Busch Light

Busch Light

London Royals
Personal information
Born:	(2015-04-14)April 14, 2015 (aged 46) Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:	265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school:	Topeka Central High School
College:	University of Alabama
ISFL Draft:	2039  / Round: 2 / Pick: 5
DSFL Draft:	2038  / Round: 2 / Pick: 6
Career history
Roster status:	Active

Busch Light (born April 14, 2015) was an American football player for the New Orleans Secondline of the International Simulation Football League (ISFL) S25-S32. He previously played three seasons for the London Royals of the Developmental Simulation Football League (DSFL).

Early years

Busch Light was born in Topeka, Kansas to Mother Sarah and Jackson. Light began his sports career as a baseball player in high school. It did not take long for the football coach to notice his dedication to the team which might translate well to the football team. The Topeka Central High School Steelers was a disgruntled team, plagued with academic and disciplinary suspensions. Light united the team and played on both sides of the ball as a linebacker and a fullback. Light helped bring a struggling high school team to the state championship, where the Topeka Central High School Steelers would be beat 23-17 in overtime.

College career

Light was not heavily recruited with the option to play at a few smaller programs coming out of high school. He followed his dream of playing for the Crimson Tide and walked on at Alabama. He quickly became popular with the coaching staff for his dedication in the weight room; however, he never made it onto the field due to the depth on the team. After an unfortunate injury to the starter, Light played in the National Championship his junior year where he finished the game with a sack, five tackles, and a game-sealing interception. This performance would put him on the map and elevate him to starter the following year. His senior year he would be the star of the defense.

College career statistics

Career statistics			Tackles				Coverage		Safeties	Touchdowns	Blocks
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
2037 (S22)	University of Alabama	14	111	11	2/1	3	2	12	1	2	1/0/0

Professional career

DSFL career

Busch Light became popular in the Prospect Bowl where he turned the heads of many DSFL teams. A possible first-round pick, he was surpassed and fell to the end of the second round to be drafted by the London Royals. The Royals, known for having stellar linebackers, are expected to have a dominant defense following the S23 Prospect Draft. Light was drafted by the London Royals in the second round, 14th overall. Busch Light’s first season on the London Royals was a success. The Royals ended the season 7-7 and headed to the semifinals where they faced the Kansas City Coyotes and narrowly lost 14-13. Individually Light put on a star performance alongside the other Royal rookies. Light finished top 10 in the league in tackles and 2nd (tied) in forced fumbles. Between Light and fellow rookie linebacker Juan Domine, they amassed 282 touchdowns. Light finished 3rd in linebacker of the year voting and 4th in defensive player of the year voting. Light’s first season in the DSFL made him an interesting prospect going into the ISFL draft.

In Light's second year in the DSFL he teamed up with Juan Domine again to create one of the best linebacking cores in the DSFL. This year they were accompanied by Burfict, and the three dominated offenses across the DSFL. The season ended with the Royals defense leading the conference in points against, total yards, rushing yards, and passing yards. The Royals defense was second in the league in points against and passing yards, and third in the league in total yards and rushing yards. This proved important on their way to an Ultimini victory. In the NFC championship the Royals would hold the Pythons to only three points. Light was a key contributor with seven tackles. In a much closer championship match, the Royals would beat the Seawolves twenty-four to seventeen. Light lead the team with seven tackles in the Ultimini championship. After a stellar performance in his second year in the DSFL, Light was nominee for linebacker of the year with Juan Domine for the second year in the row. Light and Domine would finish third and second in voting, respectively. Light is expected to be called up by the New Orleans Second Line this year to play beside Quenton Bode. Light is sure to be on the Defensive Rookie of the Year watch list. Light has been putting in work off of the field, both in the weight room and working on his fundamentals in coverage, working on becoming the sideline to sideline player he was drafted to be.

