1973 Field Design Changes

A couple of teams are changing their fields for the 1973 season.

Providence Gold Stars
Providence is adding the 4th star to each endzone wordmark.


Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
The Blacksmiths will have their own field design for the first time a year after they got the lease at Riverfront Stadium of Pittsburgh. The new field will feature the team’s logo at midfield and a new number font (the same as their jerseys). The diamond pattern in the endzones was also removed.


Winnipeg Falcons
It is also noted that Provencher Park in Winnipeg will only have one field design with the western schools having transitioned to Hybrid rules. 
*Note this occurred last season, but I wanted to note it now since I had not before. 

TheEnigmaticOne wrote:

I was thinking about Alexander Wynn, the father of the three Wynn brothers, and his history. This is my idea. He grew up in Western New York (near Buffalo) and was a high school star before lighting up opposing offenses at WNY. He graduated in 1940 and played for Buffalo before being drafted in 1942 to fight in the Second World War.

He returned with his love of football intact but had lost a leg in battle and couldn't play. He was then made Head Coach in Watauga High (where he coached his two sons by his first wife, Le'Darius and Xerxes) before receiving a position on the staff at his alma mater, Western New York (Go Whitetails!) where he coaches to this day.

Another point to help flesh out this, is that Cambyses is Le'Darius and Xerxes half brother, though they are close).

If this is cool let me know. Not trying to step on any toes here.

Yeah, I mean, it's fine. It doesn't impact the rest of the project, so it's okay with me. 

1973 Gains Report: Draft Preview

There was immediately a lot of intrigue in the 1973 draft class when several interesting players decided to deviate from their usual path to professional football due to the ACFL’s expansion south and the NAAF’s expansion West. The two leagues have become the premier leagues in the continent. The Texas and Pacific leagues have fallen behind, making them less attractive for graduating players. While many players that are jumping from the Texas and Pacific pipelines are heading towards the ACFL due to the American rules, there are a handful that have decided to head north.

The biggest name is RB Chavez Arrington out of Amon Carter (Fort Worth, TX). Arrington was set to join the ACFL, but after meeting the NAAF scouts he was immediately impressed with the difference in attitude and wanted to head North. Arrington gets scouts excited with his hard-nosed style, but also his quickness and speed that he has when he does get into space. Arrington was also joined by teammate, DB Clyde Henry, who is also heading North. Henry is a pure ball hawk corner, who can seemingly appear out of thin air to bring in an interception. They will also be joined by WR Ray Howard, who is coming over from California Republic. Howard isn’t as highly touted of a prospect, but he’s got great hands and tools to be a solid guy in the NAAF.

Outside of the interesting prospects coming out of Texas and California, there is plenty of talent from the usual suspects of schools. Leading the way is LB Corey Briggs out of UHamilton. Briggs is a heavy-hitting and aggressive LB who still has an intelligent mind that makes him one of the most dangerous threats defensively. Briggs may be a hot commodity with the LB position being a little weaker this season. However, there are some later talents with LB Isaac Snyder out of Minneapolis and LB Paul Sanborn out of RISU. Snyder may be a prospect of interest being more of a coverage LB, while Sanborn is a more traditional hard-hitting LB. 

There are several solid prospects for teams looking to add to their secondary. Highlighted with S George Turner out of WNY. Turner is a great all-around safety, who is an excellent tackler, not letting many get past him on the ground. DB Oliver Benson is also available in more of a corner role. Benson tended to take away the opposing team’s top receiving threat. He only allowed one WR all season to get over 60 yards in a game. DB Alexandre Gagnon is a ball-hawk corner who continuously makes big plays, including the game-sealing interception against St-Laurent in the CEHC playoffs.

After several strong D-line classes, the 1972 crop is a little thin. DL Michael Ellis is the top prospect out of Brooklyn Metropolitan. Ellis is one quick player, who’s first step off the line can beat slower O-linemen with ease and disrupt play in the backfield. The one concern could be that he may not always be able to rely on his speed when he does run into pro-level linemen. There is also Jack Davis, who is also pretty swift, but to a less dominant degree than Ellis, but then there is Stephen Marshall out of Western New York, who is more of a powerful force on the line.

Flipping to the offence. Most eyes are going to be on the RB position and whether Chavez Arrington or Joshua Tomlinson will be the first taken. Arrington, as mentioned, coming from outside of the league’s region may leave him a step behind Tomlinson going in. Tomlinson has quite the resume, helping Toronto to a continental title this season, and being a dominant running back all year long. The main difference between the two is Tomlinson is more of an elusive back, being able to create space himself, while Arrington is more of the power/speed type. Both should be great options.

At WR you got a couple of top stars in Evan Moore and Colt Robbins. Moore is probably one of the most complete WR prospects. Good route running, good hands, solid speed. It’s a wonder if you can even ask for even more out of him. Colt Robbins isn’t too dissimilar to Moore, being a great route runner as well, however, he’s not as athletically gifted which may give some pause. WR John Jackson probably has the best hands out of anyone in the class, which makes him a great option later. The aforementioned Ray Howard and Pacific Provincial product, Alex Acquafredda also provide solid depth to the position in the draft.

TE Dylan Abney has emerged as a very promising prospect on the line, becoming a top WR threat at Albert Provincial this past season. The bigger player struggled at WR and with the transition to hybrid rules found a lot of success at TE, enough to make him the top TE prospect in the class. TE Bob Byron is the top blocking-focused option. Then one of the more interesting prospects could be Taro Ueyama, who is the latest prospect following the new Japanese pipeline to the NAAF. A very balanced TE between receiving and blocking.

