A Second Chance: The Phoenix Young Story

[djvio_lator]

A Second Chance: The Phoenix Young Story

Game: NCAA 13
Sliders: CF47 Heisman Sliders
Roster: OS NCAA 13 Roster (Volstopfan14)

This is my first dynasty that I am writing here on OS, so I ask anyone that reads it to feel free to add input and suggestions. I am going to be starting off as an OC for FIU, but I'm going to play the game with a sense of realism. While I am an OC (whether for FIU or another school), I will not recruit, only suggest offensive players for the CPU to recruit based on needs on the offensive side of the ball. I'm also not going to handle other Head Coaching duties, like custom schedules, changing player positions and red shirting players. I'll save all of that for once I get a Head Coaching position.

Second, I am going to play every game in my dynasty. I know playing as a coach, that may be cheating a little, but I'm not a fan of coach mode in NCAA.

I'll have the beginning of the dynasty posted later tonight and I'll try to provide updates every 3-5 days as work and time permits.

A very special thanks to cusefan74 for his help and guidance. If you haven't checked out his coaching dynasty, check it out HERE

[djvio_lator]

He had been the best. That is what Eric Maximus "Phoenix" Young had been told since the day he was born. He was a stand-out dual sport athlete at his high school, a small school from a tiny town in northern Michigan. He may not have received the same level of attention as the athletes from the larger cities, but that didn't matter to him. He knew what no else knew, he was the best.

Phoenix had been given his nickname during his freshman year. He was the only freshman on the varsity team and ended up starting at Quarterback that fall. To this day, he still has no idea where it came from, but the name stuck and the "Phoenix" was born. By the time his senior year rolled around, he had become a blue chip prospect in two sports, baseball and football. He had been informed by several MLB teams that they were going to draft him in the upcoming amateur draft, but he told each of them the same thing. Thanks, but no thanks, I'm going to college to play football. Why would he do that? It's simple really, he was the best.

When National Signing Day came, there was no cameras, no National media coverage, no reporters. It was just Phoenix, his classmates and some supporters from the local community. There was no offers from high profile universities or even mid majors. The only 3 schools that had offered Phoenix scholarships were Central Michigan, Tulane and Eastern Michigan. Perhaps it was the small school, his confidence that bordered on cocky and arrogant, or the rumors about his marijuana use. Whatever it was, the high profile programs never came calling. In the end, Phoenix chose Tulane and his college career was off and running.

The starter from day one, Phoenix would start every game all four years at Tulane. He led the Tulane Green Wave to it's first conference title since 1998, 3 bowl victories in 4 years and set nearly ever school passing record. Even with everything that he had accomplished, he was still considered a marginal NFL prospect. Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay each had a 4th round grade on him, saying that his athleticism for a QB was elite and he had above average accuracy and arm strength. However, they commented that his lack of competition may have inflated his stats and he was known to have a confident attitude that bordered on arrogant and cocky. It didn't matter what any of the experts said, Phoenix knew the truth. He was the best.

When the NFL draft came, Phoenix decided to watch it with his family and friends back in his hometown. Rounds 1,2,3,4 and 5 came and went without him being drafted. Then, early in the 6th round, the call came. It was from the 49ers, he was finally drafted. He said all the right things in his interviews, but it burned him, Phoenix knew he was a 1st round QB. He was ready to prove to the world what he and his family already knew. He was the best.

His first season was nothing special as the 3rd string QB, waiting and learning. When next season rolled around, he was ready to compete for the starting gig, but then, tragedy struck. While he was doing a basic drill in training camp, he heard and felt a pop in his throwing arm. He feared what he already knew, his elbow was tore up and he would need Tommy John surgery, ending his season. After rehabbing and working hard to get himself back to full strength, he was finally ready to show the world what he could truly do on the biggest stage. He started the 2nd preseason game, everything was going great, but then, in a moment it was all gone. He had torn his ACL on a simple cut to elude a tackler. Another surgery, another season lost. Next off season, he was cut and not claimed off waivers. His NFL career was over before it had even started.

After taking a break from the game, Phoenix got a call that he never expected. Chris Peterson, the Head Coach of Boise State, was in need of a new Quarterbacks Coach and he wanted it to be Phoenix. While he had never considered coaching before, Phoenix decided to accept the offer. Time had humbled him and he took every opportunity to learn from the great coaching staff at Boise State. After his first few seasons, his name was starting to be mentioned for a few Offensive Coordinators positions. Phoenix hoped that he would get his chance soon.

