Tessie Garciaparra
 Media day photoshoot | |
| No. 97 – Chicago Butchers | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Safety |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | July 23, 2024 (aged 36) Whittier, California |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Username: | RenoJacksonHS |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Whittier High School |
| College: | Vanderbilt University |
| ISFL Draft: | 2046 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7 |
| DSFL Draft: | 2045 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 |
| Career history | |
| Roster status: | Retired |
Tessie Garciaparra (born July 23, 2024) is a former American football safety for the Chicago Butchers of the International Simulation Football League (ISFL). She played college football for Vanderbilt University before declaring for the 2046 DSFL Draft (S31).
Contents
Early years
Tessie Garciaparra was born on July 23, 2024 to Austin and Emma Garciaparra, and as granddaughter to famous baseball player Nomar Garciaparra, and brother to current ISFL player Jason Garciaparra. Growing up in California, Tessie would routinely play one on one football scrimmages vs her brother and developed a love of the game as a result. Tessie would avoid the route Jason went, and opted to stay in California to play football at Whittier High School, being named starting free safety on the defense as a freshman. Tessie would thrive early on as a ballhawk on the field, but would struggle with more physical coverages early on. A chance encounter with Tree Gelbman would help her figure out how to challenge her energy more effectively on the field and play a blow-up aggressive man coverage styled corner. Inspired by the shark she witnessed while surfing one day, Tessie was given the nickname of "Mako" for the incredible quickness in which she moved across the field. Following a shoulder injury sustained in practice, Tessie nearly retired from football to pursue her love of surfing before being convinced by her brother and grandfather to keep going.
After high school, Tessie would be named a 4 star recruit out of high school and would receive several offers from big name schools such as Ohio State and Michigan before deciding to attend Vanderbilt University where she would be expected to start right away.
College career
Tessie was named one of the starting cornerbacks immediately upon arrival at Vanderbilt after a strong showing in preseason workouts. Due to early injuries to the team, Tessie pulled double duty as placekicker in the pre-season scrimmages vs Georgia Tech in which she beat her brother's team 24-21 on a last second field goal, before going 0-3 vs Bayfield University and promptly losing any chance at becoming the permanent kicker once the original one came back. In the opening day matchup against Georgia, Tessie would have 1 interception, 6 tackles, and 1.0 sack in a closely contested 21-14 loss to the divisional rival. Vanderbilt would struggle heavily during Tessie's rookie season, with the worst offense in franchise history due to multiple injuries to starting quarterbacks, finishing 1-12 with the sole win coming vs South Harmon Institute of Technology in a 14-0 game where the only points were a pick-six by Tessie and a fumble recovery by teammate Jonathan Kleinfeld.
Tessie's sophomore season was one to forget as well, as despite new recruits on offense, the team still struggled due to inconsistent quarterback play and coaching, leading to head coach Jimmy "Jim-Jim" Jimmers being fired after a 2-11 season and the hiring of new head coach Chika Fujiwara. Tessie's best game would be vs Boston College where she wouldn't pick up an interception, but picked up 4.0 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.
Tessie's junior season is where she would have her Heisman caliber season under new defensive coordinator Tree Gelbman. Using a new method of defense known as the "Axe Attack" Tessie would see a career number of interceptions, sacks, passes defended, and fumbles forced. Vanderbilt would improve to a 10-3 season under the new coaching, and while missing out on the college football playoffs, would still make it to the Taco Bell Cheesy Fiesta Potato Bowl vs Northwestern where they would win 28-7.
Following her college football career, Tessie cited interest in going pro and declared for the DSFL draft.
