With the fifth pick in MLFB’s inaugural draft, head coach Wayne ‘Buddy’ Geis selected defensive end Emmanuel Stephens as his franchise player. After stints with both the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns, Stephens’ talent was coveted by Geis and his staff.
“After watching him in the NFL then getting to talk to him, he’s a very hungry young man who’s excited about being a part of Major League Football. The people who have seen him play and coached him were sky high on him as a person. He’s great for us and we’re good for him.”
For Stephens, his journey through football began in the state of Texas and allowed him to travel all over the country. With his last time in the NFL being in 2012, Stephens was overjoyed when he got that phone call on MLFB draft day. He talked about what the feeling was like being given the chance to make his pro football dreams come true once again.
“Its unbelievable. I was working out this morning and all of a sudden I got the call and said, ‘wow I get to be a franchise player,’ Stephens said with a laugh and smile. “I’m ready to accept that and take it to the next level.”
From a pool of over 2,000 players, Geis and his staff were given a wide variety of options for their first pick, but ultimately landed on Stephens as their guy. Geis said what made that decision easy was that it was unanimous among his people.
“We’re going to be looking for speed. His intensity, the kind of player he is, that’s the kind of player we’re looking for. He was the best that we all looked at and we all agreed.”
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