George Karlaftis bull-rushed the center on his first football snap. This was in middle school, so Karlaftis’ already-gargantuan 6-foot, 200-pound frame (by his coach’s estimate) easily careened past the offensive line into the backfield for an easy sack.
Problem was, Karlaftis jumped offsides and the play didn’t count. The 13-year-old didn’t realize it. He was playing American football for the first time. The Athens, Greece, native had recently moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, following the sudden death of his father earlier that summer and picked up the sport only after conversations with friends and family.
So Karlaftis, confused but proud of himself, trotted over to his coaches after the play to figure out what he did wrong and how he could get better.
“I got past the center, which was easy,” Karlaftis confidently said to his coaches. “But what am I supposed to do next?”
(Michael Wagstaffe/Yahoo Sports)
Karlaftis and his coaches laugh now about that moment, the…