Football Hotbed Youth All-American defensive end Owen Pappoe is a special talent at the position and he’s barely played it. Few 8th graders already have the measurables that this second year football player does at age 13 standing 6’1 and weighing in at 191 pounds but it’s his raw athletic talent, coupled with an amazing tenacity that has the Grayson Ram’s two-way star turning heads all across the country.
The Lawrence, Georgia native plays for one of the nation’s best 8th grade teams but he might be it’s biggest star. And even on the young season, Pappoe has made some plays and done some things on the football field that would lead you to believe he’s been playing more than just a season and half, which is the reality about this budding young star’s career.
“I love football because it’s a great sport,” Pappoe told Hotbed at its Atlanta All-American combine in June where he was named a Youth All-American after an impressive combine performance.
Pappoe logged a 4.90 (hand) 40-yard dash, a 4.66 20-yard shuttle run, 8’4 broad jump and 23’7 kneeling power ball toss. His running events were probably measured on the most unfavorable conditions possible, as a soggy field at Atlanta’s Westlake High School during the Hotbed Atlanta Combine was still drying off after pouring rain overnight. Players were kicking up turf as they planted and ran their 40s. It’s hard to imagine that he could have been timed even faster than his eye popping numbers already suggest for his age and size.
According to NIKE SPAQ, the national averages for High School athletes for the 40 yard dash is 5.14 seconds (laser), a 4.72 20-yard shuttle is the average nationally and 30′ for the kneeling power ball toss.
Having played in his first ever football game in Jacksonville, FL during the 2013 Hotbed Classic pre-season football tournament, Pappoe showed flashes of his impending stardom. He caused a major fumble that lead to a touchdown in the championship game against the Mentors of Tomorrow (MOT) Cowboys. His team, then the Gwinnett Chargers, would go on to win by over 50 points.
“He’s a freak!,” said his coach Kenyatta Watson of Gwinnet Football League’s Grayson Rams of Pappoe’s athleticism. “Owen is a special player and a very humble kid, the sky is the limit for him.”
So far on the season, Pappoe has amassed the following totals:
- 8 sacks
- 18 tackles for a loss (TFLs)
- 2 Forced Fumbles
- 1 Fumble Return for a TD
- 4 receptions for 111 yards and 4 TDs
In addition, Pappoe is already benching 225-pounds twice in the weight room and recorded a 36-in vertical jump at the MVP camp in Georgia this off season.
For these statistical reasons and more, Owen Pappoe is a player to become familiar with. You can see him playing in person this January in Jacksonville, FL at the Bolles School during the Football Hotbed Youth All-American 8th grade game. He’s worth the price of admission.
He are his highlights, judge for yourself.
It’s a Hotbed World.
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