Verso L'Alto
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 L'Alto in his rookie season, 2022 | |||||||||||||
| No. 88 – Baltimore Hawks | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Tight End | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | April 1, 1998 (aged 63) Detroit, Michigan, USA | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 265 lb (120 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Username: | nunccoepi | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | De La Salle Collegiate High School | ||||||||||||
| College: | Michigan State University | ||||||||||||
| ISFL Draft: | 2022 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2 | ||||||||||||
| DSFL Draft: | 2021 / Round: NA / Pick: Waivers | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| Career ISFL statistics as of Week 14, 2023 | |||||||||||||
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| Career DSFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Player stats at ISFL.net | |||||||||||||
Verso L'Alto (born January 1, 1998) is an American football tight end for the Baltimore Hawks of the National Simulation Football League (NSFL). He played college basketball for Michigan State University (MSU) before being drafted by the Baltimore Hawks in the 2022 ISFL Draft (S7). Prior to this, he had been claimed off of waivers by the Tijuana Luchadores in the 2021 season.
Contents
Early years
Verso L'Alto was born in St. Vincent's Hospital in Detroit Michigan on April 1st, 1996 to Ava Rey, a university librarian, and Ezekiel Joseph L'Alto who owned an asphalt paving business. His name means "To the heights!" in Italian and serves as a reminder for him to strive for greatness in all things. L'Alto was raised as a devout Catholic and continues to live out his Catholic faith in everything that he does.
Throughout his early years, Verso enjoyed playing sports year-round and demonstrated high coach-ability and body control. Despite this, L'Alto did not make any of the sports teams he tried out for in his freshman year at De La Salle Collegiate High School. Instead, L'Alto invested in a personal trainer and hit the weight room on a daily basis. The hard work paid off as he gained more than 30 pounds. The next year, as L'Alto grew 6 inches and caught the attention of the coaching staffs, he began to see some athletic success. Verso L'Alto played varsity soccer, basketball, and baseball in his sophomore year, but began to focus solely on basketball throughout his high school career. By the time he led his team to a state championship appearance in his junior year and a championship win in his senior year, L'Alto had offers lined up from several Big 10 schools. In 2016, he accepted a modest scholarship to play basketball for Michigan State University as a three-star recruit.
College career
As a freshman in 2016, L'Alto started 7 games in the place of the injured Miles Bridges, but contributed for the majority of the season by adding depth to an already talented team.
In his sophomore and junior years of college, Verso L'Alto continued to contribute to the success of the Michigan State Spartans, twice winning Big Ten Player of the Week and was a candidate for the Big 10 Sixth Man of the Year Award. The best all-around performance of L'Alto's college career came in an upset win over Kentucky in the Sweet 16 of the national tournament as L'Alto score 22 points with 15 rebounds, and 9 assists--nearly earning a triple-double. The team would go on to lose to the eventual national champions, Gonzaga, in the Elite 8.
Despite rumors that he would be declaring for the draft, in 2020, L'Alto decided to return for a senior year at Michigan State. L'Alto played only 30 games after dealing with lingering effects of a concussion which caused him to miss the beginning of the national tournament. The team would go on to lose in the national championship game to the University of Notre Dame. L'Alto finished his collegiate career averaging 9.9 points per game, 8.7 assists per game, 1.1 steals per game, and 0.5 blocks per game. Despite this stat line, L'Alto was not selected in the 2021 NBA draft.
Verso L'Alto graduated with a Bachelor's of the Arts degree in Architecture and without playing a single down of college football. He was asked to work out for the Charlotte Hornets and the Utah Jazz that summer, but was never extended a professional basketball contract.
College career statistics
Come back to this bit. Not sure how to generate the table yet
Professional career
DSFL career
As L'Alto was preparing to return home in the summer of 2021, he was approached by Epictitus Milburn, a football strategist and eventual general manager in the National Simulation Football League (NFSL). Milburn encouraged L'Alto to consider a career in professional football. L'Alto spend the next several months learning the basics of the game of football with Milburn as his personal trainer. L'Alto's film and work out numbers caught the attention of several general managers in the DSFL, the developmental farm league of the NSFL, and he was eventually claimed by the Tijuana Luchadores as a Tight End. Due to his late start and immigration issues, L'Alto was unable to play in the first 3 games of the 2021 regular season but finished out the season's last 11 games with a stat line which included 50 receptions for 387 yards. The Tijuana Luchadores went on to lose the conference championship to the San Antonio Marshals.
Nevertheless, L'Alto saw his draft stock rise as he collected awards for Tight End of the Year and Pro Bowl Designations. He became known for his balanced style of play and enthusiasm for the game. He remains an avid fan of the Tijuana Luchadores and is a season ticket holder, attending as many games as he can.
NSFL career
| Ht | Wt | 40‑yd dash | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | BP | Wonderlic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
265 lb (120 kg) |
4.46 s | 4.32 s | 7.32 s | 28.4 in (0.72 m) |
10 ft 0.6 in (3.06 m) |
22 reps | 25 | ||||
| NSFL S7 Draft Combine | ||||||||||||
L'Alto fulfilled his dream of becoming a professional athlete as he was selected second overall in the 2022 NSFL draft by the Baltimore Hawks.
In his rookie season, Verso L'Alto started out slowly as he acclimated to a higher level of play, but eventually demonstrated significant improvement as he scored 8 touchdowns on 92 receptions for 729 yards. It was not enough to earn the team a spot in the post-season, however as the Hawks missed the 2022 playoffs. For L'Alto, the season was a success as, even as a rookie, he stepped into a leadership role among his teammates and was awarded the NSFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
L'Alto continued to work on his strength and endurance into his sophomore year in the NSFL as he managed nearly two pancakes per game and did not allow a single sack for the second season in a row becoming one of the only starting tight ends to never allow a sack. Otherwise, L'Alto's stat line regressed somewhat as he scored only 4 touchdowns on 91 receptions for 611 yards, but the Baltimore Hawks saw more success as they earned a date in the postseason with the Yellowknife Wraiths. He caught 7 passes for 41 yards in what was nearly an upset over the eventual NSFL champions. L'Alto's high level of play continued to set him apart from others in the league as he again earned Probowl honors.
Professional career statistics
Come back to this later
Achievements and records
Come back to this later
