#2021 nfl draft | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

asphaltmeadowws · 4 months

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Do you mean basics about his career or his personality? //

Both if you don't mind 🖤

He played football at Athens High School and you’re going to see that to this day he still represents his school whenever he can.

The he moved to Ohio State University but didn’t get many chances to become the starting QB there, so after graduation he moved to LSU where he became a college football legend hehe

He won the national championship with LSU playing with Jamarr Chase (who now is also at the Bengals) and Justin Jefferson (now playing at the Vikings).

He was the number 1 pick overall in the 2020 draft but unfortunately he suffered a season-ending injury in his rookie year at the NFL.

He recovered and came back in 2021 leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl, in which the Bengals suffered a narrow defeat to the Rams.

The current season was a very tough one. He suffered a calf injury, missed training camp and wasn’t fully recovered in the first few games. Then last month against the Ravens he suffered another season-ending injury and is currently out.

As for his personality, he’s very quiet, very private about his personal life. He used to be more open and spontaneous during his college career but that changed once he got to the NFL.

But all of his team-mates describe him as a resilient, kind and calm person. His mom has said several times that he’s shy and he doesn’t really enjoy being a celebrity, but he understands it comes with the job.

He seems to be super nerdy and goofy, loves Star Wars, Marvel movies, TV shows like The Office and Sponge Bob. He’s also into fashion and is always rocking som very cool game day outfits, and also LOVES UFC.

He has a foundation which focus on mental health and food insecurity. He had this beautiful speech when he won the Heisman trophy that triggered major donations to help out kids and families struggling with food insecurity, I recommend watching it.

I think that covers the basics, anon!

#asks

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kdsburneraccount · 2 months

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joe'marr 4 da ship ask game bless

Guys you do not know what you ask 😭

Opinion below the cut bc if not I would feel like that image of Patrick being chained in a coliseum:

It’s not really my thing 😭 I’ve read fic for it, and the fic is good, and I’m a Bengals fan, so I should like the ship with our qb1 and wr1. And yet…

Tbh the problem is me not the ship 🧍 like I have eyes I can see why ppl go crazy abt joe’marr 😭 I became a Bengals fan in 2020 and was like “omg we drafted a qb and wr in the first two rounds and their jersey numbers are 9 to 85 this is such a narrative parallel to the past” so joe/tee was the ship I gravitated toward, blissfully unaware of the LSU lore until the 2021 NFL draft rolled around. And yes, I was one of the ppl wanting to draft Penei Sewell at the time, so when Ja’Marr got drafted I was a little disappointed but nevertheless willing to see how things went. And then we went to the Super Bowl and Ja'Marr had a record-breaking season, Joe wore Ja'Marr's jersey to a Saints game last season, and yeah. In another fandom this would get hundreds of fics a la Hockey RPF. McStrome would never /j

I think if I’d gotten into the Bengals a season later I would’ve shipped joe’marr and been fed like a member of the royal family with all the content being provided. But i did not so here we are 😔 im unfortunately stubborn about some ships and I guess this is one of them. I like them individually but together it just doesn’t work in my head 😭 even tho the evidence is overwhelming. In another universe my ja'marr/justin fic would probably be joe'marr. much to consider.

So uh to the ppl who ship joe’marr (most nfl rpf enjoyers) and read all of that rambling… keep doing ur thing 🫡 I do respect that this ship has gotten a lot of people into nfl rpf, which is a good thing! My hope is that people are able to branch into other pairings but ship who you wanna ship and don't let other opinions get to you 👍

(Kind of a tangent but i was surprised the joe'marr economy didn't really pop off until the season after the super bowl but i guess at that time the size of the nfl rpf fandom was a little smaller and ppl were working on things. Okay tangent over.)

