Jamaal Charles did not start the 2012 season as a member of The Tuckfards. In fact he was the 2nd round pick of Gridiron Gang, coming off of a season in which he tore his ACL. He was firmly back, however. Come Week 13, Gridiron Gang’s season was over, and The Tuckfards were in the playoff race. Jamaal Charles was traded (along with a 15th round draft pick) for Rashard Mendenhall and a 7th round draft pick (this was before keepers was implemented in the offseason).
And as they say, the rest was history. In his first game (against none other than Gridiron Gang) he posted 14 points, helping The Tuckfards win 92 - 69. The week after, he upped his game and scored 23 points, again helping secure a 112-89 win for Coach Merritt. These 2 wins proved instrumental in the climax of Coach Merritt’s season, as they finished 9-5 and secured a wild card spot.
In Week 15 Jamaal Charles posted a barely there 3 points, but The Tuckfards downed Rookie division winner The Dream Team and moved to their first Corona Bowl appearance, Corona Bowl IV, where they faced newcomer Coach Simpson. In this game, Charles most certainly showed up for the occasion, posting 27 points. It wasn’t enough though, as The Tuckfards lost the final 128-98.
In the 2013 season, Coach Merritt elected to keep Charles for a 2nd round pick, a no brained for a first round talent running back. He would prove instrumental in leading The Tuckfards to their career best regular season record of 11-3 and a division title. Coach Merritt owned the second highest scoring team in the league that year, with a whopping 308 points coming from Jamaal Charles.
In the first round of the playoffs, Jamaal Charles simply exploded. Facing IKNAN, The Tuckfards stunned them to the tune of 161 to 115, with 52 points (yes you read that correctly, 52) coming from Jamaal Charles. Unbelievably, he only had 20 rush yards in that game - but that’s why Jamaal Charles is being nominated, for his true game changing ability.
In the final, Corona Bowl V against long time rival Burdettinators, it was almost destined for Charles to do well again (though obviously not 52 points well). He got The Tuckfards off to a quick start, against a team Coach Merritt had never lost to, and finished off with 20 points. Unfortunately for Coach Merritt, it wasn’t enough, as he lost 162-98 in the final, the second year straight they fell at the final hurdle, and at the time their only ever loss to Coach Burdett.
In 2014 Coach Merritt retained Jamaal Charles, this time for a 1st round pick (due to the pick escalation of the keeper system). It would still be well worth it. The Tuckfards once again won their division, but also won the regular season title with a record of 10-4 and a league high 1661 points. This was buoyed again by Jamaal Charles, with a nice 210 points.
This season would mark the 5th straight year The Tuckfards appeared in the playoffs, and would be the last season (to date) that they have appeared there. They faced an absolutely white hot Tom’s Tyrants team who had only just scored 205 and 198 points in the 2 weeks prior - with that 205 points coming against Coach Merritt no less. It would be a tough test if Coach Merritt was to make a third straight appearance in the Corona Bowl.
Jamaal Charles sadly did not deliver a classic in this game, only posting 5.3 points. But he was not alone, as The Tuckfards would only score 82 points in total, losing to the eventual champion Tom’s Tyrants 131-82.
Jamaal Charles was on The Tuckfards 2015 roster - however only in reserve, as he tore his ACL once again and was released by ADRZ who drafted him number 2 over all (the second time ADRZ had drafted him only for him to tear his ACL). In 2016 IKNAN drafted him with the 11th overall pick, but once again he would miss most of the season due to injury. Coincidentally, despite being a first round pick and missing nearly all of every season two years in a row, both ADRZ and IKNAN won the Corona Bowl those years.
In 2017 Jamaal Charles left Kansas for greener pastures, signing for the Denver Broncos, and being drafted by The Southampton Narwhals with the 1st pick of the 15th round. He would remain on Coach Nunn’s roster all season, but only posted 44.5 points.
Jamaal Charles tenure with The Tuckfards was the highlight of his career. He had numerous great appearances for them, and was a huge part of their success from 2012-2014. Unfortunately, he and Coach Merritt couldn’t do quite enough to bring home a title, but he was still a great player, and had a hall of fame career with the team.
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