The NFL draft has thrown up one of the most incredible stories in all of sport after a man who has never played organised football bagged a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Uar Bernard from Nigeria became a seventh round pick and the 251st overall, securing a dream, historic move to the two-time Super Bowl winners.
The draft is known for including a whole host of rookie picks but Bernard goes even beyond that as he has never played played football in his life.
In fact, he had barely participated in any type of sport until he started playing basketball when he was 16. However, after being spotted by a coach, he found himself earning invitations to NFL camps in Africa and then the International Player Pathway.
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During the program's Pro Day, Bernard, who comes in at 6ft 4, 306 pounds and with just 6% body fat, completely dominated and earned a perfect 10.0 Relative Athletic Score.
The 21-year-old prospect ran an incredible 4.63 in the 40-yard dash as well as producing a 39 inch vertical jump. On X, the NFL described him as a "crazy athlete".
His near-unprecedented selection in the draft comes four months after he began training and he could not hide his pride after the learning of the news.
“It’s a dream come true for me because I’ve worked hard for this,” Bernard said on a Zoom call, as per The Inquirer.
“I’ve not played football, but I’ve gone through some drills that made me believe that I’m going to get better every day. I thank God for everything. I thank God for life. I thank God for the opportunities given to me to be drafted by the Eagles.”
He continued: “Before the IPP (International Player Pathway), I was introduced to football by Osi Umenyiora. So I was back home watching drills about pass rush and walking into the trenches with my coaches back home, learning techniques … But I can walk into the trenches.”
Though his physical abilities are frightening, Eagles GM Howie Roseman admitted that patience will have to be shown in regards to Bernard and his rawness.
However, the team had planned to acquire him and see great value in what he brings to the table.
He stated: "We wanted to take the chance on [Bernard]. We’ve had great success with that program. We spent a lot of time with him.
“Just for us, it was a passion project … We spend a lot of time talking about ‘unusual.’ It’s certainly unusual with that guy.
"He’s got a lot of tools in his body, but understand it’s going to take time,” Roseman cautioned. “It’s going to take a lot of time here. But it’s pretty cool.”
Topics: American Football
Josh Lawless