#my asks #ship ask game #nfl rpf #joe burrow #ja'marr chase

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allpromarlo · 11 months

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since the important part of you (my mutuals) asked, here's rose oc wank: nfl edition

this is gonna get a lil unrealistic and of course if you (for some fuckn reason) have a problem with ocs for a real life sports league then GET OUUUTTTTT

n e ways

so i already spoilered some of the things this peculiar group of Sad Wet Men have to offer but i wanna start with the running back or as i (the name generator i ran through 437 times.) called him, duane cameron. he's a rb who got drafted in 2011 in the 2nd round bc i just can't let go of my senior citizens (terms and conditions apply i KNOW 34 isn't old) to the panthers. i don't know if they were actually in need of a rb at that time but fuck it they have one now and he's gorjus.

he's known cam (1st ovr pick yannooooo) since high school (after moving away from canada...but that's a whole thing i don't even wanna get into that) and when they got drafted to the same team cam was more enthralled by it than duane but hey he'll have to live w that now. no eli manning shenanigans you are STAYING THERE

n e ways he played for the panthers for a couple seasons and he was always in the top 10 rb conversations (from 2012 onwards bc the only thing people remember him for in 2011 is getting batista bombed by jj watt). he won opoy in 2014 for the first time and repeated in 2015. yk what also happened in 2015.

bc i am chronically living in the past and i'll never stand for the injustice that was dealt on that particular day in 2016, of course my 6'7 babygirl (don't question the dimensions. just Don't.) was the missing piece to the panthers super bowl and they do win that shit fuck you and your big ass forehead peyton. duane also wins sbmvp bc of his outlandish 377 yard performance (I FUCKING WARNED YOU) but you could expect that

n e ways after an easy repeat in 2016 (julio i wanted you to have this so bad but...the Narrative) and some drama in 2017 (mainly due to cam making the bail for no fucken reason) my boy finally hung up the boots in carolina and signed with the ravens because i am a biased little fangirlie and i want my team to have everything. he won the chip in 2019 w the murder birds and maybe sorta somewhat did it again in 2022 but shhhh

n e ways this was a LOT for just one guy and trust me he's the only one with that much history. movin tf on

so in my last post i did mention a 2nd oc who's a social experiment. well his name is ansis knight (that was NOT my idea btw i asked my brother to give me a name for a cornerback and this is what he came up with) and he's a social experiment in the sense that he's literally german. like his dad is american and everything but the dude grew up in Heidelberg, schönste Stadt im Land.

as i said he's a cb & plays for the eagles as of right now and he's very. idk. he's a dumbass and he does things he shouldn't do a lot of the time but Never On The Field. on the field he's the most annoying little bastard (especially for qbs bc for SOME FUCKING REASON he's everything everywhere all at once and they can't escape him) and wrs have a burning hatred for him (so do i). but off the field he's just this very Peculiar Personality and nobody knows what his deal is except amon-ra bc out of all the wrs he bothers every week amon-ra gets the most of it. you can imagine how he reacted when he saw his week 1 matchup last season

not a lot of history on him bc he's still fairly new but i'll just say he's my weirdest saddest wettest football guy and i love him very a lot

AND NOW. FOR THAT MOTHERFUCKER THAT WAS PART OF THE FUCKING NBA OC POST (which is so outdated by now you don't even know)

cole grAnt.

i'll take away first that he's shrunk a bit (6'10 is ENOUGH, jfc) and he's an edge rusher now which means he's the biggest menace to society the world has ever seen. he was drafted by the colts in the 6th round after a solid college season (UNDERDOG STORY RAAAAHHHHH) but they traded his ass to baltimore (eheh. hey) after an...interesting 2021 season. let me explain por favor

basically, he was tackled pretty fucking hard at one point (however hard you can hit a 6'10 dude who's built like a fucking wardrobe) and hit the ground awkwardly. @ the beginning he thought it was just a concussion and bc it was right ahead of bye week, he came back the next game. in THAT game tho he collapsed on the field and when they did a scan on his ass they found that a blood vessel exploded in his brain which caused intracranial hematoma (inner bleeding in the brain for all you non googlers). my man basically died for a second and he didn't play another game afterwards, but in 2022 he came back w a vengeance and he made joe burrow's life HELL in week 5 (and the wildcard game)

i don't know why i went THAT hard on cole's injury i just thought that i was coddling these men too hard and needed one of them to SUFFER. i mean duane already did for the duration of the 2018 season but i needed PHYSICAL SUFFERING i needed there to be BLOOD.

