When I first saw this prospect, one thing came into my mind.
One of the boldest claims to make for a high school athlete. Especially for one who just finished his sophomore year of high school. Not college. But high school.
This guy is going to make the NFL one day. And he is going to ball out.
It is very early to make this claim, but for a Class of 2019 kid who has over 20 college offers and is ranked as the top athlete in his class, its hard to ignore the inevitable reality. If he can improve on his weaknesses, look out college football. Meet Owen Pappoe: The Linebacker from Loganville, Georgia.
Now, before we get to the talents this kid has, lets go back to his middle school days. When watching his son play in a basketball tournament, Watson (Atlanta youth football coach) noticed a man who was bigger and stronger than all the kids. When he found out the kid was Owen, he offered his number and wanted Pappoe to play football. The first time he practiced, it was an odd experience for the middle schooler. But as things progress, he caught up to pace and began making strides on the field. By the time he reached 8th grade, he was an all around athlete on the gridiron. His numbers were very impressive, as he racked up 16 TD's (8 receiving, 5 rushing, 1 kick ret., 1 punt ret., and 1 forced fumble ret.), 17 sacks, and 2 interceptions, garnering All-American selections in the process. As an 8th grader! By the spring, he was in camps alongside older players, and putting up better numbers in the 40 yard dash and vertical jump (4.57 sec. and 39 inches) than many linebackers in the NFL Combine. Along the way, someone began to catch notice of his skill.
He caught the attention of Al Washington, whom at the time was the running backs coach for Boston College. He visited to watch Grayson's varsity practice, only to receive the information that if he wanted to see Pappoe, he would have to wait for his 8th grade team to practice. It was worth the wait, because after one practice, Washington was fully on board, and soon afterwards, offered "The Freak." His combination of strength and speed had his recruiting coordinator believe that he would be a future superstar in the making. However, that wasn't the case, as he made an immediate impact on the high school level. But we'll get to that later. Being that at this point of his football career he has only played football since 6th grade, its astonishing that an 8th grader was offered by a Division I program, a big Power 5 program nevertheless. But the madness was only beginning, as from that point on, 12 more schools had offered Owen before he played a snap of high school football.
Miami. Florida State. TCU. Tennessee. Georgia. These are some of the big time programs that have offered him before he officially was a freshman at Grayson High. When asked about the early recruitment for Pappoe, he claimed that "I didn't expect this to happen so quickly. I know its not common for this to happen to 8th graders, so its really excited for me." Now at this day and age, its understandable for high school freshman, and even middle school kids to be offered by big name programs. We have seen this with recent names such as Dylan Moses (#1 LB in C/O 2017), David Sills (offered by USC at 13), and Harrison Bailey (8th grader Miami offered in 2016). Although those are amazing accomplishments, none is far greater than what Pappoe has done, as he got 13 offers before the start of his freshman year, 16 offers after his freshman year, and 33 offers after his sophomore year. To put into perspective, he has more offers now than Alex Leatherwood, Foster Sarell, Marvin Wilson, Josh Myers, Najee Harris, and Cam Akers (Top 10 in Class of 2017 247Sports Composite). Now offers don't translate to talent, but Pappoe receiving 33 offers shows that teams clearly have a need for him, and that many coaches believe that he will be a wrecking force for opposing offenses for years to come.
What makes him exceptionally unique from his peers in his class is a letter that came to his house. This letter told Owen that he would go to "The Opening," a Nike event which holds the top players in the country. Pappoe was the first ever upcoming sophomore to get an invite to the prestigious event. Despite the fact that he holds immense amount of skill, Pappoe was shocked when he first received his invitation. "I was surprised. No way was I expecting this," Pappoe told B/R. It was something that the Staff on the Opening wasn't keen on, but eventually ended up doing. "It definitely wasn't something we were looking to do, in terms of inviting a freshman, but his resume as we got to the end of the year was certainly very strong," Student Sports president Brian Stumpf said. After all, he did finish as The Opening Atlanta Camp MVP, and got the highest SPARQ rating in their event.
When he got his invite, Owen did not disappoint, posting up strong numbers in the event.
In terms of measurements for Pappoe, he finished 12th among SPARQ ratings for the event. Considering he is the youngest recruit to ever participate in this event, that is really good in terms of his football resume. Here are the testing results reported by ESPN:
40 yard dash: 4.53 (Best for his position)
20 yard dash: 4.00 (Best in the opening)
Vertical Jump: 39 inches (Best in position)
Broad Jump: 8'4 (2014)
Bench Press: Max at 340 (2016), 2 reps of 225 (2014)
Power Throw: 42
SPARQ Rating: 129.12 (Best for a Linebacker Ever)
When it comes to pure talent, there are only few in his class that have the ability to compete at his level. Barring any future injury, this kid is going to be a monster at whichever university he wants to attend for the next three to four years. The 247sports crystal ball has Pappoe going to Georgia out of all schools, but don't count out schools such as Tennessee and Alabama, the former being the school that interests him the most. Owen Pappoe's dream school is the Vols, and has visited Rocky Top multiple times in his recruitment. The only thing stopping Tennessee being a lock for the elite talent is the fact that Butch Jones is on the hot seat coming into the 2017 season, and a coaching change could see a Dylan Moses type move in which Pappoe could head to either Georgia or Alabama. Regardless of the school he goes too, I expect him to see early playing time or possibly start for his team during his freshman year. Knowing the type of player Pappoe is, he won't shy away from the big lights. He may even get All-American Freshman honors depending on the teams linebacker status for the 2019 year. Afterwards, he will start the next two years, earning All-American honors for his Junior year. A national championship wouldn't seem as such a far fetched goal for him, as the team he goes to will probably be in playoff conversation. He will then declare for the NFL Draft early, and be a Top 5 pick. All of this seems not only realistic, but inevitable for the Greyson kid. I see big things for this kid in future years, as he is going to perform at an elite level for the next two decades. Not years, decades. I only would be saying this if it were true, and I honestly to believe that he is the next great linebacker to get into the NFL.
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