DSFL career statistics

Career statistics			Tackles			Sacks	Interceptions		Other
Season	Team	Games	Reg	TFL	Total	Sack	Int	IntTD	DefTD	FFum	FRec	PD	Safety
2038 (S23)	Royals	14	116	2	118	6	0	0	0	3	1	10	1
2039 (S24)	Royals	14	116	2	118	3	0	0	0	2	1	2	0
2040 (S25)	Royals	14	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Busch Light was contacted by multiple ISFL teams leading up to the draft. A highly anticipated prospect, Light was expected to go in the late first round on draft day. Busch Light was among four top ISFL prospects out of London known as the “Royal IV” consisting of Juan Domine (1st overall pick), Harrison Andrews (4th overall pick), Gunner Thorbjornsson (6th overall pick), and Busch Light. Light would fall slightly in the draft and was selected by the New Orleans Second Line at round 2, pick 5. It is expected that Light will stay in the DSFL for another season in pursuit of the Ultimini, Linebacker of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and MVP. Light went on to sign a massive three year, thirteen-million-dollar contract with a mutual option in the third year. The contract is frontloaded with 8 million coming in the first year of the contract. It is said that the NOLA locker room will be adding a Busch Light emoji per the contract.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	4.34 s	4.31 s	7.46 s	30.7 in (0.78 m)	125.7 in (3.19 m)	40 reps	30

ISFL career

Summary

After a short role as a mentor in the DSFL with the London Royals, Busch transitioned to the NOLA Secondline in S26. Busch was an immediate upgrade to the linebacking core for NOLA. He had over 100 tackles in his rookie season and played a lot in coverage with 15 pass deflections. His first two years in the season, Busch reached the Ultimus. Unfortunately, the Secondline fell short in S26 and S27. Throughout the rest of his career, Busch was a team player, but not a star by any means. He shined in S28 with 6 sacks and 11 pass deflections. His final season was a surprise spectacular performance, topping 100 tackles for the first time since his rookie season, and catching a personal best 4 interceptions. Throughout his career he had over 500 tackles, 12 forced fumbles, 18 sacks, 12 interceptions, and 2 defensive touchdowns. Busch retired earlier than anticipated after S32. After retirement, he began coaching his nephew's (Miller Light's) peewee football team. Busch would coach Miller from elementary school through high school.

S26

Out of the gate Busch was an upgrade on the Secondline’s defensive core. The previous season, the second line posted a losing record of 7-9 that they were looking to bounce back from. Light played alongside star cornerback David Rector who would go on to win defensive player of the year. The defense, paired with an offense featuring quarterback Ben Slothisberger and wide receiver Ed Barker, led the Secondline to a 9-7 record, which was good enough for a playoff berth. In a surprising turn of events from the previous season, the Secondline beat Orange County and New York on their way to the Ultimus, unfortunately, they would lose in the Ultimus. Busch’s rookie was highlighted by the most tackles of his entire career (136) and the most forced fumbles and fumble recoveries (4/3) of his career. Light was always quick to the ballcarrier but did not spend much time in the backfield with only 1 sack. Despite not playing a lot in coverage, he did see three interceptions and four pass deflections. The loss in the Ultimus signaled the need for changes moving forward, but the unexpected playoff berth was a positive sign for the Secondline franchise.

S27

Season 27 highlight defense as the main focus of the Secondline moving forward, and Busch could not be happier. In response to the 49-17 loss in the Ultimus, NOLA went out and traded for strong safety steven Wadham to help on the back end. And to pair with Busch, they drafted starting linebacker Vincent Jones who would go on to win defensive rookie of the year. Light followed up his rookie season with his second 100+ tackle season. Along with that, Busch spent the offseason working on his skills in coverage. The hard work panned out, with Light recording 15 pass deflections that season, the highest of his career. Despite the big steps forward in personnel, the Secondline ended the season 9-7 again, and were underdogs going into the playoffs. NOLA surprised both Arizona and Honolulu on their way to the second Ultimus in a row. Unfortunately, it would lead to another Ultimus loss. The second devastating loss in the Ultimus was difficult for Light, and it affected his training going into the offseason.

S28

Season 28 saw a dip in Light’s performance. Rumors swirled that back-to-back Ultimus losses affected the intensity of his training regimen in the offseason. As a result, Light recorded his first under-100 tackle season (82). He also recorded his first and only 0 interception season, something unheard of for Busch Light during his time in the ISFL. Light was overshadowed by new star linebacker Vincent Jones. Along with Light’s poor performance, the team lost a number of veterans to retirement and free agency. The team would finish 5-11 at the bottom of the division, and one of the league’s worst rushing defenses. Light took some time to talk to his agent about the next step for him and he decided to rededicate his intensity to the game. Despite his poor performance, this was an important season for Light to reflect on the reason he remained in the league. Turns out there was something left in the tank after all.