anyways that would be all i hope you understand at least some of it goodnight goodbye

@heyitswolfman pls accept my humble offering + apology i had some bs to deal w today so this comes late <3<3 sawry

#if this doesn't get any notes i'm deleting it next morning #you have till 7 am #now you're all familiar with my disaster children. thank u for ur attention #nfl #oc philosophies

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stephstars08 · 1 year

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOEY B!!!🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂

First thing I am going to say is that I am so proud of Joe! In only just three seasons in the NFL Joe has accomplished so much! HE’S UNDEFEATED AGAINST THE CHIEFS! (Sorry I had to say that😜). I remember the night Joe got drafted like it was yesterday! Joe shows why he was drafted number one overall. Last season really reminded me of his final season at LSU. I remember hearing during the off season in 2021 that not many people were on the bengals because they weren’t sure how Joe was going to play because of his knee, he shut those people up real quick which is what he’s best at! If only people would realize, when you talk shit about Joe, he’s going to make you pay for it! Joe is confident which I love because that’s what a leader it! A leader needs to have confidence and Joe is the person that has the most confidence for that team! I love hearing his teammates talk about him! Joe is such an inspiration that I love seeing him interact with fans especially kids. I remember during training camp my mom came to me and showed Joe sitting in his car talking to a little boy and girl! That warmed my heart so much I couldn’t stop smiling at it! Another moment that made my heart warm was during a prime time game Joe signed this one little girl’s sign that said she came all the way from a different state to watch him play. Instead of having someone from the broadcast team take it back to the little girl he did himself! Joe inspires so many little kids! Not going to lie, Joe inspires me a lot as well. He inspires me by not ever giving up! Joe has fought many battles! Jim and Robin raised an incredible man! I love seeing his parents in the stands at his games! That’s another thing that warms my heart! Joe is my MVP! I know one day he will win MVP and I know one day he will win a Super Bowl! WHO DEY and Happiest Birthday To Joe Burrow!🧡🎁

(All photos from BurrowDaily on Instagram!)

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godefylife · 2 years

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Second- and third-year breakout players for the 2022 NFL season – Defense edition:

Second- and third-year breakout players for the 2022 NFL season – Defense edition: Edge defender - Joe Tryon-Shoyinka Interior D-line - Justin Madubuike Cornerback - Paulson Adebo . . . #NFL #Footballtalk #NFLDraft #NFLBreakoutPlayers #NFLTwitter

After breaking down seven offensive breakout candidates for this upcoming NFL season, we’re switching over to the defensive side of the ball and identifying seven more names, who I believe are due for taking a big step forward heading into year two or three. Once again, these guys must have at least played to some degree in the NFL and not made the list last year already. Players don’t qualify…

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#2020 NFL Draft #2021 NFL Draft #2022 NFL season #Breakout Candidates #Breakout NFL Players #Footballtalk #NFL #NFL Draft #NFL offseason

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the-football-chick · 1 year

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Giants trading WR Kadarius Toney to the Chiefs for 3rd round and 6th round draft picks. Toney has had lingering injury issues since he was drafted by the Giants in the first round in 2021. Still a surprise though.

IG: nfl (10/27/22)

#nfl #kadarius toney #giants #chiefs #wide receivers #nfl trade

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tinyunderwear · 1 year

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Beniers remains leader for Calder as rookie of year

Matty Beniers continues to play a lead role down the stretch for the Seattle Kraken in their quest to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in their second NHL season.

Beniers is second on the Kraken in goals (19; behind Jared McCann's 30), fourth in points (45) and tied for fourth in assists (26) while averaging 17:00 of ice time in 61 games. The 20-year-old, who plays center on the top line with right wing Jordan Eberle and McCann, leads NHL rookies in goals and points, as he has much of the season.