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | ||
| 2042 | Vanderbilt | 13 | 13 | 35 | 25 | 10 | 4.0 | 10 | 4 | 136 | 34.0 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2043 | Vanderbilt | 13 | 13 | 50 | 30 | 20 | 4.0 | 10 | 2 | 48 | 24.0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2044 | Vanderbilt | 13 | 13 | 85 | 60 | 15 | 13.0 | 25 | 8 | 176 | 22.0 | 85 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Career Totals | 39 | 39 | 170 | 115 | 45 | 21.0 | 45 | 14 | 360 | 36.6 | 3 | 6 | 2 | ||
DSFL Career
Season 29
Being picked up on a pre-draft tryout by the Kansas City Coyotes at the insistence of her brother Jason, there wasn’t really much to write home about. Mostly playing as a depth cornerback for the team, she saw limited action playing in four games, getting five tackles, and defending one pass. The team would go on to make the playoffs but would lose in the first round. Tessie finished that game with one pass defended in a solid debut for her first playoff showing. Following the game, Tessie received significant praise from the media for the potential she showed on defense and the dangerous combo she formed with Jason Garciaparra. Rumors started to fly surrounding her future with the team as she was a name skyrocketing up draft boards. Despite all the rumors, Tessie kept her head down and focused on her workouts as mock draft rumors swirled across the football universe.
Season 30
Despite rumors of her going elsewhere come draft day, Tessie would find herself back on the Kansas City Coyotes after they drafted her 5th overall in the DSFL Entry Draft. Coming out of the gate and being named a captain immediately, Tessie took the field with an aggressive angle and ran with it. After a relatively quiet game in a week one loss to the Minnesota Grey Ducks where she would record only 5 tackles, Tessie exploded in a Week 2 tie against the Portland Pythons, where she would finish with 9 tackles, three passes defended, and one interception. Tessie followed up this effort with another dominant game, with four tackles but three passes defended in a 33-0 win in Week 3 over Norfolk. Despite a very strong first full season with the Coyotes, finishing the season with 91 tackles, 3 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles and 5 fumble recoveries to go alongside with 21 passes defended, the Coyotes would miss the playoffs.
Season 31
Due to the strong rookie showing and ties to her college coach Tree Gelbman, Tessie was drafted to the Chicago Butchers in the 1st round, 7th overall, reuniting her with her brother Jason. No longer a captain per personal request, Tessie settled down and focused more on her game and refining her craft. She opened up the season with an explosive game in a Week 1 31-14 win over the London Royals. Tessie would finish with 10 tackles, 3 passes defended, two interceptions and would return one of the interceptions back for a touchdown. She followed up this effort with an 11 tackle game and 1 pass defended in a Week 2 tie to the Portland Pythons, coming out of the gate with a white hot start. Simmering off the rest of the season, Tessie would finish with a respectable 93 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 6 interceptions and 16 passes defended as the Coyotes would make it to the Ultimini where they would lose to the Dallas Birddogs. Tessie would finish the playoffs with a stat line of 4 tackles, one fumble recovery, and three passes defended.
ISFL Career
Season 32
Getting the call up to the Chicago Butchers, Tessie would not only say goodbye to the Kansas City Coyotes but also the Cornerback position as well. Switching to safety full time for the Butchers, she would play alongside fellow young safety Dee Walt and would finally be reunited with brother Jason. Tessie would have a relatively quiet start to the season as she adjusted to the hyper competitive ISFL league. In a Week 2 win over the Colorado Yei, Tessie would pick up her first career sack on Mattathias Caliban to go alongside 2 tackles. She would record another sack the next week on Gimmy Jaroppolo Jr of the Baltimore Hawks in a Week 3 25-20 win over the Butchers rival. Tessie’s rookie year would be relatively quiet, finishing the year with 56 tackles, 5 sacks, 5 passes defended and 1 forced fumble in a year where she’d see a nomination for some awards but ultimately fall short, just like the Chicago Butchers who would finish 5-11 and miss the playoffs by a wide margin.
