Walking through one of the long corridors of the Indianapolis Convention Center, it was hard not to be taken aback by an athlete who was training in the hallway during the NFL’s scouting combine last month. You couldn’t take your eyes off him. He was sculpted like a Greek god.
He was being worked out by Pete Bommarito, who trains many up-and-coming NFL stars, and this kid sure looked the part of a future star.
He was massive, powerful, and exhibited an incredible burst, even on the carpet. Why the need for speed?
Because Tanoh Kpassagnon is a pass rusher.
The Villanova defensive end turned more than a few heads at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. in January, and Bommarito was helping fine-tune Tanoh’s skills for the drills he was going to be put through at the combine.
So up and down the corridor he flew, attacking Bommarito’s workout. Kpassagnon’s physical gifts are obvious. After measuring 6-foot-7, 289 pounds at the combine, while running a 4.82 in the 40-yard dash, he has a combination of size and athleticism that every team covets — and he should come off the draft board somewhere in the middle rounds.
“He’s got the measurables. It’s shocking he can move as fast as he moves as big as he is,” Bommarito said recently. “The one thing people weren’t ready for (at the Senior Bowl) is he passed every test. He passed the eye test. You just don’t see a guy who weighs 290 pounds with 3 percent body fat, and he can run, and he can jump.”
No question, Kpassagnon is a physical freak. Bommarito said he’s the most imposing defensive end he’s ever trained and his list includes New York Giants star Jason Pierre-Paul and Cincinnati Bengals Pro Bowler Carlos Dunlap.
But can he play football? Can Kpassagnon shed linemen and get to the quarterback?
Those are the big questions. Last fall, he captured first-team Associated Press FCS All-American honors, ranking sixth in the FCS with 21.5 tackles for loss and tying for fifth nationally with 11 sacks. He was also the Colonial Athletic Association’s Defensive Player of the Year.
He’s a raw talent to be sure, but the scouts agree he could develop into a very good player.
“From what I’ve heard, he could be a defensive coordinator’s dream,” said Bommarito. “Because of his athleticism, he could be looked upon to do multiple things and play multiple positions.”
Sounds more like Bill Belichick’s dream. He could be a part of the Patriots defensive rotation on the edge, and also swing inside and rush from the interior on third down or passing downs.
Kpassagnon will probably have to put on more weight to contend with NFL tackles even after bulking up since his Senior Bowl weigh-in.
A team captain at Villanova, Kpassagnon earned degrees in finance and accounting. One of the questions he has been asked during the pre-draft process, was about his love for the game, and how much he was into football, given some of his outside interests.
Bommarito took issue with that line of questioning.
“He lives, breathes and dies football. Because he’s well-spoken and because he’s well-mannered, I don’t think it has any bearing on anything,” Bommarito said. “You don’t have to be an (expletive) to play football. You can be a normal person. People are just looking to nitpick at little things. He’s highly intelligent. Get him on the board. Watch him do film study. People want intelligent football players that can pick up complex schemes. That’s Tanoh.”
Then there’s the competition question. In the FCS, Kpassagnon didn’t have to go up against the better college tackles but he performed well at the Senior Bowl.
“The big question was whether I could hang with the better competition,” said Kpassagnon. “I think (the Senior Bowl) helped me out. I showed I could.”