NFL: Seydou Traore to the Miami Dolphins draft pick

From day one, Chinchar thought, “We found something.”

Traore learned his first playbook within days, which is learning a new language. And playing as a wide receiver, he instantly dominated the kids who had played the game their whole lives.

He thinks his goalkeeping skills helped him.

“Hand-eye coordination, tracking and locating balls, jumping up or down and attacking the ball with corner kicks, this translates well,” says Traore.

“That’s the way American football is, when he throws the ball at you, you attack him at the top.”

Chinchar agrees, adding, “I feel like my guys who are experienced in soccer have that spatial awareness, which I think is an underrated trait (in American) soccer.”

Chinchar was impressed with Traore’s character and confidence. Even when he received his first college offer, he gambled that he would get better. That ultimately came from Arkansas State.

“I hear about this player, I think he’s different, there’s something different about him,” head coach Butch Jones said when the tight end coach walked into his office late at work.

They saw videos of Traore and Jones not long ago making “severe comparisons”. Seydou, who he coached in Cincinnati and helped turn into one of the best tight ends in NFL history, called Travis Kelce a clone.

“Sedu’s size and height combined with his athleticism — the way he ran, the way he handled the ball — made him a rare commodity,” Jones said. “He had unlimited potential.”

Traore can’t play tight end and has already committed to another college. Jones therefore had to ‘flip’ – so he called his old friend.

Kelce set up a team video call where he gave Seidu some advice and convinced him to trust Coach Jones and his staff. Saidu signed in February 2021 and transitioned to tight end, showing natural instincts for the position.

Traore saw himself as a “big ball of clay” that Jones could mold, and said the coach was “like a sponge” in retaining information.

“A sedu looks like a young deer that can run in its first year but is immature and mature,” Jones added.

“You could see that growth in two years. He made some plays where you were nervous on the sidelines.”

Like Kelce, Traore can disrupt defenders, and was named the best tight end in the Sun Belt Conference in 2022. But he was determined to go to the highest level of college football, Division 1 FBS.