Ziggy
Ezekiel Ansah takes a breather after running drills during BYU football's Pro Day at the indoor practice facility in Provo on Thursday, March 28, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
Ezekiel Ansah runs a drill during BYU football's Pro Day at the indoor practice facility in Provo on Thursday, March 28, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
Utah State's Chuckie Keeton is almost sacked by BYU's Ezekiel Ansah during their game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo Friday, Oct. 5, 2012. JIM MCAULEY/Daily Herald
Ziggy. Two weeks ago I would have had no idea who you were taking about. Last football season I never really heard his name but when I showed up to shoot BYU’s Pro Day last week Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah was the center of attention.
Watching Ansah run through drills with ferocious speed and power, it was obvious why he had gained such attention. In between drills, Ziggy sat on the turf and smiled and I wondered how he must feel about this whirlwind ride that is just beginning.
Ziggy came to BYU from Ghana (where he had never played American football) on an academic scholarship in 2008 and failed to make the basketball team. He joined the football team in 2010 but didn’t get much playing time until part-way into the 2012 season.
Today, our paper ran a story describing Ziggy’s position as an expected Top 5 (or at least Top 10) NFL draft pick. Woah. That was fast. Think about all those kids who played pee wee, high school and college football and never come close to the NFL. I guess there’s no substitute for raw talent and power. I wish I could have had more time photographing him but it will be exciting to see how far Ziggy can ride this wave.