schools, including Oregon State and UCLA. After discussion with family and several campus tour, Steal ended up declining those offers in order to attend the closer Fresno State in Fresno, California. Steal cited that being able to try to match Egghands' career was also a factor, with the ISFL player's Ultimini and 2 pro bowls serving as great milestones to try and beat.

High school career statistics

High school statistics			Tackles			Sacks	Interceptions		Other
Season	Team	Games	Reg	TFL	Total	Sack	Int	IntTD	DefTD	FFum	FRec	PD	Safety
2041	Barstow Aztecs	12	48	11	59	8	0	0	0	7	2	0	0
2042	Barstow Aztecs	12	52	12	64	13	0	0	0	8	6	0	0
2043	Barstow Aztecs	12	65	9	74	17	0	0	2	9	5	0	2
2044	Barstow Aztecs	12	62	14	76	21	0	0	1	11	4	0	1

College career

"With high expectations resulting from a strong high school career, Steal was a starter for the Bulldogs from day one. Steal's first year was decent, but showed struggles against top offensive lines and double teams. Steal performed well as a run-stopper but had few impact plays outside of a 3 sack game against the wildly outmatched San Jose State Spartans. The Bulldogs had a good season, going 11-2 and winning the Hawai'i Bowl against Kentucky State, Steal remarked at the end of the season, ""I'm really glad that we did well. Sure, it was much more due to [senior linebacker] Watts and [junior defensive tackle] Howell, but I think this was a great starting point and I'm looking forward to helping out more next year!"" Steal succeeded with that goal with a sophomore year that some writers thought might warrant consideration for the Ted Hendricks award, though tailing off at the end of the season seemed to curtail those hopes. Steal had sacks in the Bulldogs' first 6 games of the season along with 4 forced fumbles but drew more double teams and produced less through the second half of the season. That was still enough for the Bulldogs to make it to the Orange Bowl, though they lost in a not very close game to the eventual champion Clemson Tigers. Steal's third year was arguably the best for personal stats. The Bulldogs, however, suffered from a loss of talented seniors after the previous season and only managed an 8-6 record. Despite beating the UCLA Bruins in the Las Vegas Bowl, Steal stated the intention to enter the DSFL waivers and forego a fourth year of college eligibility due to finishing a degree in computational accounting."

College career statistics

College statistics			Tackles			Sacks	Interceptions		Other
Season	Team	Games	Reg	TFL	Total	Sack	Int	IntTD	DefTD	FFum	FRec	PD	Safety
2045	Fresno Bulldogs	14	34	7	41	8	0	0	0	3	1	1	0
2046	Fresno Bulldogs	13	68	4	72	15	0	0	1	6	4	0	1
2047	Fresno Bulldogs	14	81	2	83	19	0	0	2	9	4	0	0

Professional career

DSFL

Dallas Birddogs (2048 (S33))

Steal was claimed by Dallas on waivers after the trade deadline to play in their final 4 games of the season prior to entering the DSFL draft. That looked like an amazing plan in week 11 as Steal managed 6 tackles, a TFL, a sack, and a forced/recovered fumble. That pace didn't hold up for the remainder of the Birddogs' games as Steal only managed to get one more tackle in the team's 3 final games. With 3 losses, Dallas' slim playoff hopes didn't pan out. Steal, per DSFL rules, was remanded back to the prospect pool in preparation for the 2049 (S34) DSFL draft. When asked about future hopes, Steal replied "I enjoyed my time in Dallas, even though it was short. However, I'm absolutely fine with the prospect of going to any of the DSFL teams. I know I need to spend my time here learning and training if I want to achieve my goal of being the best ISFL player I can be, and part of being a great player is being professional in any circumstances." Steal was last known to be training in facilities near Fresno.