Season 33
Following her rookie season, the bar was set high for Tessie to keep improving on the foundation she had. Tessie and Dee Walt were starting to emerge as a dominant safety duo in a feared Chicago Butchers defense. In the opening week matchup against Baltimore, Tessie would have 7 tackles and a pass defense against Jimmy Garoppolo Jr. in a close fought 29-27 loss on a safety in OT. Her sophomore season was not that kind to Tessie, as she would regress in most areas of her game, getting less sacks and less tackles, but seeing a slight uptick in passes defended and recording her first ISFL interception, which also went for her first ISFL touchdown off of Dexter Zeylren of the Berlin Fire Salamanders in a Week 3 47-37 victory. Finishing with a statline of 54 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and 8 passes defended, it was a question of when she would take that next step. Chicago would make the playoffs but would get bounced round one against Baltimore with Tessie making a non-impact performance with only 4 tackles.
Season 34
Coming into the new season with serious expectations for the team, Tessie would come out of the gates blazing in the Butchers Week 1 win vs the Baltimore Hawks, where she would record four tackles and a sack on Baltimore quarterbacks Gimmy Jaroppolo Jr. Tessie would have another monster game in a Week 6 win over the Colorado Yeti where she would get 7 tackles, defend 1 pass, and get another sack against QB Laughlove. Tessie picked up her only interception of the season the following game, intercepting Sailfish QB Carter Knight in a 48-38 win over the Sarasota Sailfish. Overall a solid season for Tessie who was a part of the Chicago “No Fly Zone” secondary who helped the team finish with a 12-3-1 record and make it to the playoffs as the #1 seed. While having a relatively quiet playoffs, Tessie would still make 19 tackles in 3 games and defend three passes as the Chicago Butchers won their first ever Ultimus trophy.
Season 35
Following the title expectations were sky high for the Butchers, but the team as a whole took a major step backwards going only 9-7 and finishing 2nd in the division. Tessie had a relatively quiet season as well, finishing with 86 tackles, one forced fumble and one recovered fumble, four sacks and an interception. Where she lacked in consistent stats, she made up for by being a human highlight reel. Highlights of the season included a highlight reel sack on Carter Knight in a Week 2 loss against Sarasota in which Tessie dove over the offensive line after a running start before slamming Knight into the ground for the sack. In a week 9 win over the New York Silverbacks, Tessie would record another highlight level sack by dragging down Malcolm Savage after sliding under the offensive lineman’s legs to get to the QB. In the two Butchers playoff games that season, Tessie would remain relatively quiet only recording 7 tackles across two games as Chicago defeated New York before getting defeated by Baltimore.
Season 36
Following a new regimen with a new offseason training program, Tessie started to shift more into a shadow role on the defense and less of a stat seeking role. Playing in a tandem with HeHateMe PickSix II on the right side of the field, PickSix would handle the man while Tessie hovered around to make sure an over the top split didn’t happen which was instrumental in helping PickSix record his team leading five interceptions on the year. The highlight of the season came for Tessie when she won the fan voted “Sack of the Year Award” in the Week 1 loss to Baltimore. Tessie broke through three separate linemen before launching herself into the air and swinging herself onto Jaroppolo Jr to bring the QB down to the ground. The Butchers would make the playoffs as the #1 seed and beat the Liberty in the opening round before being eliminated by the Sailfish in a game where the only Butchers points came from a safety.
Career Stats
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | Special Teams | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | TCK | TFL | Sck | Sfty | Int | PD | TD | FF | FR | Blk P/XP/FG | ||||||
| 2044 | Kansas City | 4 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2045 | Kansas City | 14 | 14 | 91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2046 | Kansas City | 14 | 14 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2047 | Chicago | 16 | 16 | 56 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2048 | Chicago | 16 | 16 | 54 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2049 | Chicago | 16 | 16 | 67 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2050 | Chicago | 16 | 16 | 86 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2051 | Chicago | 16 | 16 | 50 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| Career Totals | 112 | 112 | 502 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 13 | 68 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 0/0/0 | |||||
Playoff Stats
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | Special Teams | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | TCK | TFL | Sck | Sfty | Int | PD | TD | FF | FR | Blk P/XP/FG | ||||||
| 2044 | Kansas City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2046 | Kansas City | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2048 | Chicago | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2049 | Chicago | 3 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2050 | Chicago | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| 2051 | Chicago | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 | ||||
| Career Totals | 11 | 11 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/0/0 | |||||
