Tegan Atwell

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Tegan Atwell
refer to caption
Tegan Atwell before the 2023 (S8) season
No. 23 – Orange County Otters
Position:Wide Receiver
Personal information
Born: (1996-09-26)September 26, 1996 (aged 64)
Brookfield, Illinois
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school:Nazareth Academy
College:University of Notre Dame
ISFL Draft:2020  / Round: 1 / Pick: 8
DSFL Draft:2019  / Round: 2 / Pick: 11
Career history
Roster status:Retired
Career highlights and awards
Career NSFL statistics as of Week 1, 2028
Total tackles:202
Pass deflections:13
Interceptions:3
Receptions:396
Receiving yards:6419
Yards per reception:16.2
Receiving touchdowns:50
Sacks:8
Career DSFL statistics
Total tackles:50
Pass deflections:15
Interceptions:4
Total touchdowns:2
Punt return yards:418
Kick return yards:493
Sacks:0
Defensive touchdowns:1
Player stats at ISFL.net

Tegan Annie Atwell (born September 26, 1996) is a retired American football wide receiver most well known for her time playing for the Orange County Otters of the National Simulation Football League (NSFL). She played college football for the University of Notre Dame before being selected by the Orange County Otters in the 2020 ISFL Draft (S5). Prior to this, she had been selected by the Chicago Blues in the 2019 DSFL Draft (S4).


Early years

Born in Brookfield, Illinois, Tegan Atwell was always not just one of the fastest girls on her track team, but one of the fastest athletes in her school. She started off in track but was unhappy with the other girls on the team, so she began playing soccer. When Atwell had started high school at Nazareth Academy, she wanted to start in sports right away. Unfortunately, soccer was in the second semester and she wasn't really good at basketball. Instead, she went out for the football team.

Atwell's try-out for the team is still the thing of legends at Nazareth. The story goes that she showed up and asked to play. When the coaches asked about what position she played, Atwell replied that she could run, so they put her through some wide receiver drills and then some cornerback drills. She excelled at both, so the coaches flipped a coin and she ended up as the team's star cornerback.

College career

Tegan Atwell would eventually make a name for herself as an American football player, but going into college she was still sought after as a soccer player. When deciding on where to go, Atwell had her choice of soccer scholarships, but she decided to forgo them to play football instead. She chose to go to the top Catholic football school: The University of Notre Dame.

Because Tegan was a walk-on, she went through the same experience she had in high school, except a little less dramatic. In her freshman year, Tegan made her first career interception in Week 7, making sure to take it home for her first touchdown as well. During this freshman year, the Special Teams coach took interest in her returning kicks, with her making the first string by the end of the season.

Atwell's sophomore year was much more impressive as she had more playing time to work with. In the first week, she took back a punt for a touchdown and grabbed half a sack. Atwell's speed and ability to quickly switch gears was what thrust her onto the main stage of the NCAA spotlight. That season she would get 4 more return touchdowns, along with 3 interceptions and 2 sacks.

Her junior year, Atwell was beginning to worry about her defensive side and asked for more to do. She began training in practices as a wide receiver in order to better her hands and positioning. She improved her defense greatly, nabbing 7 interceptions and bringing back 3 of them. Her new style involving backing up the receiver in order to allow the ball to drop down to her. She also excelled in overthrow situations and reading routes.

Atwell's true breakout happened in her senior year, as she had decided to stay and complete her degree in Literature. She had a wonderful season, with 6 interceptions and 4 return TDs. But her final game was what made her a legend. The Fighting Irish were up against Navy and she did what most would say is the impossible. She spent the day grabbing interceptions from Navy. She ended the game with 7 interceptions, bringing back 5 of them. That, combined with her 3 punt return touchdowns, gave her the Division I record for the most touchdowns in a single game. Her final interception, she took all the way to the locker room.

Atwell announced for the DSFL draft later that week.

College career statistics

Come back to this bit. Not sure how to generate the table yet

Professional career

DSFL career

Tegan Atwell was drafted to the Chicago Blues in the 2nd Round as a part of a deal with her former Athletic Director, now Chicago's General Manager, Alexandra Jones. The plan was for her to continue her explosive play close to home and in the same positions as in college. This meant that she was not only the number one cornerback for the young franchise, but she was the number one kick returner. Helped by her cousin Leroy Jenkins' tutelage, Atwell helped lead the team to the playoffs with 4 interceptions and 2 total touchdowns. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as the team lost to the Norfolk Seawolves in the conference final. She would declare for the NSFL Draft almost immediately.

