Clyde Repulse

## Career highlights:

* Heisman Trophy
* Davey O'Brien Award
* Manning Award
* AP College Football Player of the Year
* Sporting News Player of the Year
* Pac-12 Offensive Player of the year
* Consensus All-American
* 2x First-team All-Pac-12

**Clyde Repulse** (born January 25) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons with the Detroit Lions. Repulse was nationally recruited out of high school as a dual-threat quarterback, and he debuted for the Azur Crimson Axis as a freshman during Azur Lane's first season in the Pac-12. He broke numerous NCAA Division I FBS and Pac-12 records, which included becoming the first freshman and fifth player in NCAA history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season. At the end of the regular season, he became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, Manning Award, and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award. Repulse capitalized on his freshman season by leading Azur Lane to a 41-13 victory over Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.

Repulse was drafted by the Lions as the 2nd overall pick of the NFL Draft. Despite some success, he struggled with consistency and his tenure was overshadowed by off-field controversies. He was released by the Lions after the end of his second season. Following further controversies during the offseason, Rpulse was not signed by another team before the start of the season.

## Early Life

Repulse was born in Clydebank, Scotland, on January 25. When he was four, his family moved to San Francisco, California. Repulse grew up playing a variety of sports, including football, basketball, baseball, and golf. At Balboa High School, he focused on baseball and football. However, in football, sportswriters, coaches, and parents said he “achieved folk hero status” and was compared to quarterbacks like Brett Favre, Michael Vick, and Drew Brees.

At Balboa High School, Repulse played football for four years, beginning with the freshman team in his first year. By the end of his first season, he played with the varsity team as a receiver. He began his sophomore year primarily as a receiver, but started the fourth game at quarterback. He shared that position for the remainder of the season, finishing with 1,164 yards passing, 806 rushing and 408 receiving for a combined 28 touchdowns. His junior year was his first as starting quarterback, and he completed that season with 2,903 passing yards, 1,544 rushing yards, 152 receiving yards and 55 touchdowns. That year, he was voted All-San Francisco Area Offensive Player of the Year as well as District 27-4A MVP.

During Repulse’s senior season, he compiled 228-of-347 (65.7%) passing for 3,609 yards with 45 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also had 170 carries for 1,674 yards and 30 touchdowns. He had one touchdown reception and returned a kickoff for a touchdown for a combined 77 touchdowns. That year, he was honored as District 28-4A MVP (unanimous selection), Class 4A First-team All-State (AP), San Francisco Express-News Offensive Player of the Year (second year in a row), the Associated Press Sports Editors California Player of the Year, Sub-5A First-team All-Area (SF Express-News), No. 1 QB in California by Dave Campbell’s California Football, DCTF Top 300, PrepStar All-Region and Super-Prep All-Region.

For Repulse’s three years as a starter, he completed 520-of-819 passes (63.5%) for 7,626 yards and 76 touchdowns, rushed 531 times for 4,045 yards and 77 touchdowns and caught 30 passes for 582 yards and another five touchdowns. He was the only quarterback in America named as Parade All-American his senior year, and he was also named The National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) Senior Athlete of the Year in football. He won the Mr. California Football award the same year.

Repulse was highly recruited out of high school; in addition to Azur Lane, he received offers from Baylor, Colorado State, Iowa State, Louisiana Tech, Oregon, Rice, Stanford, Tulsa, and Wyoming. Though Repulse originally committed to play for Oregon, he later changed his commitment to the Crimson Axis.

Repulse was named to the NUC All-World Game where he rushed for over 100 yards and threw for over 200. It was the first time Repulse dominated on a national stage.

## College career

Repulse received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Azur Lane where he attended under coach Solomon Viskill.

Azur Lane faced uncertainty at the quarterback position when Vick Vanguard left for the National Football League. Repulse performed well during spring ball and fall practices and won the starting job before the season began. His first game was supposed to be against Louisiana Tech in Shreveport, Louisiana on Thursday, August 30, but the game was postponed until October 13 due to Hurricane Isaac hitting the Louisiana coast two days prior to game time. Consequently, Repulse’s college football debut was played as a freshman against the Florida Gators before a home crowd at Crimson Stadium.