"Playing center in this league, as a young guy, is a little bit like throwing as a young guy as a quarterback," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "I would probably compare it to a young player in the end in the NFL because there's a lot coming at you. There's a lot of responsibility and there's leadership with it. Matty's able to handle all of those things. He has those natural leadership qualities about him."

Beniers is the favorite to win the Calder Trophy at the three-quarter mark of the season, according to a panel of 15 NHL.com writers, with 74 points (14 first-place votes). He also was first in NHL.com's poll at the halfway mark in January.

"He has a natural presence and a confidence that doesn't come with any arrogance," Hakstol said. "It's an easy presence and he's a [heck] of a player. There are challenges he's dealt with, he's run up against some bumps in the road, but he's handled them all really well. So, the qualities that I mentioned I believe are really important to him in his success."

Beniers missed two games with an upper-body injury in January and has nine points (two goals, seven assists) and 21 shots on goal in 14 games since returning to the lineup Feb. 7.

Bonus Owen Power mention:

Power, chosen No. 1 by the Sabres in the 2021 NHL Draft, doesn't have the gawdy offensive numbers (23 points; four goals, 19 assists) as some other rookies this season, but he has played a top-pair role while leading first-year players in average time on ice (23:43). Buffalo had controlled 53.4 percent of all shots attempted at 5-on-5 with Power on the ice.

"What [Power] does on a nightly basis is just amazing when you factor in his age (20) and lack of experience in our league," Sabres coach Don Granato said, "to dominate situations and really full games the way he does. I know he hasn't been talked about for rookie of the year. It's astonishing to me because of how he couldn't be."

Beniers, meanwhile, leads rookies with 15 even-strength goals and 36 even-strength points.

#matty beniers #seattle kraken #owen power #this leading man is gonna win the calder - dip julia roberts (she's hosting it) and kiss her square on the mouth #they'll mention this when they do the retrospective biopic of his life right before he does his last film

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boltupbitches · 1 year

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EROS - κεφάλαιο (chapter) 1

April 2021

"So are you coming home to see me get drafted? Mater said you might be busy with some art thing. I figured a flight to Baltimore shouldn't be too out of the way. I mean, Nysa is flying from San Fran and a flight from LA is about the equal amount of time, right?"

Gaea rolled her eyes as she listened to her little brother talk a mile a minute. It wasn't that she didn't want to be there and be supportive of him, but the 'art thing' he was referring to was a mural commission the LA Chargers are going to interview her for. Her work caught the eye of someone who knew someone and they reached out to her manager. Apparently one of the players, Bosco or something, followed her Instagram. She will admit she didn't know what the big deal was when Howie called her, absolutely elated at the fact that she caught the attention of a famous person and that the Chargers were suddenly interested in her work.

"I'll try my best, Lexi. I have an important meeting with a possible client. I want to be there, I really do, but I also have to afford to live while completing my Ph.D. studies. I'll let you know for sure by next Friday if I can make it."

Alexios sighed, but didn't object to that, knowing that Gaea would chew him a new one. His other sister, Nysa, was the easier one to convince into things. Gaea? She was scary as hell at times, firm in her convictions, and was hard to sway. Even Nysa had a hard time convincing her to do things and they were closer than Alexios and Gaea.

Gaea had to remind herself to not be guilted by her brothers sulking. It was hard being the oldest of three kids. Their mater was often toughest on her due to cultural reasons. She was the oldest, the first born, and a girl. Her mater's tough expectations often created strains in the family. Gaea and her clashed often on things, Nysa tending to be the more docile one and the people pleaser of the two. Alexios? He was the baby and the apple of their mater's eye. When Gaea wanted to pursue swimming beyond college, it was a waste of time and frowned upon. When she completed her BA in History and MA in Art History, it wasn't good enough. Her pursuing a Ph.D. on the other side of the country? Disrespectful and unnecessary. Nysa was pressured into giving up dance to pursue medicine, but said nothing against it. Alexios? He was able to pursue his dream of playing college football at a D1 school, not work during summer breaks home from college, and was now entering the NFL draft. Their mother, an accomplished anesthesiologist, was the proudest she could ever be and supportive every step of the way.

