To date, three players in the history of the Université Laval Rouge et Or have tasted small or large doses of the NFL. Defensive back Souleymane Karamoko becomes the fourth to see the door opened, through an invitation to take part in the 2022 international player program.
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In addition to Antony Auclair, who has just completed his first season with the Texans after four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mathieu Betts had taken part in the Chicago Bears training camp in 2019 and Sébastien Séjean had made his way on the St. Louis Rams reserve team 11 years earlier.
As early as July, Karamoko was made aware of the International Player Pathway Program’s interest in him. At the end of November, he knew the door was still open, and on Monday the invitation was confirmed.
“I was excited from their first message in July, and all season I sent them my videos. I was able to discuss with coaches of the program and it is very encouraging. They appreciate my versatility”, reacted the student-athlete from Côte d’Ivoire and who holds French nationality, in an interview with The newspaper.
Entrance to the greats
From 2004 to 2009, the NFL had set up a first version of the program aimed at finding international athletes to give them an opportunity to break through and thus increase the overall influence of the league.
The program in its current form was launched in 2017 and a few names have come through, including New England Patriots fullback Jakob Johnson (Germany) and Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata (Australia).
Drafted in 2018, Mailata has since progressed to the point of signing a lucrative four-year, $64 million contract extension in September.
“It’s nice to see that, but at the same time, it doesn’t mean anything because there’s no guarantee of breaking into the NFL with an invitation to the program. I still have everything to prove to show that I can play, but I feel like I belong,” said Karamoko.
Long workout
The defensive back will head to Arizona on Jan. 28 for a 10-week camp. There will be 13 guests from nine countries.
Players who do not get a contract will have the opportunity to promote themselves to the four teams of a randomly chosen division and who will organize practices to observe them.
For someone who started in France at flag football in 2008 before joining the Filons du Cégep de Thetford Mines in 2016 and the Rouge et Or in 2018, it’s a long way to go.
“My goal has always been to play professionally, but I was thinking more of the CFL. I was hoping for an opportunity like a mini-camp in the NFL, but I couldn’t imagine what is happening today,” concluded Souleymane Karamoko.
Last fall, the 25-year-old had 28 tackles and five knockdowns.
In three seasons, he has 73.5 tackles, 10 knockdowns, one interception and three quarterback sacks.
