Dogwood Maple

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Dogwood Maple
refer to caption
Maple after clinching the SEC Eastern crown.
No. 27 – Norfolk Seawolves
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (2017-04-27)April 27, 2017 (aged 44)
Atlanta, Georgia
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:197 lb (89 kg)
Username:dogwoodmaple
Career information
High school:Grady High School
College:Georgia
DSFL Draft:2040  / Round: 1 / Pick: 7
Career history
Roster status:Active

Dogwood Maple (born April 27, 2017) is an American football safety for the Norfolk Seawolves of the Developmental Simulation Football League (DSFL).

Early years

Dogwood Maple was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Maple's father was the pitching coach for nearby Grady High School, which helped start a life-long love of sports. He grew up playing basketball, baseball, and football, before focusing on the latter two in his teenage years. He attended Grady High School and, while being coached by his father, was a standout pitcher for the Knights. He led the region in ERA and strikeouts three times and led the Knights to the State Championship in 2033.

He was also a standout on the football team, spending most of his time as the team's starting safety. In four seasons on the gridiron, he broke the state record for most interceptions and was twice named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Super 11 teams, which highlight the best players in the state.

He was heavily recruited by Power Five universities in both sports, but ultimately decided to pursue football and committed to the University of Georgia and head coach Kirby Smart, Jr.

High School Rating

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dogwood Maple
S
Atlanta, Georgia Grady 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Nov 4, 2035 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN grade: 93
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

After arriving on campus, Maple was immediately thrust into the safety rotation and found himself as the top backup to Richard LeCounte IV. Maple spent that season playing in spot duty, starting on all of the special teams units, and soaking up all the knowledge he could from LeCounte IV. In all, he recovered two fumbles and totaled 19 tackles as the Bulldogs won 11 games and finished off the season with a Sugar Bowl victory.

LeCounte IV declared for the draft following Maple's freshman season, which led to the young sophomore being named one of the starting safeties for Georgia. He started every game for the Bulldogs and immediately flashed his talents. He hauled in three interceptions and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the 2035 SEC Championship Game. He was named to the All-SEC second team following the year as Georgia won their first SEC Championship in five years.

The next season, Maple again started every game for the Dawgs and helped anchor one of the top secondaries in all of college football. He led the team with eight interceptions and tacked on 64 tackles and two sacks. For the first time in his career, he was named a first-team All-SEC player and an AP first team All-American. Despite being ranked as a projected first round pick, Maple decided to return to school and play his senior season in Athens. He was named a permanent team captain for his final season as the Bulldogs entered the preseason as the consensus #1 team in the country.

In his final season for the Bulldogs, Maple yet again started every game for Georgia and helped anchor the nation's top defense. He helped lead the Dawgs to an undefeated national championship and was named the College Football Playoff's MVP with 23 tackles and two interceptions in the two games. In all, he led the nation in interceptions (11) and was named a consensus All-American. He also took home the 2037 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back.

College career statistics

Career statistics Defense
Season Team Games Tck TFL FF/FR Sck Int PD Sfty TD Blk P/XP/FG
2034 UGA 12 19 1 0/2 0 0 1 0 0 0/0/0
2035 UGA 12 55 3 1/0 0.5 3 7 0 1 0/0/0
2036 UGA 12 64 4.5 2/1 2.0 5 10 0 0 0/0/0
2037 UGA 12 82 6.0 3/2 3.5 11 14 2 0 0/0/0

Professional career

DSFL career

Following his stellar college career, Dogwood Maple joined the DSFL and immediately garnered interest from multiple teams. After discussions with various general managers, he chose to sign with the Norfolk Seawolves. He joined Norfolk during the regular season of 2038 and was primarily brought on to help shore up their defensive backfield and prepare for their postseason run. Maple was thrown into a reserve role and he was routinely named Most Important Practice Player in the weeks leading up to the 2038 postseason and was crucial in mimicking opposing teams' players. He was twice named Scout Team Player of the Week and relished his role on the team.

Despite losing the final regular season game of the season, the Seawolves eventually entered the postseason as the #3 overall seed and matched up against conference rival Tijuana in the opening round. Maple spent the practice week mimicking Tijuana's standout WR Doug Howlett to help prepare the Seawolves defense. As a result, Norfolk upset the top-seeded Luchadores in the wildcard round 20-17 in overtime, which clinched Norfolk's second consecutive trip to the Ultimini. For Ultimini prep, Maple was again thrown into a scout team role where he mimicked Royals WR Tre’Darius J’Vathon. Norfolk's defensive backs coach praised his work ethic and noted how helpful Maple had been in giving the defense unique looks and scoutign in postseason prep.

