Ezekiel Bishop

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Ezekiel Bishop
No. 33 – Retired
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1996-04-22)April 22, 1996 (aged 65)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:183 lb (83 kg)
Career information
College:Northern Illinois
ISFL Draft:2016  / Round: 20 / Pick: 116
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Retired
Career highlights and awards
  • First player to formally retire from the NSFL (2016 (S1))
Career NSFL statistics
Games played:0

Player stats at ISFL.net

Ezekiel "Easy" Bishop (born January 22, 1996) was an American football cornerback who played in the National Simulation Football League (NSFL). He played college football for Northern Illinois University (NIU) before being selected by the Baltimore Hawks in the 2016 ISFL Draft (S1).

Early years

Bishop grew up in inner-city Chicago and always dreamed of playing basketball for Duke. He was naturally very gifted in school and among the top of his high school class. On the basketball court, he excelled at rebounding and steals, however, he was not a prolific scorer and lacked the explosive athleticism to be considered a top recruit.

College career

Despite receiving a number of basketball scholarships from mid-tier schools, Bishop instead decided to accept an academic scholarship at Duke and attempt to walk-on to his favourite college basketball team.

He successfully walked onto the team where he spent his freshman and sophomore years. In practice, he showed his clear talent on blocks, rebounds, and steals. He also showed great vision on passes to enable how teammates. However, at only 6'3" he needed to play guard and clearly did not possess the top end athleticism and suddenness (nor the natural jump shot ability) to play at an elite college level. His freshman year he averaged just 2.8 minutes per game. While this improved to 4.4 minutes per game as a sophomore, it was clear that his dreams of a future playing basketball were at an end. Coach K wished him well and told the media "If Easy was six inches taller, with his skill set, he would have been a top-five NBA draft pick. That kid will do great things in his future."[1]

Down, but not defeated, during his time at Duke he found a new love, the sport of football. Bishop decided to start new and was able to muster a football scholarship from the NIU Huskies as a transfer, due to his natural jumping and athleticism. Figuring his height at football could be a huge asset, rather than the liability it was on the basketball court. In his one season at NIU before declaring for the NSFL draft as a junior, he had 9 interceptions and 15 passes deflected, tying for 4th and 7th respectively in Mid-American Conference history.

Professional career

NSFL career

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40‑yd dash 20‑ss 3‑cone Vert jump Broad BP Wonderlic
6 ft 3 in
(1.91 m)
183 lb
(83 kg)
4.72 s 4.63 s 7.42 s 22.8 in
(0.58 m)
9 ft 0.4 in
(2.75 m)
1 reps 35
2016 NSFL Draft Combine

After being drafted by the Baltimore Hawks in the 2016 ISFL Draft (S1), despite a lacklustre showing at the scouting combine, Bishop was involved in an altercation during a celebratory party in the neighbourhood he grew up in, after coming to the aid of a young girl in distress. Her assailant shot Bishop in the chest, leaving him with a punctured right lung[2]. Though he would recover from the wounds, Bishop's natural athleticism was no more, and he was forced to retire from the NSFL before taking a single snap[3]. In later years, Bishop would develop a drinking problem[4] – widely speculated to be a result of his injuries and curtailed professional career.

Later reports would suggest that Bishop had also uncovered the widespread abuse of TPE in the league[5], and could not, in good conscience, be involved. He did not corroborate these stories in his NSFLN 30 for 30 special[6], though it has been mentioned on occasion by his Baltimore Hawks teammate Antoine Delacour[7].

Personal life

Bishop's nephew James would later enter the NSFL, with Ezekiel's blessing and training.

References

  1. "Ezekiel Bishop Draft Profile". NSFL.net. May 26, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  2. "Taking the Easy Way". NSFLN.com. June 23, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  3. "Ezekiel Bishop Retirement Announcement". NSFL.net. June 2, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  4. "NFL/NSFL comparisons: James Bishop". NSFL.net. July 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  5. "Drama!". NSFL.net. August 7, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  6. "Taking the Easy Way". NSFLN.com. June 23, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  7. "Hall of Jiggly's Hall of Famers". NSFL.net. May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2020.