Their pater? He was a soft-spoken historian who was a people pleaser like Nysa. While he was proud of his children's success and supportive of their individual interests, he often did not speak up against his wife, choosing instead to avoid the confrontation or attempt to diffuse and redirect attention to something else.

Back to the situation at hand, Gaea found herself once again hurt that their mater did not bother to congratulate her for scoring such a big possibility. Nysa was the first person she told, followed by their pater. It reached Alexios from Nysa and, by now, their mater for certain. No texts. No calls. Nothing. Radio silence.

"I get it. I totally do. Just let me know, ok? I just want you to be there for me. To see me make it. I know you and ma aren't always on the best terms, but please don't let her stop you from being with us. Just think about it ok, please?" Alexios pleaded gently.

Gaea had to give him more credit than she did. While sometimes self-absorbed, in his own way, Alexios was aware of things. In some ways Gaea could see the same stubbornness that's in her, in him. The unapologetic push to be heard, to be seen and for someone to listen. She hates to admit it, but it's definitely a trait they got from their mater.

"I'll let you know. I promise, ok? Just worry about preparing yourself and staying in good health. No parties, no large gatherings, and stay out of controversy. I told you two years ago to delete stuff off your social media. I'm glad you did, but remember what happened to that Bosco guy two years ago? All his stupid shit came back to bite him. Don't fuck it up, Lexi!"

Alexios laughed loudly at that, causing Gaea to scoff. "His name is Bosa. Nick Bosa. Plays for the 49ers. His older brother, Joey Bosa, plays for the LA Chargers and is the one who's been liking every instagram post of yours back to 2014."

"Who? I don't even know who that guy is. Howie said a Bosco guy was liking my stuff and followed me. So, I'm assuming that's who they are talking about."

Alexios continued laughing at his sister's lack of football knowledge. "Please, please, please, if you end up meeting him, do not call him Bosco, Gaea! That support could really put you on to bigger clients!"

"You, someone who hasn't ever held down a real job, is telling me how to court clients?" Gaea teased.

"Hey! I helped out mom at her office many summers and helping dad with his archival work in Cyprus many of times - well actually two times, but I still have some skill! Even if I was getting paid under the table."

It was Gaea's turn to laugh. "Yeah, ok, Lexi. You spent more time taking selfies and posing for your instagram followers than you did actually working."

Alexios pouted at that. "Well, all that influencing has landed me some bomb ass endorsements lining up for me to sign. So, I think it paid off!" He shifted around, disappearing from view for a moment before popping back up in front of the camera. "But forreal. I'm going to text you his name. Joey Bosa. Don't forget it! He might be my future teammate and I'll never live it down."

Gaea rolled her eyes. "Bye Alexios. I'll talk to your dramatic ass tomorrow. I'm going to upload some things and then head to bed early."

Alexios gave a peace sign. "I'm heading to bed too. I'm going to see Carla tomorrow. Maybe take her for pizza and woo her into marrying me."

"Good luck with that, baby brother. That'll never happen."

Alexios stuck his tongue out at her. "Chaire, Gigi."

"Chaire, Lexi."

The called ended.

Gaea spent the next half hour uploading her last commissions and checking her email for anything from her advisor and students. By the end of it, she felt her phone go off and rolled her eyes at the text.

Lexi the Great (Pain the Ass) Joey BOSAAAA

Her curiosity got the better of her and she googled his name. She sucked in a surprised breath when his images popped up in Google Image. He was pretty hot - actually, really hot! Her type of guy. She was one to rarely pay attention to the opposite sex, dating her fair share of guys in college and high school, two of which were athletes, and assholes, unfortunately. She hadn't dated in years, but she wasn't blind. He was really attractive and her type. This was the guy going 6 years back and liking all of her instagram posts?

She googled his instagram handle and then looked it up in her phone. Under his profile she could see he followed her and she was surprised.

