Austria: Traun Steelsharks sign All Star DB James Gales

AFI | American Football | 12/24/2018

Graphic: Igor Lazarevic

The Traun Steelsharks of the Austrian Football League, have added much-needed strength to their defensive secondary with the signing of defensive back James Gales from Princeton University (NCAA Div. I FCS).

The 5’10”, 200 lb Gales spent the 2018 season with the Gdynia Seahawks in Poland’s Liga Futbolu Amerykańskiego where he helped the Seahawks reach the semifinals. He was rated as the top defensive back in the league in 2018 recording 79 tackles, six interceptions, 10 pass breakups and five forced fumbles.

A native of New York City where he was a standout running back and cornerback at Brooklyn Technical HS, the 23 year old Gales was a key member of the Princeton Tigers defensive secondary earning First Team All-Ivy League honors during the Tigers’ Ivy League championship season in 2016. He became the first Princeton player in more than a decade to record interceptions in three straight games (Harvard, Cornell, Penn). Gales was named to Ivy League Honor Roll and helped the unit lead the Ivy League in scoring (16.4), total (317.6) and rushing (80.1) defense.

Gales will be a welcome addition as the Steelsharks finished with a 1-9 record in 2018 and had the worst pass defense in the Austrian Football League giving up 321 yards per game.

Check out James Gales’s highlights from the 2018 season in Poland.

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