NSFL career

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40‑yd dash 20‑ss 3‑cone Vert jump Broad BP Wonderlic
5 ft 9 in
(1.75 m) 		185 lb
(84 kg) 		4.38 s 4.2 s 7.13 s 27.9 in
(0.71 m) 		10 ft 0.9 in
(3.07 m) 		8 reps 22
2020 NSFL Draft Combine

Leading up to the 2020 ISFL Draft (S5), Leroy Jenkins, her cousin and coach, worked over his former team to pick her up in the draft. While many analysts projected her going earlier to the Arizona Outlaws, she ended up falling to the Orange County Otters at the end of the 1st Round.

Unlike many prospects, Atwell stayed up in the NSFL after the draft and got playing time. Playing alongside Marc Spector and Jonathan King, she was mostly pushed into the role of a nickel back, playing less in her true style of running down receivers and acting much more like a linebacker. Although Atwell would help the Otters to two more Ultimus victories, she became increasingly disenchanted with her position. In order to feel out a possible position change, in 2022 (S7) she asked the coaching staff for snaps on the offensive side of the ball as a wide receiver.

After a season at both cornerback and wide receiver, Atwell found herself out of contract and a free agent for the first time. She decided to make two major announcements during this time. The first was that she would be playing wide receiver full time for her next team. The second was her announcement coming out as gay, becoming the second NSFL player to do so. She took that offseason to announce many changes; but decided that one of them would not be a change in location as she stayed in Orange County, signing a new two-year contract worth a total of $11M.

The 2023 (S8) season was a big one for her, as it was her first year out as a full wide receiver. Although given limited snaps due to team legends Bradley Westfield and Robert Phelps still performing along with new signing Carlito Crush, Atwell made the most of it, picking up 71 receptions for 1200+ yards and 6 TDs. This performance landed her in a group of the top 5 receivers in the league. Unfortunately, this performance was not able to help the Otters to another Ultimus as they lost to the New Orleans Second Line in the 2023 ASFC Championship (S8). After the season, there was a push from Otters fans to get her the Breakout Player of the Year award; but the Awards Committee decided that due to her status as a position changer she was not eligible for the award, instead giving it to Carter Bush.

2024 (S9) was another seminal season for Atwell, continuing to excel in her new position. Finding herself in solid rotation on the starting lineup, Atwell racked up another 70 receptions and 1100+ more yards, making her one of the Top 5 receivers in the league for the second year in a row. But trouble began brewing in the media as there began suggestions of her being a third string receiver and going under-utilized. This was apparent in her low TD numbers, only picking up 3. Rumors began spreading of unrest in the locker room and when the season ended once again in the post season at NOLA, Atwell's contract was up. After a short media circus, Tegan Atwell announced that she would be signing a one year contract with the Yellowknife Wraiths worth $9M. Speculation followed about animosity in the locker room between her and Carlito Crush being the motivating factor behind this move, but close friends insisted this was not true. Instead, they believe that this move was motivated by Wraiths GM Spike Crown, who Atwell saw as a friend and mentor long before she had joined the Otters.

In the 2025 (S10) season, Tegan Atwell suited up in black for the first time and showed the league why she wasn't just a "system player". Atwell grabbed 68 catches and took them for a career high 1,348 yards and 9 touchdowns. This put her at third in the league for receiving yards, 6th in receiving touchdowns, and the best in efficiency (with 19.8 YPC). Before the season, many Yellowknife Wraiths fans expected to miss the playoffs by a mile; but Tegan Atwell helped lead the team to on an amazing playoff race. Unfortunately, by the final week the Wraiths failed to make the playoffs, with a record of 8-6. At the end of the season, Atwell announced her intentions to return to Orange County.

After re-signing with the Otters in 2026 (S11), Atwell seemed to disappear from the spotlight on her team. Barely reaching 1,000 in her first season back, Atwell appeared to be struggling. This didn't unsettle the Orange County leadership one bit however, as they signed her to a 100-year contract the very next season to prove their commitment to eachother. That 2027 (S12) season proved to be one of the worst for Atwell, who missed the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in her career at the wide receiver position. Fortunately for her the rest of the team made their way to an Ultimus victory, giving Atwell a third championship ring. After the championship, Atwell announced that she would be retiring at the conclusion of the 2028 (S13) season. She finished her final season with 8 receiving touchdowns, giving her a total of 50 career touchdowns. The team would win one more Ultimus for Atwell, who chose to step back from sports and focus on charitable work in Southern California.

Professional career statistics

Come back to this later

Achievements and records

Come back to this later

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