DJ Maclean

DJ Maclean

No. 55 – Prospect
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Born:	(2034-04-19)April 19, 2034 (aged 27) Drumnadrochit, United Kingdom
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	249 lb (113 kg)
Username:	Urq660
Career information
High school:	McMinnville High School
College:	Boise State
Career history
Roster status:	Active

DJ Maclean (born April 19, 2034) is an American football linebacker who is currently preparing to enter the professional ranks.He played college football for Boise State and has declared his intent to enter the professional ranks next season.

Early years

Born in the village of Drumnadrochit in the Scottish highlands, Donald John Maclean (DJ for short) showed a natural aptitude for sports from an early age. He began to play the local sports of shinty and rugby, before his family emigrated to the pacific north west of the USA when he was 6. DJ continued to grow up in McMinnville, Oregon, where he took up the sport of football early. As he moved into high school, he started playing the full contact version, and found a natural flair for defensive play. Starting out as a Safety, he developed quicker than his peers. His size and athleticism made him a prime pass rusher, which he took to with gusto. He became a player to be feared by opposing QBs, something he enjoyed! He dominated the offenses of the PNW high school system, until Boise State came knocking. He had assumed he would be an Oregon Duck, but that was not how it panned out.

College career

A large college program like Boise State was a culture shock to Maclean, initially. A small town kid, growing up in a village on the banks of Loch Ness, then onto McMinnville, which was many times larger than his hometown, but still seemed small vs Portland and the like. To be surrounded by all the academic and athletic achievement was daunting. As a freshman, he discovered what a step up it was, to somewhere like Boise. No longer the dominant defensive force, Maclean was initially more of a special teams guy, or a backup when a starter needed a rest. As he progressed, though, his natural talent came to the fore, and soon he was starting as the weak-side linebacker, and discovering new ways to harry the quarterback. A sack machine in his final year in Boise, where he helped them to a bowl game, which they unfortunately lost to Oregon, ironically. His performances earned him the nickname 'The Loch Ness Monster', on account of his origin and dominant defensive performances. He finished his college career with 294 Tackles, 47 Sacks and 6 Interceptions.

College career statistics

Career statistics			Defense
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
2051-2053	Boise State	33	294	82	11/7	47	6	29	3	2	0/0/0

Professional 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)	249 lb (113 kg)	4.39 s	4.28 s	7.20 s	33.8 in (0.86 m)	12 ft 7 in (3.84 m)	36 reps	12

DSFL S40 (2055)

Following an underwhelming performance in the Prospect Bowl prior to the DSFL Draft, Maclean was selected with the 4th pick in the 4th round of the draft by the previous season’s basement dwellers, the Bondi Beach Buccaneers. He became a key part of the defensive core brought together in this draft, including 1OA Mary Marie, to help the Buccaneers to a triumph in Ultimini XL. During his Rookie season, he was played in a more unfamiliar role, as a Middle Linebacker, rather than a Weak-side pass rusher as he had been in college. He adapted quickly and, while not putting up spectacular numbers in any particular area, became very much a jack of all linebacker trades, clocking 91 tackles, including an incredible 14 Tck 2 TFL 1 Sck game in their Week 10 loss to eventual Ultimini opponents, Portland. He also worked hard on his coverage game, picking up 9 PDs, second only behind his fellow BBB linebacker Tolliver, and an interception. Very few other players in his position had such a solid spread of stats, usually specialising in one area in particular. An Ultimini win was an incredible way to round out his rookie season, ready for the ISFL Draft.

DSFL S41 (2056)

Coming down from the high of winning an Ultimini at his first attempt, Maclean was excited to be drafted in the second round of the ISFL Draft, landing with the San Jose Sabercats at Pick 25. This was a team he had previously indicated were top of his wishlist, motivating him more than ever to help Bondi to a second championship! Unfortunately, things did not start great for BBB. Having lost the core of their passing offense, including one of the breakout stars of the DSFL last season, Smokin' Jay, as well as his main receivers, the team was going to rely on the almost untouched Defense to prop things up while the rookie offense gets into the groove. An 0-5 start was certainly not what the team had planned. Maclean struggled early on, as did the rest of the team, teams seemed to have found him out as an MLB. The whole team stepped up big style in Week 6, vs the 5-0 Tijuana Luchadores, squeaking out a 31-30 W. This proved to be a catalyst for the rest of the season, and an unlikely run to the Southern Conference Championship game, where they lost to Tijuana. Maclean continued to struggle at MLB, before a defensive re-shuffle saw him move to his favored ROLB position, where he went on to average a Sack per game from the outside, looking more like the player BBB had picked up from Boise. Statistically, it was an underwhelming season, but the whole team showed grit and determination, and Maclean showed he hasn't lost the ability for a pass rush.

ISFL S42 (2057)

It was time! Time to pack up his stuff and move from Glorious Sydney to, well, glorious San Jose. It was time to join the big leagues! Maclean knew he wasn't going to walk into this team, but their penchant for a base 3-4 defense made him think he was going to be thrown into the action straight away. Unfortunately, the season started with the Sabercats playing a lot of 3-3-5 D, with an extra DB. As the junior member of the LB corps, Maclean was limited through the first 6 weeks to between 16 and 32 snaps per game as a min and max. An Atrocious start to the season, which saw them go 1-5 after opening with a win, and included handing NOLA their first and only win of the season, in San Jose no less, prompted a conversation with the coaching staff around DJ's involvement in games. As the season looked 'lost', the coaches agreed to give Maclean some more playing time, and even moved him outside, to his preferred position on the field. this move yielded instant results. Maclean used his pass rushing skills to their fullest extent, picking up Sacks and TFLs, even leading all non-QBs in Interceptions for the season, with 3. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come moving forward. San Jose could have a second elite pass rusher, to join De Ville, he just needs more time and more reps to realise his undoubted potential.

ISFL S43 (2058)

After a somewhat disappointing rookie season, which ended strongly, Maclean was excited to have his first full off-season running with the Starters, being a part of how the defense was going to be developed, and carrying this forward into a season where he would be the starting Strong Side Linebacker. The season that followed was different from what he expected. Maclean was hoping to show his pass rushing prowess, especially as he gained a reputation as a real Athlete on the team. The problem with being part of an elite Linebacking corps, is getting to the QB before either of your teammates do! Having De Ville, one of the best LBs in the league, and a second Pro-Bowler in McCormick alongside him certainly suppressed his Sack total, getting to the opposing QB a career-low 3 times. He made up for it in other areas, however. Maclean was a big part of San Jose's run defense this season, managing 2nd in the entire League in TFLs, with 14, his speed off the line allowing him to get to the running back behind the line of scrimmage with impressive regularity. He excelled in coverage as well, being just 1 PD behind the joint leaders for all LBs and the same for INTs, 1 of which he returned for his first TD, one of 2 picks returned for a score in San Jose's shock win over New York! In terms of the team, it wasn't a good start to the season. a difficult opening schedule saw them 0-4 after facing OCO, Sarasota, Austin and defending champs Arizona. They beat the dire NOLA squad, before the surprise dismantling of New York. An up and down rest of the season saw them briefly flirt with playoff contention, before they finished 6-10, ahead of just 1-15 NOLA. They are a team with a good young core and some key pieces in developmental, we should start seeing an upward trajectory soon!

ISFL S44 (2059)

Okay, so remember at the end of my last entry, I said we should start seeing an upward trajectory soon? Well, clearly I didn't mean this soon.... S44 was another rough season for San Jose fans. They didn't finish bottom of the Conference, but that was on a tiebreaker, as they tied for the worst record in the league with NOLA and Chicago, at 3-13. SJS started off hot, beating Orange County in Week 1. Maclean got his first Sack on the board early doors, having had just 3 all season last time out, getting to Otters QB Bannings during the opener. A pair of potentially expected losses, to Arizona and Yellowknife followed, before some renewed optimism, in the shape of an expected win over NOLA, who are knee-deep in their rebuild. That was followed by the 'Cats worst run in a loooong time, losing ***10 straight*** and making a very real concern of the potential to be the worst team in the league. Maclean had a couple of huge games in that run, including a double Sack performance against Austin, putting up 11 tackles, 1 for loss and a Sack against Arizona, and crowning it in their narrow 29-24 loss to Ultimus-bound Cape Town with a 14 Tackle performance, 2 of them for a loss, 1 Sack and also forced a Fumble, which was unfortunately recovered by JHM. Good enough for a Defensive Performance of the Year nom? Teammate De Ville had a similar stat line against Chicago a few weeks previously as well. Another 2 Sack performance in the penultimate game of the regular season helped SJS regain a bit of dignity, before being blown out in the final game by New York. All in all, an improved season in terms of his pass rushing ability, quadrupling the number of Sacks from last season, a couple of big Tackling performances getting him 1 more than last season. A rough result, but the process looks ready to bear fruit, any time now!

ISFL S45 (2060)

So, I guess the actual upward trajectory has started. It was an up and down season for the San Jose SaberCats, opening with a 29-6 battering of Orange County, followed by 3 Ls on the trot. They picked up some notable wins over Honolulu, Arizona and Baltimore, as well as the now-traditional collapse to NOLA at home! San Jose finished the season 6-10, ahead of only NOLA in their conference, and also Yellowknife in the League as a whole. Things were starting to trend in the right direction, though. DJ Maclean had another solid season, personally. Potentially a Pro Bowl calibre season, but he was again overshadowed by the player on the opposite side of their outside rush, Cruella De Ville. Winner of SJS' first MVP in quite a while, De Ville finished the season with 8 Forced Fumbles, although recovered none of them, and an astonishing 23 Sacks. Makes Maclean's 15 Sacks look pedestrian, despite being 5th in the entire league. A slight increase in Tackles, a return to a level of TFLs from S43, while improving on his PB in Sacks meant a real development for the Scot. The forthcoming S46 also marks De Ville's final season of the team being contractually-obliged to play them at ROLB, so we could see Maclean get a couple of decent seasons in on the right, before his natural decline kicks in.

ISFL S46 (2061)

The San Jose SaberCats finally started to show that promise they had been threatening the past few seasons, mounting a real playoff push, even starting the season 5-0! Maclean picked up a sack in each of those games, making it look like it could be a PB season for Sacks. It did not pan out entirely that way, however. SJS took some rough losses the rest of the season, going 4-7 across the remainder of the season, still finishing a creditable 9-7, only 1 game back on defending Ultimus champs Austin. DJ Maclean did have a career year in some ways, even if his Sack numbers regressed a little. One of the big catalysts for that lower number of Sacks was the continued dominance of pass rush partner in crime De Ville, coming off an MVP season. De Ville actually dropped off as well, from 23 to 16. This season was, however, the last season San jose are contractually obliged to play De Ville at ROLB, so there is rumour that Maclean will step ino that role next season, and many expect his numbers to explode. This season was a career high in Tackles and Fored Fumbles, although he recovered only 1 of the 5 he forced. He was top 5 in the League for Tackles, TFL and FFs this season. Here's hoping SJS continue to improve and DJ Maclean finally steps out of De Ville's shadow.

Professional career statistics

Career statistics			Defense
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
2055 (S40)	Buccaneers	14	91	3	0/0	4	1	9	0	0	0/0/0
2056 (S41)	Buccaneers	14	81	2	1/1	7	0	5	0	0	0/0/0
2057 (S42)	Sabercats	16	60	8	1/1	5	3	4	0	0	0/0/0
2058 (S43)	Sabercats	16	101	14	0/0	3	2	11	0	1	0/0/0
2059 (S44)	Sabercats	16	102	9	4/1	12	0	10	0	0	0/0/0
2060 (S45)	Sabercats	16	107	12	3/4	15	0	10	0	0	0/0/0
2061 (S46)	Sabercats	16	120	13	5/1	11	2	8	0	1	0/0/0

Achievements and records

Ultimini: S40 (2055)

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