Jamie Nkiah
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 Jamie Nkiah playing for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers in the S20 season. | |
| No. 99 – Sarasota Sailfish | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Safety |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | March 18, 2014 (aged 47) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Carver High School |
| College: | Penn State |
| ISFL Draft: | 2035 / Round: 4 / Pick: 33 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Player stats at ISFL.net | |
Jamie Nkiah (born March 18, 2014) is an American football safety for the Arizona Outlaws of the National Simulation Football League (NSFL). He played college football for Penn State before being drafted by the Arizona Outlaws in the 2035 ISFL Draft (S20).
Contents
Early years
Jamie Nkiah was born in Mechanicsville, an underpriviliged neighborhood in Atlanta to Ibrahim Pittman and Shola Nkiah. His father was totally absent during his childhood and Jamie was brought up single handedly by his mother for most of his childhood, before she married Trunnis McCoy, a janitor, who moved in with the family when Jamie was aged 13. Despite the difficult start he had in life, Jamie's mother helped lead him towards a passion for football, and he became one of the most impressive high school recruits in the state of Georgia.
When Jamie was 16 years old, his father Ibrahim Pittman was killed in a shooting while sat in a parked car with a friend, who also perished, outside a fast food outlet in Clarkston, Georgia. The perpertrator was not caught and the case remains unsolved, although it is believed that it was carried out as a response to criminal activities Ibrahim and his associate been reportedly carrying out in Clarkston. Pittman had been implicated in various criminal activities including drug dealing, assault and auto theft, and had been looked at as a suspect in at least two gangland killings in the Atlanta metro area. A source in the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution claimed that Ibrahim had been in Clarkston to illegally sell Oxycodin, and in doing so invaded an area controlled by another gang. Jamie is said to have taken his father's death hard despite only meeting on a handful of occasions, but told an interviewer in later years; "him dying like that just proved to me I'm doing the right things, pursuing my dream in sport and not following in his footsteps".
College career
Jamie was granted a full scholarship to Penn State, where he studied a sociology degree alongside his athletic career. His playing time was limited during his freshman year as he faced stiff positional competition. His sophomore year presented more opportunities for playing and Jamie established himself as the starting strong safety for Penn State. His numbers during his junior year placed him among the best in the Big Ten, and he quickly became one of the main figureheads on the team's defensive unit, establishing himself as "a vocal leader in the locker room and on the field", according to his coach James Franklin.
Prior to his senior year, Jamie was named as one of the captains on the team, and began the season strongly, recording a tackle for loss, interception and sack in the season opening game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Throughout the remainder of the season, Jamie would go on to lead all safeties in the conference in interceptions and tackles, gaining attention before he moved on ready to join the DSFL the following year.
College career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sck | SFTY | PDef | Int | Yds | TDs | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2033 | Penn State | 12 | 8 | 27 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 2034 | Penn State | 12 | 12 | 81 | 59 | 22 | 3.0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 71 | 1 | 43 |
| 2035 | Penn State | 12 | 12 | 98 | 81 | 18 | 4.0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 114 | 2 | 31 |
| Total | 36 | 32 | 206 | 159 | 194 | 7.0 | 0 | 27 | 9 | 197 | 3 | 43 |
Professional career
Jamie managed to somehow spend the entirety of S19 sat on the bench for the Buccaneers, not seeing game time in a single outing during what should have been his rookie season in the DSFL. It was perhaps this inability to break into the team that led to his draft stock falling so low that on the night of the S20 NSFL Entry Draft, he entered as one of the lowest ranked prospects. His stock even fell so low that the Chicago Butchers opted to pass with their 4th round pick rather than use it to select him.
| Ht | Wt | 40‑yd dash | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
215 lb (98 kg) |
Nkiah was eventually selected by the Arizona Outlaws with the 34th overall pick in the Fourth Round of the draft.
DSFL career
Nkiah was immediately sent down to play with the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers again, and after a successful offseason and training camp, he was able to break the roster and secure a starting spot as a safety for the S20 season. A notable part of the celebrated Myrtle Beach defense, Nkiah formed part of a productive core of defensive backs alongside names like Jeffrey LaVert, HeHateMe PickSix, Rotticus Scott and Warren Stephens. The Buccaneers had a dominant season in the DSFL in S20, largely due to their superiority on the defensive side of the ball and the transcendent play of running back Siddhu Sarvepally, and Nkiah soon found himself playing in his first ever Bowl game as he participated in the S20 Ultimini. Although Myrtle Beach would go on to lose, Jamie gave a strong performance in the game and rounded off a much improved season in the DSFL. Nkiah's season concluded with a total of 56 tackles recorded, 1 forced fumble, 6 sacks, 2 interceptions, and a safety (the only defensive back to record a safety in the season). Nkiah was not included in the Pro Bowl game for the DSFL in the season however, a decision which was a surprise to some, although Nkiah refused to publicly comment on the incident.
After the conclusion of the Ultimini, the Arizona Outlaws gave formal notice that they would be calling Nkiah up to the NSFL for the following season. He is expected to line up as the team's starting Strong Safety heading into opening night.
NSFL career
Nkiah began his NSFL career in earnest at the beginning of the S21 season.
