Jed Podolak

Jed Podolak

Podolak Rushes for Fulton College Record
No. 14 – Honolulu Hahalua
Position:	Wide Receiver
Personal information
Born:	(2012-09-01)September 1, 2012 (aged 48) Independence, Missouri, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:	Raytown High School
College:	Fullton College
DSFL Draft:	Undrafted / Round: NA / Pick: NA
Career history
Tijuana Luchadores, New Orleans Second Line
Roster status:	Active

Jed Podolak (born September 1, 2012) is an American football Wide Receiver who is currently playing for the Honolulu Hahaluas. He played college football for Fullton College and played for the Tijuana Luchadores as a waiver pickup before being drafted by the New Orleans Second Line in the second round of the S19 rookie draft and then to the Hahaluas in the S22 expansion draft.

Early years

Jed Podolak was born in the heartland of America, Independence, Missouri in 1999. His father and mother, Józef and Helena, were immigrants from Łódź, Poland. Jed was always an athletic kid and enjoyed every sport he got a chance to play. In little league, Podolak was quickly chosen as the quarterback as one of the few kids who could run and throw.

Jed attended Raytown High School in Missouri where he starred in track, basketball, baseball and football. His first love was really baseball, but he excelled at football. In high school Podolak transitioned to runningback where he broke several single game and season records for both rushing and receiving. He was noted in the conference for being one of the few high school running backs who understood pass blocking.

College career

Podolak attended Fulton College, a Divison III liberal arts college, on a full 4-year scholarship to play football for the Cardinals. His freshman year was cut extremely short as he was injurred on the very first play from scrimmage - a dive right run straight into one of the biggest defensive tackles in the conference. This would have demoralized most young men, but it only made Jed more determined than ever.

He never left the side of his head coach on the sidelines for the balance of the year. He soaked up whatever knowledge he could and he studied hours and hours of film, pelting the coaching staff with a thousand questions based on what he saw in his study. And once cleared, he spent countless hours in the weight room and on the track rehabbing from his injury. He came back in his sophomore year and played brilliantly gaining half as many yards in receptions as he did on the ground. For his junior and senior years, Podolak built success upon success always improving his performance on the field.

College career statistics

			Rushing						Receiving				Kick Returns			Punt Returns
Season	Team	GP	Att	Yds	Avg	Yds/G	Long	TD	Rec	Yds	Long	TD	Yds	Avg	KR TD	Yds	Avg	PR TD
S15	Fulton College	14	121	853	7.4	60.9	23	11	35	421	12.0	5	237	23.7	0	176.4	8.4	0
S16	Fulton College	14	160	1200	7.5	85.7	38	14	39	474	12.2	4	339	22.6	0	134	5.6	1
S17	Fulton College	14	258	1619	6.3	115.6	42	19	42	507	12.1	9	707	27.2	2	146	7.9	0

Pre-Draft

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	4.32 s	4.13 s	7.43 s	25.7 in (0.65 m)	10 ft .9 in (3.07 m)	12 reps	3

The First Three Years

Jed Podolak roared out of his college days at Fulton and into the DSFL in S18. Going to the run-heavy Tijuana Luchadores, his rushing attempts immediately skyrocketed as did his yards – at least on average. He still has not matched that magical senior year and the 1,619 yards and 19 touchdowns that he racked up. He had thought it would be touch transition from college to the pros, but that certainly wasn’t the case entering the developmental league in S18.

The tougher transition came after two years with the Luchadores. Podolak was thrilled to be drafted by the New Orleans Second line whose GM, Tom Hanks, had been a constant and reassuring presence in the Tijuana locker room. However, with Forest Gump and Marcella Toriki, twin nearly 1,000 yard rushers, in the New Orleans backfield already, Podolak was staring at precious little playing time and no way to help his new team.

That is when his GMs, Tom Hanks and Juosu, came to Jed and suggested he might consider a position change. New Orleans was stacked in the backfield, but was in need of someone to step up and take the slot receiver role. Podolak knew it would not be easy transitioning to a whole new position, but very much wanted playing time and an opportunity to make an impact for his team. So, the switch was made.

Jed only took in 34 receptions for 325 yards – far fewer than he was used to rushing for – but the team was happy with the rookie’s first year. In fact, they were so happy with his performance and the hope he showed for the future, that as the team heads into the new S21 season, Podolak has been moved up in the pecking order. He’ll be the team’s number two receiver this season which surely means more targets, more yards, more TDs and more opportunity to become the team’s “go to” receiver.

S21: New Orleans Wins it All

S21 was a turning point in Jed Podolak’s career. In his rookie year in the NSFL, Jed played in the slot as the WR3. Of course, he was happy to be starting in the NSFL for the Second Line of New Orleans, but in their offense, the slot receiver receives the fewest targets of the receiving corps. Though Podolak would prefer to be at the center of the offense, as would any player, this may have been exactly what the doctor ordered. A chance to ease into his new position in his first year in the league.

Podolak made a great deal of progress in S21. His increased stats were not just the result of more targets though. Jed used what he learned in S20 as he transitioned to WR2 in S21. The results speak for themselves. His receptions increased from 34 to 50. His TD total remained the same, but by more than doubling his yardage (from 325 to 782 yards), Podolak proved his worth in the Second Line offense. GMs told him that he would be moving up once again to WR1 in S22. But that was before expansion was announced and Podolak found himself on the exposed list for New Orleans. As of the writing of this article, the results of that draft are unknown.

