Hitting the 7-foot mark and eclipsing the 440-pound plateau before testing the waters of collegiate football, high school lineman John Krahn is hoping to use his proficiency in the weight room and raw power on the gridiron to nab a Division I scholarship.
Nicknamed “Junior,” Krahn is now taller than anyone in NFL history, lineman or not. But with his size-18 shoes in tow, Krahn is trying to prove to scouts that he has more value on the field than merely his physical strength.
The high school senior has already been through his fair share of trials in the sport. According to a 2014 Press Enterprise article, Krahn was suspended twice in his junior season for altercations during play. And, when he was first learning the game, he managed to break a teammate’s arm during practice just by falling on him.
But having played in front of college coaches this past summer at USA Football's National Development Games, Krahn has learned what it will take to earn a spot at a Division I school. He has to lose weight -- a goal he is striving for both to help his current team and his future prospects, per MaxPreps.
Krahn will take on a lean-protein diet -- consisting mainly of chicken and fish -- in the hope of shedding some pounds, and thus improving his footwork and agility.
If he's able to combine newfound dexterity with his existing power and strength, Division I coaches may just begin to scramble to woo “Junior,” whose physical prowess would be a boon for any collegiate roster.
Also on HuffPost:
