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'Who in the hell is that kid?' From football beginner to NFL draft in 4 years
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- 'Who in the hell is that kid?' From football beginner to NFL draft in 4 years
And the final stop of Max Iheanachor's whirlwind pre-draft tour? San Francisco .
Since April 1, the former Arizona State tackle has crisscrossed the NFL universe in meeting with 12 teams for "Top 30" visits, which is some kind of clue underscoring his rising stock as the NFL draft looms.
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"It's a business, with teams bringing in all the guys they like or are interested in," Iheanachor, 22, told USA TODAY Sports this week, on the eve of a visit with the 49ers that came on the final day when teams could conduct such sessions.
"You just kind of talk to them eye-to-eye. The O-line coach, teaching you in a room, seeing how you retain information. They want to learn about your character as a player. It's definitely been an awesome experience."
Maybe this winding journey leads to Iheanachor, ranked 27th on the big board for USA TODAY Sports , getting picked in the first round on Thursday. Regardless, that so many teams during the draft process have wanted a closer look at a prospect who has played football for all of four years – Iheanachor moved to the U.S. from Nigeria when he was 13 – seems to add value.
Asked to identify the teams he's visited, like some sort of a pop quiz, Iheanachor (6-6, 321) quickly rattled off the stops: Patriots. Bears. Ravens. Panthers. Dolphins. Raiders. Packers . Bengals . Niners. Cardinals. Eagles.
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"How many is that?" he stopped and asked.
Dude, I'm going to have to check the tape.
"Did I say, Houston ?" he added.
Bingo. Check the box on retention.
"I'm just taking it day by day," Iheanachor maintained. "Right now, I'm just finishing out this process with the meetings and stuff. I'm not trying to get too far ahead. When that day comes, there's going to be a lot of emotions."
It's one thing that Iheanachor (ee-HANA-sure) has solidified his place on the NFL map during the draft process after not allowing a sack and just three quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Focus, in 482 pass-blocking snaps last season from his right tackle post. But he also drew rave reviews for his week at the Senior Bowl, then distinguished himself at the combine with a 4.91-second mark in the 40-yard dash that was 0.01 shy of the combine record for his position. Video from another moment at Arizona State's Pro Day, featuring one-on-one work against hands-on New England coach Mike Vrabel, went viral.
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"The climb is there," NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said during a video conference with reporters. "Every time I watched him in the fall, to when I watched him at the Senior Bowl – from the beginning of the week to the end of the week – the guy just keeps getting better and better. He just continues to ride that wave."
How Max Iheanachor was discovered
Which is only part of why Iheanachor, with all that upside, is one of the most intriguing players in the draft.
Listen to Saga Tuitele, Arizona State's edgy offensive line coach, provide a snapshot. Tuitele, who was then at Fresno State, discovered Iheanachor when he went to check out another junior college player at East Los Angeles College (ELAC).
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"Then, all of a sudden, I was like, 'Who in the hell is that kid?' Tuitele tells USA TODAY Sports.
That kid certainly had the size, frame and athleticism. And was so raw. Iheanachor's high school didn't have a football team. He played soccer and basketball. His potential as a power forward, though, was such that his AAU coach introduced him to the football coach at ELAC, Bobby Godinez, who in turn introduced Iheanachor to the sport that now might make him famous.
"They did a good job with him at ELAC," Tuitele said. "But he wasn't very good. His film sucked, but you saw he had some athletic ability and wasn't scared."
When Tuitele went to ASU as part of Kenny Dillingham's original staff, he lured Iheanachor, who had other offers by then, with a pledge that resonated with truth.
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"We didn't (b.s.) him," Tuitele said. "We just said, 'You're not very good. You actually suck. But you've got some talent. I want to develop you and work with you.'"
Iheanachor hardly disputes that pivotal characterization.
"Yeah, man, he was truthful," he recalls. "There were a lot of people telling me all the good (stuff). It sucks hearing the bad part, and it didn't sound good at the time. But it was something I needed to hear. If you want to grow as a player, you've got to be able to take the coaching."
Although Tuitele initially told Iheanachor he thought it might be two years before he cracked the lineup, circumstances dictated otherwise. Due to injuries, Iheanachor was pressed into duty for six games in 2023 – on his first snap, he was run over by a bull-rush, as Tuitele remembers it – and it ignited a steady rise.
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"Fast-forward to his second spring ball (camp), and he came out swinging. Literally," Tuitele said, emphasizing a certain tenacity. "He was fighting everybody – in a good way – challenging people, physically. He took some steps to controlled aggression. And then his football IQ was unreal."
What makes Iheanachor a top NFL draft prospect
Tuitele says the mental aspect is the most impressive aspect of Iheanachor's package, that classroom detail accelerated his curve. Yet beyond using extensive film study of NFL players to help refine techniques and his tendency to delve into concepts of play designs, Iheanachor's former coach points to another defining impression.
"Playing basketball, he was told he wasn't good enough, and should try football," said Tuitele, a two-time All-Big Sky guard at Portland State. "You talk about adversity. When I was his age, if someone told me I couldn't play football, I'd lose it. So, he found another sport and got good at it.
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"It just shows a lot for him, his culture, his people. Just like all of us that come from a different background, he's very proud of his family, his heritage, his last name. I think that's part of his drive to be successful."
Hearing this humanizes the draft. For all the mock drafts, the meat market inspections of the prospects, and the workouts and team visits, the journey for the men in the mix to get drafted is so personal. Real dreams. Real opportunities. Real people.
When Iheanachor arrived at Arizona State, one of the first demands from his O-line coach was to stop anyone from mispronouncing his name with an instant correction.
"That was not just me, shoot, that went for everyone in the O-line room," Iheanachor said. "You had to know how to say each other's name right. We had some Polynesian kids. There was another Nigerian kid. Just make sure we could say each other's name right. That's how you build a relationship. Know what I mean? You find yourself more interested in the person."
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Iheanachor has come a long way from a small village in Nigeria. Now the NFL limelight awaits. With ample opportunity for people to know his name.
Contact Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Max Iheanachor's NFL draft stock rising, 12 teams have met with lineman