She ended up clicking the follow button, refreshed the app and went back into her posts. Howie and Alexios weren't kidding when they said he liked all of her photos from the past six years. She scrolled and scrolled and scrolled, shocked at seeing the little circle of his profile pic appear on the likes.

Her phone buzzed and she almost dropped it in shock when she realized it was a private message request in instagram.

@jbbigbear Thanks for the follow. Huge fan of your work.

Gaea stared in confusion for a few minutes at the message. What the hell was going on? How do you respond to that kind of message? What?

She blinked a few more times, watching little dots showing up under his message, stopping and starting repeatedly, before stopping again.

@GaeaTsa95 Thank you. It's always nice to hear when someone enjoys your work. :)

She wanted to slap herself for sounding so lame.

Almost immediately another message came through.

@jbbigbear It's pretty amazing, honestly. The Attack on Titan piece you did? With the water colors? I watched that tutorial video like 5 times. I always sucked at art, but it's cool to watch others do it. I heard you were coming in to interview for a commission with Chargers. Would you be up to go to lunch afterwards? My treat?

@GaeaTsa95 Thanks. It's definitely a process, but water coloring is my preferred method. And yeah, that would be cool. Will you be at the facility or did you want to meet?

@jbbigbear I'll be there at the facility. I have some meetings in the morning with PT so I'll hang around the extra hour so we can go in one car. That ok?

@GaeaTsa95 Yeah that's cool with me. I know a good Greek restaurant if you're ok with Greek food

@jbbigbear I grew up on Italian and Mediterranean food so yeah, I'm down. Never been to a Greek restaurant before, but had some friends who made some stuff before.

@GaeaTsa95 I know a few places with outdoor eating. We can decide tomorrow. I'm going to head to bed now, but I'm looking forward to meeting up tomorrow.

@jbbigbear Same. How do you say good night in Greek?

@GaeaTsa95 καληνυχτα, Bosa.

@jbbigbear καληνυχτα, Gaea.

#joey bosa imagines #joey bosa imagine #joey bosa fanfiction #joey bosa fanfic

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bongaboi · 1 year

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Washington: 2022 Alamo Bowl Champions

No. 12 Washington knocked off No. 20 Texas 27-20 in the Alamo Bowl to get its first 11-win season since 2016.

The Huskies weren’t troubled by the Longhorns for much of the game. UW took a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter thanks to a TD pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Jalen McMillan. Texas cut the lead to seven with 1:40 to go, and got the ball back with a chance for a potential game-winning TD and two-point conversion with 31 seconds left. But the last-ditch drive with no timeouts remaining didn't get a first down.

The win means Washington finishes the season at 11-2 in Kalen DeBoer’s first season as head coach. Washington fired Jimmy Lake nine games into a tumultuous 2021 season and finished the season at 4-8. It hired DeBoer from Fresno State and the former Indiana offensive coordinator quickly landed the former Indiana QB Penix as a transfer.

That move paid off as Penix was one of the nation’s most productive passers in 2022 and the Huskies won seven more games than they did a season ago. Washington made one of the biggest improvements of any team at the top level of college football in 2022 and is well-positioned to be a contender in the Pac-12 again next season.

Penix will be back in 2023 as the Pac-12 will boast one of the strongest quarterback groups in college football. Heisman winner Caleb Williams is returning for USC while Oregon’s Bo Nix is coming back along with Washington State’s Cam Ward. Oregon State landed Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei, former Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne is transferring to Arizona State and Kent State QB Collin Schlee is transferring to UCLA.

Texas, meanwhile, finishes the season 8-5. The Longhorns entered the game without running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson among other transfers and NFL draft opt outs. That allowed players like freshman Jonathan Brooks to get playing time and Brooks scored two TDs.

The Alamo Bowl might have also been the last game of the pre-Arch Manning era at Texas. QB Quinn Ewers didn’t have a terrible game by any means — his stats would look a lot better if it wasn’t for drops on back-to-back plays in the third quarter by star receiver Xavier Worthy — but the Longhorns will have the highest-profile QB competition in college football over the spring and summer thanks to Manning’s presence.

