Nakiri Ayame

Nakiri Ayame

No. 66 – Cape Town Crash
Position:	Runningback
Personal information
Born:	(2030-13-12)January 12, 2030 (aged 30) Tokyo, Japan
Height:	5 ft 0 in (1.52 m)
Weight:	150 lb (68 kg)
Username:	ValorX77
Career information
College:	Hololive Academy
ISFL Draft:	S40 / Round: 3 / Pick: 42
DSFL Draft:	S39 / Round: 6 / Pick: 43
Career history
Dallas Birddogs (S39-S40)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:	Active

Nakiri Ayame (born January 12, 2031) is an American football runningback who currently plays for the Cape Town Crash. She has played college football with the Hololive Academy, and played in the DSFL with the Dallas Birddogs.

Early years

Nakiri Ayame started as a small child in the bustling city of Tokyo, where talents always seemed to line the streets. She naturally was blessed with a great singing voice and a modest dancing ability. However, Ayame is also timid and often struggles with depression and anxiety. Soon enough, Ayame got an unexpected break when she agreed to join the v-tuber agency Hololive to advance her musical talents further. During her time at the idol academy, Ayame also developed a love for the sport of football and had a great running ability. A few years later, when she was 14 years old, she hired an agent for her sports career, which happened to be someone who had a connection to the International Simulation Football League; It was none other than Videl-San, the best Wide Reciever to have ever come out of the island nation. With some training from her agent, Ayame signed up to play running back at her idol academy.

College career

Fresh off a life-changing agent signing, Ayame was ready to debut on the gridiron. Most of the team made fun of Ayame for her diminutive height, but that did not stop Ayame from shocking the team due to her speed and mental endurance. But, it was not without some troubles; early on in her season, she had a lot of fumbles, which rubbed most of her team the wrong way. However, Ayame finally fixed her issues with ball handling. One such issue she did not have was her previous anxiety attacks, in which she had learned how to cope with mental stress due to her ties at Hololive. Later in the season, Ayame finally mastered the basics of her position and got the attention of DSFL scouts for her speed and mental strength. After only playing eight games in the Japanese college ranks, Ayame declared she would go into the upcoming DSFL draft.

College career statistics

Career statistics			Rushing					Offensive Line
Season	Team	Games	Att	Yards	Avg	Lg	TD	Pancakes	Sacks Allowed
2053 (S38)	Hololive Academy	8	314	1010	4.5	66	10	10	0

Professional career

Dallas Rookie Year (S39)

Nakiri Ayame began her DSFL career extremely slowly, only receiving 16 carries over the first 4 weeks, and 15 of those carries coming in weeks 3 and 4, with no carries in week 1, and 1 in week 2. Her carries climbed every week from week 1 to week 6, culminating in a 13-carry 96-yard game against the Kansas City Coyotes. Following that breakout game Ayame became a regular feature in the Birddogs rushing attack gameplan, never dipping below 6 carries a game for the rest of the season. Ayame's season slowed down after her strong week-6 performance, only hitting 30 yards in week 8, 42 yards in week 9, 51 yards in week 10. She started to climb out of the slump in week 11, with 60 yards on 14 carries against the Minnesota Grey Ducks, before truly coming into her own with the best game of the season in week 12 against the Portland Pythons, rushing for 89 yards and a score, along with her one and only catch for 6 yards and another touchdown. She continued her hot streak the very next week against Kansas City with her highest yardage total of 125 on only 6 carries, averaging 20.8 yards per carry. She never hit those highs over the final 2 games of her season, with 49 and 50 yards and one score each to end the regular season, and in her one playoff game. Shortly afterward, Ayame declared for the ISFL draft, setting her sights on the main league.

Dallas Second Year (S40)

After being drafted 42nd overall by the Cape Town Crash, Nakiri Ayame was seen as an afterthought by most teams, and her sophomore season was an indicator that the pundits were right. She only had one rush of 20 or more yards during the season and was also buried in the depth chart in favor of "better-running backs." Her yards were also less than her previous year, a sign that caused her to be seen as backup fodder at best. The sad part about this was the Dallas Birddogs were also terrible, going 6-8 and missing the playoffs by two games, which made Ayame feel useless and that she could not help the team because of a poorly created depth chart. The Crash then called her up to be the team's running back of the future, and then she will be back at square one, a backup, but this was for her good for now.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad
5 ft 0 in (1.52 m)	150 lb (68 kg)

Cape Town First Year (S41)

Ayame was optimistic for the Crash, as they had broken a long playoff drought and are looking to get their first championship since Season 7, which was 34 seasons ago. Ayame had a solid season backing up league MVP Jarvis Harbinger-Marjin, with 468 rushing yards, and 8 rushing touchdowns, but also averaging 4.7 yards per carry. She also did not allow a sack and pancaked 35 defenders, while also having 178 receiving yards, making her a reliable backfield presence. This helped the Cape Town Crash have the league's top-scoring offense and a league-best 13-3 record. At the NSFC conference finals, Ayame combined 60 receiving yards with 52 rushing yards and a touchdown, along with 116 yards and 3 touchdowns from Harbinger-Marjin to pulverize the Sarasota Sailfish 34-20, to go to their first Ultimus appearance since S16. The Arizona Outlaws were able to shut down Harbinger-Marjin efficiently, but could not stop Ayame from getting the opening touchdown of the Ultimus, on a pass nonetheless. Cape Town took the lead with 17 seconds left in the game on a field goal to make it 20-18. Arizona marched down the field but just couldn't manage the clock correctly as they were in field goal range but didn't use a timeout in time. As a result, Ayame and the Crash won the Ultimus. For Ayame, getting the Ultimus in her first season should be a bright future ahead.