S21
Starting for the Outlaws as free safety, Jamie enjoyed what could be considered a fairly successful career in S21, putting up an interception total good enough for second in the league, and being among one of the strongest performers out of defensive rookies in certain categories. Although the Outlaws suffered another down season in terms of results, Jamie was one of the brighter spots on a team that had a lot of growing to do. Arizona had started the season hopeful that they may have been able to sneak into a playoff spot, but after several early losses this goal seemed entirely out of reach, but even so, Nkiah showed an impressive ability to adapt to playing at the NSFL level, making some impressive plays and showing great ability during his first outing in the league. The biggest highlight of the season for Jamie came in the Outlaws’ week 6 game against the Philadelphia Liberty. Jamie gave a dominant performance, collecting 6 tackles, a sack and two interceptions on his way to being awarded the nod as the defensive player of the game in one of the team’s few wins that season. In recognition of a strong first season in the league, it’s believed that Jamie has at least received votes for both defensive rookie of the year and the NSFL Pro Bowl. If either of these milestones were achieved it’d be a huge honour for such a young player, but even so, S21 showed a lot of promise and potential when it comes to a career at the NSFL level for Nkiah.
S22
In a post draft trade that left many surprised, during the S22 offseason the Outlaws traded Nkiah to the Sarasota Sailfish in return for a second round draft pick. According to NSFL insiders, the root cause of this move came from a breakdown in communication between Nkiah and the Outlaws' management team, and an unwillingness for Nkiah to sign a contract extension with the team, although this has never been given publicly as a reason behind the move. Nkiah joined the Sailfish for training camp and OTAs, and was confirmed to be the team's starting safety prior to preseason. S22 proved difficult for Jamie in many ways, as he demonstrated inconsistent play, highlighted by peaks and troughs of performance. On opening night of the season, Nkiah played a dominating game against the Baltimore Hawks as he recorded 8 tackles, an interception and a defensive touchdown. Many believed this to be an indication that a breakout season was at hand, however his play for the remainder of the season fell far short of this standard. He would go on to record only a single additional interception on the year, and the rest of his stats didn't impress greatly. The Sailfish did make it through to the playoffs, however were beaten quite handily by the Colorado Yeti in the Wildcard round. As Nkiah had been yet to sign a contract extension for S23 as of the trade deadline, speculation existed that he may be traded again. However in a surprise development, the Sailfish announced that they had signed Jamie to a three year extension worth $20 million dollars. With an AAV of $6.66 million, Nkiah will be one of the highest paid defensive backs in all of football next season.
S23
Jamie began his season facing large expectations. The subject of much debate from the media and public regarding whether or not he was worth the value of the contract he had just signed, S23 looked to be the season in which Jamie needed to prove that he could hang with the very best in the league. It appeared that he was successful in this outing, as Jamie was able to elevate his game to a level that was fitting for the amount of money that would be coming his way over the space of three seasons. Sarasota struggled to hold pace with the rest of the teams in the NSFC, and ended up posting an 8-8 record and missing out on the playoffs, despite Jamie posting career best stats in a number of areas. He finished the season second in tackles for all safeties, having been the league leader for most of the season, and was able to record 2 tackles for loss and 3 interceptions. The numbers that he was able to post for the season were good enough to earn Jamie a selection to the NSFL Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. Having been a goal since his first season in the league, cracking the Pro Bowl roster in this third season was a little later than Jamie had hoped for but was still something that nonetheless he can be very happy with. With S24 set to see Jamie's contract pay take even more of an increase as he takes home $8 million, it'll be interesting to see whether his play can elevate to further match the money he makes.
S24
S24 saw Jamie once again return to action with the Sailfish, his 3rd season with the team. The season saw Jamie play as part of the most successful defensive unit of his career, as the Sailfish stepped up their play to establish themselves as one of the best teams in the ISFL. They were in competition for the top spot in the NSFC for the entire season, and a large part of their success came down to their secondary defense. Although Jamie didn't record individual statistics quite at the level that he had in the season prior, he was still able to play to a very high standard, recording well over a hundred tackles over the course of the season, as well as adding another two interceptions to his career total. Nkiah was able to also progress further into the playoffs than he had in his career before, reaching the NSFC conference game, where the Sailfish lost out on a bitterly close game to the Colorado Yeti. Jamie's performances had him in the running for selection to the Pro Bowl game for another season, and it's believed that he is hopeful of his name being announced to the game within the next few days. Another strong but not exceptional showing for Jamie in S24 sets him up for a contract season in S25. The Sailfish made the decision to protect him in the expansion draft, but without a deal in place for the S26 season at this point, it's going to be interesting to see the way he is able to play this season and what it will be able to translate into in terms of a dollar figure.
Professional career statistics
| Career statistics | Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | Other | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Reg | TFL | Total | Sack | Int | IntTD | DefTD | FFum | FRec | PD | Safety |
| 2035 (S20) | Buccaneers | 14 | 56 | 0 | 56 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2036 (S21) | Outlaws | 13 | 66 | 0 | 66 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2037 (S22) | Sailfish | 13 | 59 | 0 | 59 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2038 (S23) | Sailfish | 16 | 122 | 2 | 124 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2039 (S24) | Sailfish | 16 | 114 | 0 | 114 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
Achievements and records
Come back to this later ""