S29

Season 29 was Light’s redemption tour after a terrible S28 by his standards. After 0 interceptions and 7 pass deflections the previous season, Light recorded 2 interceptions and 11 pass deflections, displaying his athleticism in coverage. Light would also record 6 sacks, the most in any single season in his career. Light was playing with all cylinder’s firing, and just slightly fell short of the 100-tackle mark and 96. Not to mention 3 forced fumbles, Light was a terror coming off of a bad season. Rival offenses were oblivious to Light coming off of a bad year. Not to mention his work in coverage that was more successful than any previous season. He credits his success to long days in the gym the previous offseason. Improvements on both sides of the ball for the Secondline led to another 9-7 season and playoff berth. Unfortunately, they would lose to the Silverbacks in the first round of the playoffs.

S30

Going into year 5 of his ISFL career at age 30, Light was starting to feel the years of football weighing on his body. He began to play more of a veteran role on the team, but that’s not to say he did not have some major highlights. Busch tied his record tackles for loss at 6 and posted modest numbers across the board, 87 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 7 pass deflections. All and all, Light was playing all over the field. His highlight was his first defensive touchdown of his career, something he dreamed about from his DSFL days. As a team, the Secondline were going through changes with a new GM and key retirements on defense including free safety Mason Blaylock. It was a new era for the Secondline, and Light struggled to find his place as a veteran on the team. The team finished 5-11 and struggled to make much of the season.

S31

Light spent the offseason leading into his 6th year nursing a number of injuries. An ACL tear in the final game of the previous season left him hobbled and requiring surgery. It was a long recovery time that required months of physical therapy. At times Light though it might be time to hang up the cleats. Though he came into the season without any injury designations, he was clearly struggling throughout the year. Light saw the least of the field since his rookie season. He recorded a career low 56 tackles, and did not make an impact on defense like in previous seasons. Between the injuries and changes in the defensive scheme, Light was longer an icon on the Secondline defense. Light’s poor performance paired with a 6-10 record was difficult for Light. His strongly considered retirement that offseason. It took multiple conversations with teammates and his agent to convince him to try one more season.

S32

Year seven in the ISFL for Busch Light, year nine total for his career, at age 32 coming off of the worst season of his career. Most told Light to retire, but this was only fuel for him to train harder. He spent the offseason training with DSFL Draft Prospects in Hawaii. Despite his age, Light kept up with the soon-to-be rookies. In a complete 180 degree turn for his career, Light made a huge impact on the Secondline defense. Light recorded his third 100+ tackle season (109), double-digit pass deflections (12), his career high interceptions (4), and 3 sacks. To top it off, Light had his second (and final) defensive touchdown to close out his career. The team as a whole underperformed again with a 6-10 record. Three straight losing seasons was too much for Busch, and he wanted to retire after a strong season. Light retired following the season. He decided that he was better fit for mentorship and coaching.

Professional career statistics

Career statistics			Tackles			Sacks	Interceptions		Other
Season	Team	Games	Reg	TFL	Total	Sack	Int	IntTD	DefTD	FFum	FRec	PD	Safety
2041 (S26)	Second Line	16	130	6	136	1	3	0	0	4	3	4	0
2042 (S27)	Second Line	16	107	2	109	1	2	0	0	1	0	15	0
2043 (S28)	Second Line	16	82	0	82	1	0	0	0	2	0	7	0
2044 (S29)	Second Line	16	92	4	96	6	2	0	0	3	0	11	0
2045 (S30)	Second Line	16	81	6	87	4	3	0	1	2	1	7	0
2046 (S31)	Second Line	16	55	1	56	3	1	0	0	2	1	5	0
2047 (S32)	Second Line	16	104	5	109	3	4	0	1	1	0	12	0

Achievements and records

Individual

• 2038 Drafted #14 Overall by the London Royals
• 2038 DSFL LBoTY Nominee
• 2038 DSFL DPoTY Nominee
• 2039 Drafted #17 Overall by the New Orleans Second Line
• 2039 DSFL LBoTY Nominee

Team

• 2041 ISFL Ultimus Appearance in NOLA
• 2042 ISFL Ultimus Appearance in NOLA