Manning signed with Texas earlier in December and plans to be an early enrollee. That will allow him to practice this spring and potentially get the chance to start as a true freshman. Or if Ewers plays well like he has flashed at times in 2022, it’s very possible that he could keep the starting job for his second season with the Longhorns.

#2022 #washington huskies #alamo bowl #college football #bowl season

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cherokeecharles · 2 years

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#Hottakes #6: The Hoax Fueled In Homophobia: Manti Te’o

As an upcoming pop culture commentator, I must stick to today's trends and do my research on past and present moments in pop culture that needs to be discussed, so we can come up with new productive conversations and analyze and critique the moment. Anything pop culture based I always run to the Netflix app and head to the documentary section and I found an interesting story to retell…

Netflix recently debuted a new documentary Untold: The Girlfriend That Didn’t Exist. Many of you are probably wondering, who is this about, and why is this story being told? Manti Te’o is a professional football player, he rose to fame for his college football career, where he was a star player and a shoo-in to make it into the NFL. In his senior year, he was at the peak of his college career, was a projected 1st round draft pick, and met the love of his life Lennay Kekua… or so he thought.

During his senior year, he informed media outlets that his grandmother and girlfriend had passed away. With the media knowing this information they started to do some digging on what we thought was a tragedy, the sports blog Deadspin released an article that alleged that Lennay didn’t exist but ‘Lennay’ was instead Ronaiah Tuiasosopo (later transitioned to Naya Tuiasosopo) who catfished Manti. Notre Dame released a statement regarding the hoax and stated that Manti was the victim and that the relationship was exclusively an online relationship. This conflicted with what was said by Manti himself when he said he met her after his football game. It was later suspected that he was involved in orchestrating his hoax due to the ‘inconsistencies’ of his stories, but he maintained his innocence while doing interviews on his side of the story. He explains that he lied about meeting her in person because he was afraid to be seen as crazy by his family and peers. After various interviews, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo admits he was behind the hoax the entire time.

“Are you gay?” Was the question that most interviewers had for Manti for the following months, but that wasn’t the end of it, he was the joke of athletes at the time. Anything he said in defense of himself was seen as him being ‘too defensive’ or ‘confirming’ that he is gay. Manti stated multiple times that he is a straight male, and he has no attraction toward males, but that wasn’t enough to put that theory to rest, it only led to countless jokes and allegations made up out of thin air.

That makes me think, why were they pushing this narrative in the first place? We’re all aware of the not-so-subtle but subtle homophobia that lives within the sports world, being gay let alone having a rumor out there is possible career suicide. The aftermath of Manti Te’o career showed that Manti went from being a first-round draft prospect to being chosen in the second round under the excuse that there is too much ‘drama’ surrounding him. His being catfished online was already a joke on its own but the fact that there was a man at the time behind the account that Manti fell in love with, from then on, journalists and media turned it into any story possible without care. Manti went from being the victim, to villain, to a joke and there wasn’t much thought of his mental health during this time, having his promising career derailed by a catfish and no one is willing to believe his side of the story but would rather make a joke of the situation instead. In current day 2022, Manti Te’o has gotten married, had a kid, played in the NFL up to 2021, and forgiven Naya for the incident. His overall grace and resilience for the incident and the people involved are commendable, especially with seeing how you can be the golden child one day and be disregarded the next.

Revisiting is important, especially in these times when we could look back and correct our wrongs and forgive ourselves for past mistakes we’ve made. Since then, I’ve seen many athletes and old teammates show their support for Manti, and I’ve even seen some journalists that were initially against him showing support. Manti’s story isn’t just a story on catfishing, but a story of forgiveness as well. We are in a new digital era where our mistakes are highly publicized for the world to see and criticize, though the world can be harsh and not understand us initially it’s up to us to know what we want to learn from our actions. Revisiting our past actions may open our eyes to realizing we were wrong, or we’ve been wronged, or we need to apologize. We as a people have to learn to be kind to each other and know that there is more to a story than what we think.

Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist is now available for streaming on Netflix!

Tell me what you think!

Cherokee💓

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