Cape Town Second Year (S42)

Coming off of a championship season, expectations were sky-high for the Cape Town Crash, and for Nakiri Ayame to improve on a solid rookie year. Ayame did not disappoint, she had 805 rushing yards, an increase of almost 400 from the prior season, and 432 receiving yards, an increase of nearly 300 from last season. The Crash had a record of 10-6, a decrease of 3 wins, mainly due to having one of the league's worst secondaries as they allowed the 4th most passing yards per game during the season. Another factor can be attributed to down years from Creg Jerrith and Jarvis Harbinger-Marjin, as Jerrith had a career-high in interceptions. while JHM failed to get over 1500 yards for the first time in many seasons. Those downsides exposed the Crash as a fringe contender during the playoffs, as Ayame was held to 30 yards rushing and Jerrith threw 3 interceptions in a heartbreaking 16-13 loss to the Berlin Fire Salamanders.

Cape Town Third Year (S43)

After last season's premature playoff exit, the Crash were determined to return to the Ultimus. Nakiri Ayame was a critical factor in why the Cape Town Crash had the league's best rushing attack in S43. During the season, Ayame rushed for 1,000 yards for the first time in her career, finishing with 1062 yards, and had a slight increase in yards per carry with 4.8, an increase of .3 from the season prior, and she also had the largest single rush in her career with an 85 yard run during one of the games. The Crash had a record of 12-4, an improvement from the season prior which was not enough to get a first round bye, as the Baltimore Hawks had a 13-2-1 record, which meant the Crash had to go through the wild card round for the second straight season. The Crash demolished the Colorado Yeti in the first round, only to have their offense disappear in the conference finals against Baltimore, leading to another sour end for Crash fans.

Cape Town Fourth Year (S44)

The Crash were looking to get back to the Ultimus after suffering a close loss in the playoffs the season prior. Nakiri Ayame was once again a key part of how the Crash secured the league's best record at 13-3. Ayame did have a down year offensively with decreases in yards and yards per carry, but a big improvement in the receiving game was key to her improvement. Another new part to Ayame's game was her usage in kick and punt return situations which would be key in the playoffs. In the first round, The Crash took care of the Berlin Fire Salamanders, which set up a rematch against the Hawks. The Crash were down 20-3 at halftime, only to rally back and win on a last-second 60+ yard touchdown by Kairo Knight. This set up the Crash to take on Honolulu in the Ultimus, where Ayame started the game by returning the kickoff for a touchdown, she would also get a rushing touchdown. Unfortunately, the defense and some parts of the offense faltered, where Jerrith and JHM both had a lost fumble and the secondary failed to get any turnovers, yet again, disappointment for Cape Town.

Cape Town Fifth Year (S45)

After another playoff disappointment, the Crash were looking to return to the playoffs and make a statement. However, this would be with Nakiri Ayame as the main back as Jarvis Harbringer-Marjin left in free agency for the Chicago Butchers. it did not take long for Ayame to become the most feared player on Cape Town's roster, as she would put up 2000 combined yards of receiving and rushing, but also 1000 yards in punt and kick returns, making Ayame an all-around multi-purpose running back. Unfortunately, despite having the league's highest-scoring offense, including a 5,000-yard passing season by quarterback Creg Jerrith IV, the defense faced a massive regression, as they gave up the most points in the league, a far cry from the league's second-fewest points allowed the season prior. As a result, the Cape Town Crash failed to make the playoffs, despite the MVP-caliber season from Nakiri Ayame. She looks to continue dominating defenses in S46.

Cape Town Sixth Year (S46)

Coming off of an MVP campaign and missing the playoffs the year prior, Nakiri Ayame and the Cape Town Crash were looking to make a statement this season. Ayame did her part during the season setting a career-high in rushing yards at 1470, only second to Yellowknife's Money Tolliver. This season was also a record-setting one for the resident Oni, as she would break the single-season scrimmage yards record, Jay Cue Jr once held that in S37 until Ayame broke it this season. Cape Town also had a run-first quarterback with Thor, but only saw a little success in offensive production outside of Ayame, as the Crash would suffer another late-season collapse, including losing their final four games to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Ayame's production was noticed by the rest of the league, as she was nominated for the Offensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards for the second consecutive season.

Achievements and records

Ultimus XLI Champion

S45 MVP & OPOY Nominee

S45 Pro Bowler

S45 Second-Team All-Pro

S46 MVP & OPOY Nominee

S46 Pro Bowler

S46 First-Team All-Pro

Career statistics			Rushing					Offensive Line		Receiving
Season	Team	Games	Att	Yards	Avg	Lg	TD	Pancakes	Sacks Allowed	Rec	Yards	Avg	Lg	TD
2054 (S39)	Birddogs	14	127	711	5.6	46	5	5	0	7	87	12.4	24	1
2055 (S40)	Birddogs	14	126	608	4.8	35	4	8	0	6	55	9.2	18	0
2056 (S41)	Crash	16	99	468	4.7	35	8	35	0	22	178	8.1	27	0
2057 (S42)	Crash	16	178	805	4.5	50	10	26	3	44	432	9.8	36	5
2058 (S43)	Crash	16	220	1062	4.8	85	11	23	2	39	364	9.3	45	5
2059 (S44)	Crash	16	227	1035	4.6	88	7	32	0	56	527	9.4	63	4
2060 (S45)	Crash	16	230	1012	4.4	90	16	36	3	84	988	11.8	79	8
2061 (S46)	Crash	16	308	1470	4.8	90	7	26	1	83	991	11.9	61	6