[djvio_lator]

BREAKING NEWS- Florida International University is proud to announce the hiring of Eric "Phoenix" Young as our new Offensive Coordinator. We are very excited about this hire and we feel that Mr. Young will be bring a great sense of excitement and experience to our team.

Phoenix finally had his chance. He was ready to show that he could apply all of his skills he had learned on the football field and translate into a great offensive system. After he had thanked Chris Peterson and the rest of the Boise State Coaching staff, he hopped on a plane and headed down to Florida to start his new job.

The first thing that Phoenix had to do was evaluate the players that he was going to be coaching and how to best utilize their strengths. He knew that this team could be successful and he was ready to prove it.

FIU Depth Chart - 2012
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Wayne Times	Glenn Coleman	Willis Wright
TE	Ya'Keem Griner	Zach Schaubhut	Junior Delpe
LT	Caylin Hauptmann	Edens Sineace	Prince Matt
LG	David Istanich	Giancarlo Revilla
C	Shae Smith	Donald Senat
RG	David Delsoin	Jordan White
RT	Rupert Bryan	Aaron Nielson
WR	Jacob Younger	Jairus Williams	Raymond Jackson
QB	Jake Medlock	Loranzo Hammonds	Akil Dan Fodio
FB	Zach Schaubhut
HB	Kedrick Rhodes	Jeremiah Harden	Darian Mallary	Shane Coleman

[djvio_lator]

FIU 2012 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 1	at Duke
Sep 8	vs Akron
Sep 15	at UCF
Sep 22	vs Louisville
Sep 29	at UL Lafayette
Oct 4	vs Arkansas State
Oct 13	vs Mid Tenn State
Oct 20	at Troy
Oct 27	vs Western Kentucky
Nov 3	vs FCS Southeast
Nov 16	at Florida Atlantic
Nov 24	vs UL Monroe

FIU is going to have a tough season ahead of them with difficult games against teams such as UCF and Louisville, but OC Phoenix Young thinks FIU is up to the task.

"I think we have a great team and I know the offense is going to be fun to watch. I'm excited to bring elements from the Boise State offense here to FIU and help to incorporate it into the existing offensive system." Young also went on to say, "When you have great players like Jake Medlock and Kedrick Rhodes leading your offense, you really don't have too much to worry about. I believe we can surprise a lot of people this year."

FIU kicks off it's season September 1st against Sean Renfree and Duke.

[djvio_lator]

FIU WINS OPENER

Florida International Golden Panthers at Duke Blue Devils
Sep 1, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Florida International Golden Panthers (1-0)	0	14	10	7	31
Duke Blue Devils (0-1)	7	6	0	8	21

Team Stats Comparison
	FIU	DUKE
Total Offense	426	397
Rushing Yards	166	65
Passing Yards	260	332
First Downs	17	16
Punt Return Yards	36	18
Kick Return Yards	18	138
Total Yards	480	553
Turnovers	2	1
3rd Down Converstion	7-15	3-12
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	1-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	7-2-0	3-1-0
Penalties	4-25	7-49
Posession Time	19:55	12:05

Florida International Golden Panthers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jake Medlock 20/35 260 3 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Kedrick Rhodes 26 125 4.8 1 Jeremiah Harden 7 49 6.9 0 Jake Medlock 1 -8 -8.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jacob Younger 8 101 12.6 0 Wayne Times 5 65 13.0 0 Ya'Keem Griner 2 21 10.5 0 Glenn Coleman 2 17 8.5 1 Willis Wright 1 49 49.0 1 Jairus Williams 1 7 7.0 1 Kedrick Rhodes 1 0 0.0 0

Duke Blue Devils PASSING C/A YDS TD INT S. Renfree 25/43 332 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Thompson 12 47 3.9 0 S. Renfree 6 11 1.8 0 J. Crowder 1 7 7.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD C. Vernon 7 109 15.5 0 J. Thompson 5 51 10.2 1 D. Reeves 4 44 11.0 1 D. Scott 4 69 17.2 0 J. Crowder 4 32 8.0 0 I. Blakeney 1 27 27.0 0

DURHAM, N.C. (September 1, 2012)- FIU kicked off it's season with a convincing 31-21 win over the Duke Blue Devils. The Golden Panthers fell behind early 7-0 after Sean Renfree connected a 7 yd pass late in the first quarter. FIU would tie the score up late in the second quarter with a stellar 7 yd pass from Jake Medlock to Jairus Williams. The Blue Devils would score again quickly just one minute later, but then the the Golden Panthers responded with a TD of their own with 51 seconds left in the first half.

