Taro Raimon
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| No. 80 – Dallas Birddogs | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Wide Receiver |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | August 31, 2016 (aged 46) Tokyo, Japan |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Deimon Senior High |
| College: | University of Notre Dame |
| ISFL Undrafted: | 2039 |
| Career history | |
| Roster status: | Active |
Player stats at ISFL.net | |
Taro Monta Raimon (born August 31, 2016) is an American football wide receiver for the Dallas Birddogs of the Developmental Simulation Football League (DSFL).
Contents
Early years
Born in Tokyo Japan, Taro Raimon was brought up as a fan of baseball and played the game throughout his childhood. One of his idols is Masaru Honjo, a NPB All-Star outfielder known for his catching prowess. Despite being one of the best fielders in Japan highschool baseball, Taro struggled to make the first team at Deimon due to his weak batting skills as well as his numerous throwing errors. Realizing his catching abilities and large hands might translate well into American Football, Taro joined the Deimon Devil Bats, and instantly became one of the top wide receivers in Japan. Despite his short stature at 5'5, he has no trouble battling taller opponents with his high vertical and natural talent in catching the ball.
In his first game, despite struggling in the first half, Taro helped surged the team to a comeback win with two touchdowns against the Zokugaku Chameleons. Taro was a major contributor to the Devil Bats helping the previously unranked team win the Christmas Bowl, the most prestigous tournament in Japan football. His abilities earned him a spot at the Japanese U18 Team as one of the top wide receivers in the country in only his first year of semi-professional American Football.
College career
As Taro continue to impress in his next three years of high school football in Japan and suddenly gained a growth spurt helping his receiving, he gained a lot of interest from American Colleges. Ultimately, he was recruited to the University of Notre Dame. In his true freshman year, expectations were not as high as he has not had much experience playing out of Japan. He didn't play in a game until halfway through the season and produces decent numbers, getting 15 receptions, 3 touchdowns and 322 yards. In his Sophomore year, Taro missed the opening day game due to a hamstring sprain. After his injury, he quickly cameback and displayed his receiving prowess. In 15 games, he received 73 receptions, 17 touchdowns and 1363 yards. He gained several honours as well as proving himself to be a top WR prospect. In his Junior year, he repeated his performance with similar numbers and lead his conference in receiving touchdowns with 19. For his senior year, Taro forgoes it to enter the DSFL draft as one of the top wide receiver prospects.
Professional career
Season 23
Taro Raimon was drafted 20th overall in the Season 23 DSFL Draft to the Dallas Birddogs. Raimon was instantly slotted on the main offensive squad as the second wide receiver behind All-Star Luca Scabbia. In the off-season, he was injured after a skateboarding accident. Although, he was recovered in time for the season to start, Taro was visually not the same as he was before. In his Pro Debut game on Week 1, he did not contribute much in the Birddogs win with over only 1 reception for 7 yards. In his second start, Taro continued his struggles with only 2 receptions for 12 yards in the 3-33 loss against the Buccaneers. In the Week 3 game, Taro has finally found his steps and got out of his slump. He received 4 receptions for 38 yards for an average of a solid 9.5 yards per catch. He continues to ramp up his numbers with a solid 4 catches for 56 yards in week 4 for a solid 14 average per catch. Throughout the rest of the season, Taro Raimon continues his dominance as the second wide receiver, capitalizing on his limited opportunity. Notable performances in the later half of the season includes a 6 catches for 78 yards in the Week 7 win and 4 receptions for 68 yards in Week 9 which included a 31 yard catch. Taro ended his rookie season with 42 receptions for 562 yards for an average of 13.4 yards per catch. He has cemented himself as one of the top offensive prospects coming into the Season 24 ISFL Draft.
| Ht | Wt | 40‑yd dash | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
195 lb (88 kg) |
Professional career statistics
|- ! Season !! Team !! Games ! Rec !! Yards !! Avg !! Lg !! TD
|- | 2038 (S23) | Birddogs | 14 | 42 || 562 || 13.4 || 33 || 1 |}
Achievements and records
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