However, all of this personal progress and achievement pales for Podolak in comparison with the team triumph of winning the Ultimus Championship for the fans of New Orleans. No matter where his career takes him, Jed will look back fondly on his S21 Second Line teammates and what they accomplished together.

S22: From Ultimus Champion to Expansion Team Draftee

What a difference a year makes! From S21 to S22 Jed Podolak went from riding high as an Ultimus champion to an expansion team expected to lose more games than they win. You would think Jed would have dreaded being drafted in the second round of the expansion draft and having to pack his bags to leave the Big Easy to set up his home on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but not so.

When Podolak’s name was called by the Honolulu Hahaluas, Jed was excited. He found it hard to say goodbye to his Second Line teammates and GMs, but easy to say hello to a new challenge – a new opportunity. Jed felt he had been given a great opportunity to help build the NSFL by building a quality franchise in Hawaii.

And in S22, he and the rest of his Hahalua teammates began building the foundation of that excellent franchise of the future. The team went 4-9 with some very close losses and some wins against superb, established NSFL teams. It was a personal highlight when Honolulu took down the defending champions 35-24 in game 5 of the season.

Jed had a career year missing the 1,000 yards receiving mark by just 16 yards (984). Jed is hopeful for his own sake, but more importantly for the team’s sake that he can improve on the 4 TDs he put on the board in S22. This should be well within reach as his team and he himself continue to improve. Jed’s goals for S23 are: a winning season for Honolulu and 1,000+ yards and 8+ TDs receiving for himself personally.

S23: Hahaluahs and Podolak Improve Together

The Honolulu Hahaluahs and Jed Podolak made strides together in S23. The Hahaluahs improved from 4-9 in S22 to 7-9 in S23 complete with its expanded schedule. Honolulu made the most of the change in effect winning every single game of the 3 added to the new schedule. This saw their winning percentage spike from .308 in S22 to .438 in S23. Had they won just one more game, the Hahaluahs would have finished with an 8-8 .500 mark in only their second season in the league.

Jed also made strides personally notching over 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career (1,018 yards). However, Podolak wasn’t completely satisfied with his season’s performance as he calculated that the surge from 984 yards the prior year could be explained by the added 3 games. Without those, he realizes that he would not have likely reached his goal in S23.

Jed’s rise, but arguable dip in statistical output, can be explained in great part by team strategy shifts – particularly in how Podolak was targeted in S23 vs. S22. Jed actually caught 3 less passes in S23 in spite of the 3 added games. His average yards per catch did actually rise by a small amount (14.5 to 15.7).

Podolak has high hopes for S24. The team is on the rise and should be able to meet the .500 season challenge. The big X factor is the change in Quarterback. The Hahaluahs are planning a shift from Corvo Harvan to rising star, Luke Skywalker, behind center. There is a clear step backward in terms of experience, but what will the chemistry be between Skywalker and Honolulu’s leading receiver? What will the team strategy be with Skywalker at the helm?

S24: Honolulu Hits .500 for First Time - Podolak Totals 1,000+ Yards Second Season in a Row

Jed Podolak has mixed feelings about S24, but they are mostly positive. First and foremost, the Hahaluahs improved once again. S24 was the first season the franchise achieved a .500 season (8-8). This is a huge milestone for an expansion franchise and Jed celebrated with the rest of the team. Because of the toughness of their division, Honolulu narrowly missed their first playoff appearance as well.

Personally, Jed made gains as well. He pulled down an additonal 11 receptions for a career high 76 over the 16 game season. His total yards went up correspondingly – from 1,018 in S23 to 1,164 in S24. These back-to-back 1,000+ yard seasons have cemented Jed’s reputation as one of the premier receivers in the ISFL.

One down note, apart from missing the playoffs, was the fact that Jed crossed the goal line 2 less times in S24 than he did in S23. Honolulu generally runs the ball when down near the goal line as proven when one considers that one of the best WRs in the game, who pulled down 76 total receptions (9th best in the league), scored only 4 TDs over 16 games (26th in the league).

With S24 in the books, Jed is looking forward to continued improvement in S25. Everyone in the locker room from GM down to youngest rookie on the team believes that this will be the season that Honolulu breaks through to join the ranks of the league’s playoff teams. And they expect to go deep in those playoffs. Asked how that would come to be Jed replied, “Just throw me the ball Skywalker. Within 30 yards of the endzone especially – just throw me the ball.”

Only time will tell.

Professional career statistics

			Rushing						Receiving
Season	Team	GP	Att	Yds	Avg	Yds/G	Long	TD	Rec	Yds	Long	TD
2033 (S18)	Luchadores	14	255	1392	5.5	53	99.4	9	6	42	12	0
2034 (S19)	Luchadores	14	284	1544	5.4	110.3	52	11	20	116	23	0
2035 (S20)	Second Line	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	325	59	5
2036 (S21)	Second Line	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	50	782	50	5
2037 (S22)	Hahalua	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	68	984	49	4
2038 (S23)	Hahalua	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	65	1,018	50	6
2039 (S24)	Hahalua	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	76	1,164	49	4

Achievements and records

S22 Ultimus Champion, New Orleans Second Line