Aqeel Steele

Aqeel Steele

Aqeel Steele at Nebraska
No. 99 – Sarasota Sailfish
Position:	Outside Linebacker
Personal information
Born:	(2029-02-15)February 15, 2029 (aged 32) Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	240 lb (109 kg)
Username:	Abacusamateur
Career information
College:	Nebraska
ISFL Draft:	2051 / Round: 3 / Pick: 33
DSFL Draft:	2050 / Round: 2 / Pick: 15
Career history
Minnesota Grey Ducks
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:	Active

Aqeel Steele (born February 15, 2029) is an American football linebacker who is currently playing for the Sarasota Sailfish. He played college football for Nebraska and in the DSFL for the Minnesota Grey Ducks.

Early years

Aqeel was born on February 15, 2029, to his parents Jolynne and Mike "Chunky" Steele. From a young age, Aqeel was always interested in sports, and he inherited the right genes from his father to be an all-around athlete. He loved to play football and basketball, and he was very good at them too, but in high school, he decided to focus on football. He was a running back in middle school, and he continued to play that position in high school, but at one practice, the assistant coach, Jay Weston, told to him line up on the other side of the ball. Aqeel says, "We were short on defensive ends that week because Preston [Hart] got injured, so I guess Coach Weston was desperate. He's like, 'Aqeel, why don't you line up across Will [Hernandez] here. I just want you to try to get around him.'" The whistle blew, and Aqeel flew right past him and hit the QB. "That was really surprising for me. I didn't really think about playing on the other side of the ball at that point." Aqeel refined his pass-rushing moves and tackling, and ended up breaking out his senior year, racking up 12 sacks and leading his team to the state semifinals.

College career

A three star recruit coming out of high school, Aqeel received few division one offers. "It was Nebraska, TCU, Central Michigan, and that was about it," he says. He ended up choosing Nebraska, since it was relatively close to his hometown of Wichita. His parents always wanted him to get a college degree, so he studied hard while being a backup for two seasons, getting little playing time. However, in his junior year, he broke out with 6 sacks and 12 tackles for loss in just 8 games. Going into his senior year, Aqeel would be listed as a player who could break out this year. He did not disappoint. He had 11 sacks, 20 tackles for loss, and 2 forced fumbles. On June 5, 2050, Aqeel graduated with a Bachelor's in Accounting. He smiled as a photo was taken of him and his family. As he threw his hat up in the air, he knew it was time to move on to the ISFL.

College career statistics

Career statistics			Defense
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
2050	Nebraska	14	37	20	2/1	11	0	0	0	0	0/0/0
2049	Nebraska	8	15	10	0/0	6	0	0	0	0	0/0/0

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	285 lb (129 kg)

Professional career statistics

Career statistics			Defense
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
DSFL S35	MIN	14	20	6	3/3	8	0	0	0	0	0/0/0
DSFL S36	MIN	14	34	8	5/1	6	0	0	0	0	0/0/0
ISFL S37	SAR	16	40	2	0/0	4	0	0	0	0	0/0/0
ISFL S38	SAR	16	72	6	2/0	8	1	10	0	0	1/0/0
ISFL S39	SAR	16	112	8	2/1	8	1	6	0	1	0/0/0

After a monster senior season and being a second round pick, Steele had high expectations coming out of college. He whelmed. With 8 sacks, 20 tackles, and 6 tackles for loss, Steele had a solid, but unspectacular, season. But, whenever Steele did get a chance to tackle the person with the ball, his mind was only focused on one thing: forcing a fumble so he could give his offence back the ball. Winning the game was always on his mind, even if it got in the way of his stats. With 3 forced fumble plus fumble recoveries, Steele showed the unique ability to change the outcome of a game in a single play, and with many teams looking for a pass-rusher this year, Steele was hoping to go earlier in the draft than many were expecting him to. Unfortunately, he fell to the third round and was drafted by the Sailfish. Even if Steele fell a bit short of his goal, he was still extremely excited to play for the Sarasota Sailfish and hopefully win a championship with them.

After being drafted by the Sarasota Sailfish, Steele decided to stay down for one more year with the Minnesota Grey Ducks. Even though they had a disappointing last season, the Ducks were returning several of their drafted players, such as Teemo Swift, Mike Scott, Nate Winter, and Bonzi Buddy. Anyway, with many promising second year players returning, the Ducks were one of the favorites to take the North. They started off strong, going 4-3, before dropping their next 5 to knock them out of the postseason. Steele had a below average year, finishing with 34 tackles, 6 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles. But what the stats don’t tell is Steele’s growing maturity as a pass rusher. In year one, Steele played with reckless abandon, often getting lost in traffic when the opponent would run to his side of the field. However, in year 2, Steele played with more patience, often stacking on top of his defender before shedding off to make the tackle. This led to an increase in tackles and TFLs, while lowering his sack total.

In what was considered a surprise move by some, the Sailfish decided to call up Steele, even with legendary Sailfish defensive end David Moyes staying in the ISFL for another year. Harley Andrews, Moyes, and Steele all rotated on the field, with all players also subbing in at linebacker sometimes. Steele had 40 tackles, 4 sacks, and 2 tackles for loss on the season, which, while low, wasn't unexpected for a 3rd round pick in his rookie season. The Sailfish did extremely well in season 37, having the best record in the league and clinching home field advantage in the postseason. They ended up beating the Wraiths in the conference championship, where Steele had a drive-ending sack on 3rd down. However, in the Ultimus, the Sailfish would ultimately end up falling short, losing 31-11 due to 5 turnovers by the Sailfish, including 3 fumbles. Steele notched another sack, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the costly mistakes by the Sailfish offense.

Over the offseason, Aqeel received a call from his coach. "Hey, Aqeel, I'm not one for small talk, so I'll just tell you right now. It doesn't look like you have the strength or the physicality to play defensive end, so I've called to ask you to consider trying out switching to outside linebacker instead." Aqeel paused for a moment, then told his coach he'd think about it and then hung up. He drew in a deep breath and then exhaled. He knew this was coming, as even though he showed promise in his second season, he still lacked the physical tools necessary to become anything more than a below-average starter. Aqeel exhaled again. Making the switch wasn't going to be easy. What if he wasn't very good? Worse, what if he was so bad he dropped out of the league entirely? After pondering about it for a few days, Aqeel decided to take the plunge. Aqeel looked out of position at first, but as the season progressed, he got better at rushing the passer and defending in coverage. He even managed to snag an interception in the final game of the regular season. The Sailfish, however, started bad and stayed bad. The offense was dysfunctional, and Carter Knight always managed to throw back-breaking picks at the worst time possible. Many pundits had them as Ultimus favorites, but they ended up 7-9 and dropped out of the playoffs entirely.

After spending most of his time in coverage last season, Aqeel got a notice that he would be promoted to main pass rusher, after fellow Sarasota linebacker dont draft clearly lost a step last season. However, Aqeel never read this notice, and he spent most of his time during the offseason learning how to read defenses and improving his coverage technique, so he was largely unprepared for the role he was thrust into at the start of the season. So, Aqeel ended up matching a lot of his production from the previous season, the only major improvement being the amount of tackles he made, but this was countered by a 300% increase in missed tackles. The Sailfish as a whole would perform according to expectations this season, finishing 10-5-1 and 2nd in the conference. However, in the wild card round, they would be upset by the Chicago Butchers, who suprised by finishing as the 3rd seed even after starting 2-5. In the game, Aqeel managed to collect a sack and a forced fumble. Hopefully, it would be a sign for the upcoming season.

Achievements and records

Use this section as an example.

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