NFL’s new ‘big’ prospect: Polish giant has US talking

STANDING 205cm tall and weighing a hefty 156kg, this giant athlete may be the most unlikely bolter for a spot on a professional NFL roster.

Polish giant has America talking

WHEN a group of strangers approached a 17-year-old Babatunde Aiyegbusi on a street near his home town in Poland, the giant teen had never heard of the game they called American football.

‘‘Hey man, you’re big,” they said.

“Maybe you want to try to play football?”

That simple pitch would eventually carry “Babs” to an NFL pro day and a rookie contract nine years later.

To say Aiyegbusi is “big”, is to say “the sun is hot”.

Now 27-years-old, the former high school basketballer stands 205cm tall and weighs just over 155kg. If he were to sign on full-time with an NFL team he would immediately make the top 10 for the biggest players in the history of the league.

Polish offensive tackle gives Vikings a big presence http://t.co/XGiy8dh9r1 via @USATODAY it was a pleasure Tom! pic.twitter.com/BZHn2BrEL8

— Babs Football (@BabsFootball) April 15, 2015

Now signed with the Minnesota Vikings on a rookie contract as an offensive tackle, Aiyegbusi’s journey to the US was unexpected to say the least.

As a youngster, “Babs” had grown up playing basketball, but was constantly frustrated by the lack of contact allowed on the court. So when he was introduced to American football and told his job was to “push people”, he jumped at the chance.

“They put a helmet on me and told me to push the guy in front of me,” he said.

“That was surprising to me. In basketball, you cannot push anyone. So on my first block, I pushed the guy and he was on his ass. I was like, ‘I can finally push someone! I like that. OK, let’s work on it.’”

Aiyegbusi played in the Polish American Football League where he was introduced to a contact that put him in touch with Texas Tech assistant coach Kevin Curtis.

After failing to get the 27-year-old qualified for college football due to a one-year stint in Germany’s professional football league, Curtis passed Aiyegbusi onto his former agent Jeff Griffin who watched the Pole’s highlights reel.

“I watched the video and didn’t really believe it,” Griffin said. “What is this?”

After speaking with Babs on Skype, Griffin decided to fly him over to San Antonio in March for a professional trial day in front of a number of NFL teams.

Despite Aiyegbusi’s skills being rather raw in comparison to a number of other athletes at the event, none could deny his sheer size put him head and shoulders above the competition, quite literally.

The Minnesota Vikings signed the father of one the following day, adding him to their 2015 training roster.

.@BabsFootball looks back on his weekend participating in the #Vikings Rookie Minicamp. http://t.co/PDS6xeVPPW pic.twitter.com/SLFpW5mynT

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 10, 2015

Aiyegbusi has trained with the squad over the past few months and participated in their rookie mini camps.

Despite claiming a small cult following, which even included an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the monster offensive lineman is still a fair way off making it in the big league.

Babs just wants to do well to make his home country proud, so if he doesn’t make it with the Vikings, he plans on returning to the Polish League that gave him his start in the game he loves.

One thing is for sure, he is going to be a big hit wherever he ends up.

Great time off learning at mini camp and OTA's. Now time to come back home and reload batteries with my family :-) pic.twitter.com/nKQPWnw4X4

— Babs Football (@BabsFootball) June 21, 2015