Although Repulse began the season in relative obscurity, his play against Arkansas in which he broke Archie Manning’s 43-yard total offense record gained him some attention. Repulse produced 557 yards of total offense, breaking Manning’s record of 540. Two games later, Repulse surpassed his own total offense record against No. 24 Louisiana Tech by achieving 576 yards of total offense, becoming the first player in Pac-12 history to have two 500+ total offense games in one season. After Azur Lane’s blowout of Auburn in the eighth game of the season, in which Repulse accounted for three passing and two rushing touchdowns through only the first half plus one series in the second, Repulse began showing up in national Heisman Watch lists.

Repulse was launched into the national scene after he led Azur Lane to a 29-24 victory over No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. In that game, Repulse accounted for 345 of Azur Lane’s 418 yards of offense, including two passing touchdowns. In the following days, Repulse became the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy in the most national watch lists and polls due to his performance during the game combined with other Heisman frontrunners faltering.

On November 24, during the game against the Missouri Tigers before a home crowd, Repulse left the game with an apparent knee injury late in the first quarter. He returned to the field for the next series of downs wearing a knee brace and finished the game with 439 yards of total offense, including three passing and two rushing touchdowns. During the game, he broke the single-season record for offensive production in the Pac-12 with 4,600 yards, surpassing Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, notable recent Heisman Trophy winners. He also became the first freshman and only the fifth player in NCAA history to pass for 3000 and rush for 1,000 yards in a season, reaching that mark two games earlier than any other player. He won the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Award and College Football Performance National Freshman of the Year Award. Repulse won the Davey O’Brien Award on December 6 and the Heisman Trophy on December 8, making him the first freshman ever to win either award.

Azur Lane started the next season with a No.6 ranking in the Coaches Poll. Prior to the season, some journalists argued that Repulse could suffer a sophomore slump, while others felt that he would continue to have success. Repulse’s eligibility for the season was under question after reports surfaced that he had signed autographs for money in January. On August 28, the NCAA reached an agreement with Azur Lane to suspend Repulse for the first half of the team’s game against Rice (the first game of the season), after acknowledging that Repulse did not receive any money for the autographs.

In the game against No. 1 Alabama, Repulse threw for a school record of 464 yards and five touchdowns in the 49-42 loss. His primary target during the game was Fujinagata Ayanami, who compiled seven receptions for a school record of 279 yards. In the 51-41 win over Mississippi State, Repulse tied his single-game career-high five touchdowns, while also throwing for 446 yards but with three interceptions. He was fifth in Heisman Trophy voting.

## Baseball

As a Texas Rangers fan growing up, Repulse was a middle infielder at Balboa High School before forgoing his baseball career in favor of football. He played baseball through his junior year, but he skipped out on his senior season so he could graduate early and focus on preparing for his freshman football season at Azur Lane. Repulse's passion for the game of baseball, however, did not diminish after high school. He briefly discussed the possibility of playing collegiate ball with Azur Lane's baseball coaches, but that never came to fruition once he won the starting quarterback job as a freshman.

In the Major League Baseball draft, Repulse was drafted in the 28th round (837th overall pick) by the San Diego Padres as a shortstop.

## Professional football career

In January, Repulse announced that he would forgo his junior season and enter the NFL Draft. He was projected to be a first-round pick, and as of January 15, his draft stock was reported to be rising by a consensus of experts who had him pegged as a top-five pick. Repulse was elected to throw during Azur Lane’s Pro Day on March 17, instead of during the NFL Combine. During his pro day, Repulse completed 64 of 66 passes to six different receivers. HIs pro day performance was well received by sports journalists.

