Top Colleges Fighting To Sign Tobi Haastrup After His First Game Despite Knowing Nothing About Football
In a surprising turn of events, top colleges nationwide are scrambling to sign Tobi Haastrup after his remarkable debut in a football game, even though he knows absolutely nothing about the sport. It’s hard to believe, but this 17-year-old prodigy had never even lined up in a defensive stance before, let alone heard of a […] The post Top Colleges Fighting To Sign Tobi Haastrup After His First Game Despite Knowing Nothing About Football appeared first on BlackSportsOnline.
In a surprising turn of events, top colleges nationwide are scrambling to sign Tobi Haastrup after his remarkable debut in a football game, even though he knows absolutely nothing about the sport. It’s hard to believe, but this 17-year-old prodigy had never even lined up in a defensive stance before, let alone heard of a tackle for loss. He was completely oblivious to the game’s rules, including the concept of downs and how they worked.
But here’s the thing – none of that seems to matter when you take into account Haastrup’s impressive physical attributes. Standing at an incredible 6-foot-4 and weighing 235 pounds, he is an absolute powerhouse on the field. And if that wasn’t enough, he can also sprint a 100-meter dash in a mind-boggling 10.7 seconds.
Now, he’s one of the most sought after recruits in the nation and has some of America’s most prestigious sporting institutions falling over each other to get his signature.
Haastrup was born in Southeast London and spent his early childhood living in the UK before hopping across the pond.
After living in Sacramento, California for a few years, Haastrup’s family moved to football-mad Houston, Texas.
Haastrup was excelling on the track as a sprinter and competing in the shot-put at Mayde Creek High School when new head coach Mike Arogbonlo was briefed on the potential they had if they could convince the Londoner to switch sports.
‘The first thing I was told by the coaching staff was (how big it would be) if I could get this kid to come out that looks great, is fast — he’s a great athlete,’ Arogbonlo told The Athletic’s Grace Raynor. ‘I said, ‘OK.’ And I went and found him, and we started talking.’
The pair connected quickly, bonding over their Nigerian roots. Arogbonlo took up the project and told The Athletic that he was forced to strip the game down to its bare bones for Haastrup.
‘It just kind of takes you back to the basics,’ Arogbonlo said. ‘There were a lot of questions that he had: ‘What’s a first down? Where’s the down marker? What’s a defensive end, and what’s the difference between a defensive end and an outside linebacker?’ He didn’t know any of those things. But he’s been like a sponge, just soaking in whatever he can.’
Despite coaches simplifying the game as much as possible – even helping Haastrup by drawing connections to track along the way – he still had a few hiccups in his first game.
The first time that he played, he was so focused on his pass rushing that he lined up offsides about three times.
He also finished the night with five sacks. In one game.
Two state schools – Texas-El Paso (UTEP) and Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) – were the first. But they were quickly joined by many others – including the likes of SEC powerhouses Ole Miss and LSU.
So far, Haastrup has made official visits to Boston College, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Texas Tech, and USC – with visits to Michigan and Oregon scheduled before the end of the month.
It’s a testament to Haastrup’s incredible potential. Even without any prior exposure or understanding of football, he has managed to catch the attention of some of the top colleges in the nation. It remains to be seen how his football career will unfold, but for now, it’s safe to say that the entire sports world is eagerly watching to see what this extraordinary young athlete can accomplish.
The post Top Colleges Fighting To Sign Tobi Haastrup After His First Game Despite Knowing Nothing About Football appeared first on BlackSportsOnline.