Ultimately, the Seawolves' playoff run came to an end with a 24-17 loss to Royals in the Ultimini. Following the loss, Maple immediately began to prepare for the DSFL Draft and began having meetings with front offices around the league.

Following his initial season on waivers with the Seawolves, Maple declared for the S25 DSFL Draft. After attending the DSFL Combine and meeting with various general managers during the pre-draft process, he was considered a first-round talent and one of the top two safeties in the draft. At the Combine, he measured in at exactly 6'1" and weighed in at 197 lbs. He ran a blistering 4.49 40 yard dash and combined that with one of the top shuttles (4.09), three-cone (6.71) and broad jumps (10' 0") of any defensive back. He was ultimately selected by the Norfolk Seawolves with the seventh overall pick and signed a rookie contract worth $6 million. He enters the S25 season as one the starting safeties for Norfolk and has already garnered some early attention from ISFL scouts.

ISFL career

S26

After a stellar career for the Norfolk Seawolves, Dogwood Maple was drafted second overall by the New York Silverbacks. He was immediately called up to play for New York and was one of the starters for each of the special teams units that season. Maple excelled on kickoff coverage, routinely tracking down defenders and blowing up blocks of opposing defenses. Through the regular season, Maple appeared in all 16 games and finished with 4 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 tackle for loss. On the year, New York finished with a 9-7 record and made the playoffs. However, their run was cut short thanks to a loss in the opening round to New Orleans in overtime, 43-37. Maple and the rest of the Silverbacks took the loss especially hard, but vowed to not allow that disappointment to shape the coming seasons. After the season, Maple was given a starting role and went into the S27 training camp as one of the teams two starting safeties.

S29

Coming into S29, the Silverbacks were seen as one of the favorites to take home the Ultimus, thanks in large part to their defense. Maple returned as one of the best safeties in the league and anchored a lock-down secondary for the Silverbacks. That defense and Maple's stellar play helped them achieve a 10-6 record in the regular season and clinch a spot in the postseason. During the regular season, Maple finished with a career-high four sacks and added on a pair of interceptions and scored one touchdown. The increased sack percentage was due to Maple playing more strong safety during the season thanks to an increased emphasis on blitzing by the defensive coaching staff. In the postseason, the Silverbacks upset the #1 seeded Arizona Outlaws 34-27 en route to a stunning Ultimus win over Berlin. It was a battle of two recent expansion franchises and dubbed by many to be the Expansion Bowl. The Silverbacks beat the Fire Salamanders by a score of 40-20, taking home their first title and earning Dogwood Maple his first Ultimus ring. In the game, Maple finished with a pair of tackles and a crucial late game sack to help clinch the victory.

S34

Following a disappointing campaign which saw the Silverbacks miss the postseason entirely in S33, they bounced back and were poised to advance to the playoffs in S34. Things were looking grim after a 1-3 start for the Silverbacks, but they soon rounded into form to win their next four games to put themselves right back into the thick of the playoff hunt. After a stretch that saw New York drop four games in a row, they rebounded to back-to-back wins to end the season, but just fell short of another playof bid. For Maple, he appeared in every game for the ninth straight year and yet again started every game for the Silverbacks. He finished the year with his second-most interceptions in a season in his career (4) and climbed to second place in franchise history for interceptions. Maple also registered his first sack in three seasons and had an impressive missed tackle rate that saw him miss only once. After much speculation that he might retire, Maple vowed to return for S35 which will be his 10th with the franchise.

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40‑yd dash 20‑ss 3‑cone Vert jump Broad BP Wonderlic
6 ft 1 in
(1.85 m)
197 lb
(89 kg)
4.49 s 4.09 s 6.71 s 38.5 in
(0.98 m)
10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)
16 reps 40

Professional career statistics

NSFL career statistics

Career statistics Defense
Season Team Games Tackles TFL FF/FR PD Sacks Interceptions Touchdowns
2041 (S26) NYS 16 4 1 0/0 0 1 0 0
2042 (S27) NYS 16 30 0 0/0 12 0 0 0
2043 (S28) NYS 16 18 0 1/0 10 1 4 2
2044 (S29) NYS 16 62 1 1/0 10 4 2 1
2045 (S30) NYS 16 57 1 2/0 7 3 1 0
2046 (S31) NYS 16 51 0 2/0 11 2 2 0
2047 (S32) NYS 16 56 0 3/0 12 3 5 3
2048 (S33) NYS 16 59 0 0/0 10 0 2 0
2049 (S34) NYS 16 49 0 0/0 18 1 4 0
Total 144 386 3 9/0 90 15 20 6

Achievements and records

  • 2040 DSFL Draft - 1st round, 7th overall pick
  • 2041 ISFL Draft - 1st round, 2nd overall pick

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