With a career-defining moment on the horizon, 23-year-old LaQuan McGowan is doing everything in his power to achieve his dream, losing 9kg during the past NCAA college football season.
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He now weighs 184kg.
McGowan is huge. If professional athletes – especially in the NFL – appear to rival 4WD’s in size then McGowan is a semi-trailer.
A semi-trailer that is as nimble as a quad bike.
His 5.39 40 yard dash might not sound very fast for a professional athlete – the record is 4.18 -, but it's as good as or better than nine linemen at the NFL Combine, all of whom weighed at least 30 kgs less. A few non-linemen ran in the 5s at the combine, and those humans are roughly half McGowan's size.
His three-cone drill, broad jump and vertical compare similarly, and of course his bench press reps would've ranked in the top five among offensive lineman.
Could Baylor’s huge LaQuan McGowan be find of NFL draft? https://t.co/B292F43mWo @statesman pic.twitter.com/6PRPyVdsP2
— Suzanne Halliburton (@suzhalliburton) March 18, 2016
McGowan has previously tipped the scales at over 200kg but, if he’s any chance at being taken in this year’s NFL draft, he’ll have to convert to an offensive lineman rather than as a tight end – which he played while attending Baylor.
Not just biblical in size, McGowan suspects he may have had some help from upstairs in keeping the weight on as well.
“I guess you could say God kind of blessed me to be 400 pounds (181kgs). Either I’m not doing something right when I feel like I’m doing it right — and I’m working with coaches and nutritionists to try to lose this weight.
“I keep stepping on that scale and I keep seeing 400. I feel like there’s a reason behind it.”
“He’s the most unique football player in the United States with his combination of size and athletic skill, Baylor coach Art Briles told FOXSports.com of McGowan.
“He’s the most intriguing athlete I’ve ever been around.”
While chances may not be high that McGowan can get a start on Draft Day, surely there’s a team willing to take a late round chance on a man who puts on muscle so easily that he’s been banned from the weight room.