After the first half, the flood gates opened for the Golden Panthers, who would score 24 straight points to put the game away before a later kickoff return ended the run. During the scoring run, FIU would get two more passing TDs from Jake Medlock and a 30 yd TD run from Kedrick Rhodes.

First year Offensive Coordinator Eric "Phoenix" Young was mostly pleased with his offense's performance. "I thought we played pretty well today. Jake made a few poor throws that were intercepted, but otherwise he did great. Kedrick was just outstanding today, he really ran the ball hard and was great in pass protection as well." When asked if this first win was a statement win for this team, Young said, "It's not a statement at all, it's just a great first win to open the season. Duke is a good football team and they have a future NFL QB in Sean Renfree behind center. Anytime you can get the better of him, it's a great day. I'm just proud of the guys, they did great."

FIU comes home to play Akron next Saturday.

Photo credits:

FIU, (2012), FIU Kedrick Rhodes [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.fiusports.com/Portals/1/D...odes_Duke1.jpg [Accessed 15 May 13]

[djvio_lator]

FIU CRUSHES AKRON

Akron Zips at Florida International Golden Panthers
Sep 8, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Akron Zips (0-2)	7	0	0	6	13
Florida International Golden Panthers (2-0)	3	21	7	7	38

Team Stats Comparison
	AKR	FIU
Total Offense	193	397
Rushing Yards	78	178
Passing Yards	115	219
First Downs	10	18
Punt Return Yards	20	32
Kick Return Yards	62	34
Total Yards	275	463
Turnovers	2	1
3rd Down Converstion	5-18	7-16
4th Down Conversion	3-3	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	5-2-0	11-5-1
Penalties	2-20	3-35
Posession Time	10:57	21:03

Akron Zips PASSING C/A YDS TD INT D. Williams 11/45 115 1 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Chisholm 12 65 5.4 1 D. Williams 7 8 1.1 0 Q. Hines 1 5 5.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Chisholm 3 26 8.6 0 K. Sconiers 2 13 6.5 0 T. Williams 2 16 8.0 0 M. Suel 2 15 7.5 0 R. Ladrach 1 15 15.0 1 L. Smith 1 30 30.0 0

Florida International Golden Panthers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jake Medlock 18/35 219 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Kedrick Rhodes 25 129 5.1 1 Jeremiah Harden 10 25 2.5 1 Jake Medlock 2 -3 -1.5 0 Darian Mallary 3 27 9.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Wayne Times 7 75 10.7 1 Ya'Keem Griner 3 16 5.3 0 Jacob Younger 3 38 12.6 0 Jairus Williams 2 37 18.5 1 Glenn Coleman 2 35 17.5 0 Willis Wright 1 18 18.0 0

MIAMI, Fla. (September 8, 2012)- FIU improved it's record to 2-0 in dominating fashion Saturday, beating the Akron Zips 38-13. The Golden Panthers racked up nearly 400 yards of total offense while holding the Zips to only 193 yards, including just 115 passing yards.

The Zips got out to an early 7-0 lead, but it never held the lead again. FIU would score 31 straight points lead by a pair of rushing TDs by Kedrick Rhodes and Jeremiah Harden. Quarterback Jake Medlock would add two passing TDs before the Zips ended the run early in the fourth quarter with a passing TD. Darian Mallary would add a 14 yd TD run late in the fourth quarter to wrap up the victory.

"Overall, a great win for the team", said OC Phoenix Young. "The offense was really clicking today, and even though I could nitpick about some of the throws Jake made and our need to improve our red zone percentage, I'm still happy with our effort. We improved our 3rd downs today and that made moving the ball a lot easier. The defense was great too, giving us plenty of opportunities to try and score." When asked if he thought his comments about starting QB Jake Medlock could be considered controversial, given the teams big win, Young simply responded, "No, I'm just being honest, nothing more, nothing less."

FIU travels to Orlando next week to take on the UCF Golden Knights. UCF is coming off a big upset win over Ohio State this week and will be a big road test for the Golden Panthers.

Photo Credits:

Al Diaz/Miami Herald Staff, (2012), Jacob Younger [ONLINE]. Available at: http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/...cxl.St.56.jpeg [Accessed 15 May 13].

[Yubbed]

Pkendrick Rhodes looking good so far keep it up man.

[djvio_lator]

Quote: Originally Posted by Yubbed

Pkendrick Rhodes looking good so far keep it up man.

Thanks man, appreciate it. OL has been pretty solid so far which has been a big help. I should have another update later tonight.