Emmanuel Acho: Leading with Character

Have you been waiting for the arrival of the most anticipated draft in the nation, the NFL Draft? Are you anticipating who will be the new addition to your fantasy football team, or maybe you just want to see some good talent in the coming season from new young studs? Well if so, and you’re having trouble finding good soon to be rookies that you hope your favorite team will pick up, then here are a few worth considering. This will be quite an exciting draft with big highlighted names like Andrew Luck, and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III.  But when I think of the players coming into the draft, there is one name that comes to mind.

At 6-foot-2 carrying 245 pounds of pure muscle and determination, Emmanuel Acho has the potential to be a great success story. Not only is he a great player on the field, but he is a great person off the field. Acho grew up in a very spiritual, close knit Christian family, with his father (a pastor) and a loving, caring mother and brother by his side.  Acho attributes much of his success on the football field to the strength of his close family ties.

Acho is a well-respected player, giving him a boost coming into the NFL Draft. He stated during an interview, “Wherever I go will be good with me. I am just blessed by God to be in the position I am in.”

He also talked about his organization and the involvement he has with his community, saying, “Right now, the most fun I’m having outside of the football field is hanging out with a group of friends and we call ourselves COAH (City on a Hill) which is like Matthew 5:14 that says we are like a city on a hill and a city on a hill cannot be hidden. We get together and try to ‘salt the earth,’ to preserve Christ’s work. In my free time, we go and try to figure out ways to help out around Austin, go to different orphanages or whatever it may be.”

Acho is very involved with his religion and has helped communities around the Austin, Texas area and beyond. He’s a person with a hard to find combination of qualities – with a motivation and an attitude to thrill.  Additionally, it would be difficult to find a player that contributes as much to help others as Acho does. He’s a very down to earth and pleasant person, and this is what teams need to improve their image.  Not to mention he is an All-American linebacker, too!

NFL teams should consider Acho’s character – the dedication he shows towards his passions and the respect he has toward God. His character demonstrates that he is more than capable of being a team leader and putting 100 percent into his work and effort on the football field.

He is also a great athlete and a playmaker that many teams could benefit from.  For example; Acho had 101 tackles and 3 sacks playing 13 games for the year. If there are critics, then they need to look at going out there on a collegiate level, and getting 101 tackles! It’s defiantly not a walk in the park.

At this moment, Acho is rated 18th of 228 as an Outside Linebacker in the 2012 NFL draft and 167th of 2822 players looking to find a home in the NFL. Those aren’t the worst numbers for a guy who’s been somewhat injury prone for the past couple of years. He’s expected to go in the 5th round (of the 7 rounds in the Draft) but no particular team has publicly spoke about the likeliness of drafting the former Texas team captain. I believe Acho would be a great fit for teams like the Bills, Saints, Jets, Eagles, Chargers, and Giants.

All in all Emmanuel Acho will be (in my opinion) a good contribution to any NFL team that picks him up. I’m not saying he’s going to be the next Patrick Willis (SF LB), but I do believe that Acho could in fact be compared in his skill level to players like Nick Barnett (BUF LB) and Rolando McClain (OAK LB).

I hope all of you are as excited to see this guy play in the pros as I am! Look for him in the NFL draft in April.  It will be exciting to see where he and others around the nation will call their future home.

Thank you for reading! I’ll be out with another story every week! Have questions or comments on my story? Follow me on twitter @Blake_PPI !