Keishawn Bierria has gotten a lot of experience playing for the Washington Huskies, playing since he was a true freshman (2014). A smart, aggressive linebacker who seems to have a nose for the ball, Bierria finished his college career with 240 total tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 4 pass deflections and 4 forced fumbles. It could be argued that his best year came in 2015 when he had the line of 77 total tackles,7.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. Scouts were sort of torn on Bierria. He had the resume for the position, but they just didn’t feel like he was fast enough or big enough for the rigors of the NFL.
Keishawn lasted until the 6th round of the 2018 draft, where he was selected by the Denver Broncos. He made the roster and saw action in a few games notching 5 total tackles.
Cards: Topps AAF 2019, Topps AAF 2019 Certified Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, EBay 2019 Sent: 4/11 Received: 5/3 (22 days)
When the different AAF groups were talking about what players they were impressed by, I was surprised that they brought up the lumber laying Orion Stewart. He was apparently really impressing in camp for the Commanders. He quickly proved to me during that first game what a force he was for SA in the secondary, laying down the law against the Fleet. In that first game he hauled in a pick, deflected two passes, and made 6 tackles. At the end of the game, he and a gaggle of players came over to the visitor’s endzone and mugged my sister and me for hugs… well primarily my sister- but still it was a great memory to make- and Stewart became one of my favorite players.
Orion was a 3 time All-Big 12 safety at Baylor, playing in 49 games while starting 36 of them. He recorded 12 interceptions over his time playing for the Bears, and ended up third on the school charts with 227 career interception return yards.
Stewart was not selected in the 2016 NFL Draft- and saw brief stops with the Broncos, Redskins, Giants, and Bills. In 2018 he signed with the Commanders and he and Derron Smith made the most fearsome safety duo in the league. He also came up with a nickname for the secondary (- which was one of the league leaders in creating turnovers), calling their group “Area 51”. In fact at the last game, I brandished a homemade sign with it on there as well.
After the league collapsed, Orion signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019. He signed his base card in 22 days- which was a day after his certified arrived in the mail. I got an incredible deal on the certified autograph. I got 4 for about half the price of a hobby box, and a hobby box typically comes with 3 autographs, so you do the math.
Card: Wild Card WLAF 1992, Upper Deck 1992 Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Work Sent: 8/28 Received: 9/12 (16 days) Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Virginia See Also: Shawn Moore
Shawn Moore eluded me a few years ago and it was really a pants down situation. I mean, I sent him a nice group of cards but never heard back. Luckily, I always have made it a habit to reload on WLAF cards I only had singles on; However, I didn’t have an extra copy of Shawn’s Star Pics 1991 that I really wanted to get signed so I ended up sending this terrible Upper Deck 1992 card of his with it. Still I should be happy to finally knock of this retry reply from my list.
My friend Deadhorse got a trial subscription to Star Tiger, which is a competitor to sportscollectors. He loaned me the login since I was curious so that I could take a look. I found the hierarchy to be terrible, and most of the sports addresses were consistent with what I had already found, but I did find Shawn’s most recent address on there and decided to give it a shot. A few weeks later, a water soaked return envelope arrived at the house with Shawn’s autographs inside. (Thankfully the cards were not damaged.)
Shawn moved on from coaching at his alma mater after 2012. He’s had a few football related positions since then including working as the Director of Community Relations for the College Football Playoff system. Currently he works in administration system of a private school in Virginia.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