Like the D-line pool this season, the O-line pool is a little thinner. The headlines are the Brightman twins out of North Indiana, with Owen being the stronger of the two prospects. However, the prospect of interest could be Dennis Gould. He is a supremely talented player, however, he was caught in some deep trouble in University regarding the selling marijuana on campus. Some wonder if he’ll have the best mindset at the next level. Bill Portsmouth and Liam May round out the rest of the prospects.

Finally, we arrive at the options at QB. The top prospect is far and away Oscar Frost. Frost was the most consistent QB in college last season, finding a lot of success in his pocket passing style. It helped with a solid O-line at UEdmonton, which does bring some questions of if he can handle more pressure at the next level. Dominic Hoffmeister emerged as a solid #2 behind Frost. Also a pocket passer, he stepped up in his senior year to lead North Indiana to their first championship game appearance. He is a little less safe than Frost, often making questionable decisions on the field, but overall still a solid pocket passing QB. Two of the most interesting prospects though are St-Laurent QB, Justin Arceneaux, and Majeure Montreal QB, Matthieu Chevalier. After last season’s championship appearance Arceneaux was looking like a contender for being the top QB in this class, but an injury and inconsistent play this season led to his stock falling significantly. He’s still a talented player with a big arm but seems to have struggled without the support of #2 pick RB Axel Vandal this season. As Arceneaux fell, Chevalier rose, leading Majeure Montreal to the CEHC championship, showing a lot of potential with his arm and more consistent play. It’ll be interesting to see how those two shake out if Arceneaux still has the potential he flashed last season or if Chevalier is the real deal after this recent season. 

Top 50 Prospects
1 - LB Corey Briggs - UHamilton - Wallflower
2 - S George Turner - Western New York - Burmy87
3 - RB Joshua Tomlinson - Toronto - ZO82
4 - DB Oliver Benson - Toronto - Kingsfan11
5 - RB Chavez Arrington - Amon Carter (TX)* - RaysUp
6 - WR Evan Moore - New England - idm
7 - OL Noah Glassman - Haynes - Stickman
8 - WR Colt Robbins - Alberta Provincial - Kingsfan11
9 - DL Michael Ellis - Brooklyn Metropolitan* - joho42x
10 - OL Owen Brightman - North Indiana - ZO82
11 - QB Oscar Frost - UEdmonton - Wallflower
12 - DB Alexandre Gagnon - Majeure Montreal - Kingsfan11
13 - LB Isaac Snyder - Minneapolis* - ZO82
14 - DL Stephen Marshall - Western New York - ZO82
15 - OL Dennis Gould - Detroit Tech* - DireBear
16 - S Todd Collingswood - Pacific Provincial - QCS
17 - WR John Jackson - North Indiana - Kingsfan11
18 - DB Clyde Henry - Amon Carter (TX)* - Wallflower
19 - TE Dylan Abney - Alberta Provincial - Dan O’Mac
20 - DB Art Winslow - Haynes - Wallflower
21 - DL Jack Davis - New England - Kingsfan11
22 - LB Paul Sanborn - Rhode Island State - idm
23 - S Keith Osgood - Upstate - MitchSwanson94
24 - OL Bill Portsmouth - Western New York - Jayhawk
25 - WR Ray Howard - California Republic* - MitchSwanson94
26 - OL Liam May - Rhode Island State - Burmy87
27 - S Devron Candlestick - Allegheny* - Jayhawk
28 - QB Dominic Hoffmeister - North Indiana - ZO82
29 - WR Alex Acquafredda - Pacific Provincial - Wallflower
30 - LB Spencer Morrison - Saskatchewan Provincial - ZO82
31 - DB Guy Wright - New England - idm
32 - LB Brett Spanakos - North Indiana - Dan O’Mac
33 - WR Pierre Boudreaux - Majeure Montreal - ThisIsFine
34 - RB Gabe Ibrahim - Upstate - ThisIsFine
35 - OL Gavin Brightman - North Indiana - ZO82
36 - LB Brad Johnson - Louisville State - Sevsdast
37 - RB Daniel DeVille - Maine State - Jayhawk
38 - S Bill Kozlowski - Haynes - Jayhawk
39 - DL Jake Overton - London - Kingsfan11
40 - WR Jason Tredegar - West Mass State - RaysUp
41 - LB Taysom Karlov - Allegheny* - Darknes
42 - QB Matthieu Chevalier - Majeure Montreal - ThisIsFine
43 - TE Bob Byron - Rhode Island State - QCS
44 - DL George Lewis - Louisville State - Wallflower
45 - OL Pipon Rivers - Saskatchewan Provincial - ZO82
46 - S Ian Lauder - UEdmonton - Darknes
47 - DB Frederick Royston - Cambridge of Boston - NoE38
48 - DL Butcher Moreau - Rhode Island State - Darknes
49 - OL Oliver Luddal - Minneapolis* - Darknes
50 - QB Justin Arceneaux - St-Laurent - Dan O’Mac
============================================
51 - LB Victor Underhill - Haynes - TheEnigmaticOne
91 - DB Ron Tulsa - Western Manitoba - JamHeronArk
100 - RB Otto Bahn - Major Wisconsin* - Scratch
104 - K George Ketener - North Indiana - TigersFan93