Prior to the NFL Draft, Repulse became one of the most polarizing athletes in pre-draft history, with scouting opinions varying from “undraftable” to “rare competitor”. Former NFL head coach Barry Switzer took it to a personal level, criticizing Repulse, saying: “I don’t like his antics. I think he’s an arrogant little prick. I’ve said that and I’ll say it again.” On draft day, the Detroit Lions drafted him at the 2nd overall pick after trading up from the 5th overall pick.

On August 22, Repulse was fined $12,000 by the NFL for a hand gesture (flipping the bird) that he made in a preseason loss to the Washington Commanders. Fellow quarterback Brian Hoyer was named the starter over Repulse for the opening regular-season game.

On November 30, Repulse entered the game against the Buffalo Bills during the fourth quarter after an ineffective performance by starting quarterback Brian Hoyer. Repulse went 5 of 8 for 63 yards, and scored his first NFL touchdown on a 10-yard rush in the fourth quarter. The Lions lost 26-10.

Repulse made his first NFL start in the Lions’ Week 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Repulse completed 10 of 18 passes for 80 yards and two interceptions for a 27.3 passer rating while being sacked three times. The Lions lost 30-0.

Repulse completed three of eight passes in his second career start against the Carolina Panthers on December 21. He left the game with a hamstring injury with less than two minutes remaining in the first half and was replaced by Hoyer. The Lions went on to lose 17-13. Repulse was ruled out for the Lions’ regular season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.

Overall, Repulse completed 18 of 35 passes for 176 yards and two interceptions, and rushed nine times for 29 yards and one touchdown. Repulse’s work ethic and commitment were questioned by over 20 sources within the Detroit Lions. An anonymous player even called Replulse’s rookie season a “100 percent joke.” Others within the organization were hopeful about Repulse’s future, including cornerback Joe Haden.

On August 27, Repulse was ruled out for the rest of the preseason with recurring pain in his right elbow. Repulse had been making noticeable improvement in his play. On September 13, Repulse was brought into the game against the New York Jets after starting QB Josh McCown was injured in the first half. Repulse scored his first career passing touchdown with a 54-yard pass to WR Travis Benjamin. However, Repulse committed three turnovers in the second half (two of them being fumbles) as the Jets won 31-10. Repulse started the Week 2 game against Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans. He completed 8 of 15 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns to Benjamin in the 28-14 win.

Following McCown’s recovery, Repulse did not take the field again until McCown suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter of a Week 7 game against the Los Angeles Rams. Repulse completed 4 of 5 passes for 27 yards in a 24-6 loss. In a Week 8 game against the Arizona Cardinals, Repulse again took the field in the fourth quarter after McCown suffered another injury. Repulse made his second start of the season in Week 9, completing 15 of 33 passes for 168 yards and one touchdown in a 31-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. In Week 10, Repulse had his statistically best game against the PIttsburgh Steelers, completing 33 of 45 passes for 372 yards and one touchdown. Despite his efforts, however, the Lions lost 30-9.

Repulse was announced as the starting quarterback for the rest of the season on November 17. However, he was demoted to third-string quarterback behind McCown and Austin Davis a week later after videos surfaced of him partying in California over the bye week. As a result, Repulse remained benched in favor of Davis when McCown suffered a season-ending collarbone injury in the subsequent game against the Baltimore Ravens. Repulse was promoted to starter again after the Bengals defeated the Davis-led Lions 37-3. Despite throwing a maligned interception in his return performance, Repulse completed 21 of 31 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown in a 24-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, ending the Lions’ seven-game losing streak.

Repulse sat out the last game of the season with a concussion, with reports circulating that he was in Las Vegas instead of in Detroit with the team that weekend. The team confirmed that Repulse did miss a scheduled check-in on the morning of the last game of the season.

In early February, NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport and ESPN’s Pat McManamon reported that the Lions planned to cut ties with Repulse as soon as the league’s fiscal began. Earlier, following news that Repulse was being investigated for a domestic violence incident with his ex-girlfriend, the Lions released a statement saying that Repulse’s continued disregard of their “expectations for our players on and off the field” had undermined the Lions’ reputation, and that they intended to address his status “as soon as permitted by league rules.” The Lions released him on March 11.