Bondi Beach Buccaneers (2049 (S34))

Steal was picked 4th overall by the Bondi Beach Buccaneers in the 2049 (S34) draft. While Bondi Beach already had a skilled DE with Able Archer, they hoped that Steal would be a key element in creating a ferocious pass rush for the upcoming season. The Buccaneers' defense overall, however, didn't improve much since the previous year and the team finished in third place again with the defense allowing the same points per game. The finish was especially disappointing due to Bondi Beach losing their last game when winning it would have taken the lead over the second place Birddogs. With the season completed, Steal public announced a plan to focus efforts on interviewing with ISFL teams and training for the draft with the express goal of being worth an immediate callup to the ISFL. While decried by a number of Buccaneer fans, Steal's statement matched most pundits' expectations and Steal was a consensus projection as a first round talent in the ISFL draft with one prediction of being selected first overall, so Steal's time in Bondi Beach was expected to be over.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	290 lb (132 kg)

DSFL career statistics

DSFL regular season			Tackles				Coverage		Safeties	Touchdowns	Blocks
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
2048 (S33)	Dallas Birddogs	4	7	1	1/1	1	0	0	0	0	0
2049 (S34)	Bondi Beach Buccaneers	14	37	5	4/2	10	0	0	0	0	0
Career		18	44	6	5/3	11	0	0	0	0	0

ISFL

Austin Copperheads (2050 (S35)-2051 (S36))

2050 (S35)

Steal was picked 6th in the first round by the Austin Copperheads to the surprise of several draft analysts - Austin didn't have a strong need at DE as compared to several other positions. Their selection's logic was made more obvious after they announced in the offseason that Steal would be converting to cornerback, an area of need as the team needed to deal with an aging secondary. Steal didn't have the most impressive rookie year on an Austin team that went 5-11 and finished last in the ASFC, but was a factor in helping pull the team's passing defense from 6th in the conference to 4th. Steal did lead rookies with 18 defensed passes but was a clear weakness vs. the more experienced Siege Cameron that teams exploited. Steal did seem upbeat about the season, saying in an interview, "Cornerback's been really different than DE so far with respect to how I'm thinking about each play, what kinds of players and actions I'm keying on. And naturally there's more emphasis on positioning and interaction with the rest of the backfield rather than rush technique... [the season's] been a lot of work with all the learning, but at the same time it's been a lot of fun." With the learning curve of the new position somewhat in the rear view mirror, Copperheads fans are eager to see how Steal can improve through the offseason training camp and into the 2051 (S36) season. There is concern that the team may still be in rebuilding mode for another year or two, but the team does have a trio of strong DSFL players from Steal's class that may be able to help jump start the team next year along with several high picks in the upcoming draft.

2051 (S36)

After a rookie year where Austin finished last in the conference, the Copperheads had a much more solid sophomore run. The team was in a 3-way tie for 4th/5th/6th place at 7-9 but last an overtime game in week 14 against the third place Arizona Outlaws which could have resulted in a playoff berth with luck in tiebreakers. Steal, too, improved personally, with improvements in tackles, fumbles, sacks, interceptions, and pass deflections. Steal also had a career-first defensive TD (through both ISFL and DSFL careers) and managed to make it to the Pro Bowl as the ASFC's third selection. While Steal seems on track to continue improving, the team's overall future is a bit more cloudy. Austin did add the rookie trio of Zaphod Beeblebrox, Jean-Ralphio Saperstein, and Raffaele Tommasi to good effect. However, QB Tight End Eighty-Two announced retirement following the 2052 (S37) season and star LB Ioe Torrent was traded to the Honolulu Hahalua after requesting a trade to a team with better playoff hopes. The Copperheads do have both a number of possible DSFL callups (OL Jimmy Holding, safety duo of Nate Winter and Roma Amir-Kani) as well as all but their 4th round draft pick, but 2052 (S37) looks likely to be another transitional year for the team.

ISFL career statistics

ISFL regular season			Tackles				Coverage		Safeties	Touchdowns	Blocks
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
2050 (S35)	Austin Copperheads	16	61	0	0/0	0	3	18	0	0	0
2051 (S36)	Austin Copperheads	16	83	0	3/1	1	4	27	0	1	0
Career		32	144	0	3/1	1	7	45	0	1	0

Achievements and records

DSFL

Steal was selected to the DSFL Pro Bowl in 2049 .

ISFL

Steal was selected to the ISFL Pro Bowl in 2051 .

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