(ThyBlackMan.com) The Super Bowl has wrapped up, and it’s not too early to look ahead at the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit. Every NFL Draft, hundreds of young people prepare to have their dreams of joining the National Football League come true. Every year, there are college football players with unique stories that led to their journey as NFL Draft prospects and this year is no exception. Here are five 2024 NFL Draft prospects you can root for their names being called during the 2024 NFL Draft (in alphabetical order):
– Garden City Community College wide receiver Ajou Ajou: It will be very hard to find any NFL Draft prospect whose life journey matches the miles covered of Ajou Ajou. His parents are from the South Sudan in Africa. He has spent a lot of time in Canada as he was born in Calgary and played part of his high school football career in Edmonton. Following high school, Ajou played a couple seasons at Clemson University in South Carolina. Ajou then transferred to the University of South Florida for one year and he finished his college career in 2023 with Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas. He has had quite the journey.
-Michigan linebacker Junior Colson: One of the most important players on the National Champion Michigan Wolverines, Colson’s route to the NFL Draft was different in that he was born in Haiti and spent his first nine years there before being adopted and brought to the U.S. He wasn’t the only Michigan Wolverine from the team with Haitian background as his former college teammate and Michigan cornerback Mike Sainristil also does.
-Penn State Edge Rusher Chop Robinson: One of the best nicknames in the 2024 NFL Draft, Chop isn’t known by football fans by his given name, Demeioun. The name, Chop, will be a fan favorite regardless of where he is selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, including potentially the first round. Robinson was one of the best pass rushers in the Big Ten and he joined Penn State after transferring from Maryland early in his college career.
-North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker: During the 2023 college football season, Walker became the national symbol of the antiquated NCAA’s rules against transferring to another school as he was withheld from playing in several of North Carolina’s first football games of the season. The usually diplomatic North Carolina head football coach, Mack Brown, had some harsh words for the NCAA before Walker was allowed to play after the NCAA relaxed its transfer rules in the case of Walker.
-USC quarterback Caleb Williams: While college football fans are well aware of the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner from his numerous TV ad appearances, he should still get a lot of credit for showing some vulnerability during a rough season for his USC football team from a win-loss standpoint. He is also the most fun prospect on the field to watch in this draft. While he is a lock as a top five pick and will be a multimillionaire due to that along with many endorsements, Williams has the personality and charisma that makes him likable.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines