FOOTBALL prospect Yahya Attia never watched a Deion Sanders game as a kid – but he can’t wait to play for Coach Prime.
Attia is a 330-pound offensive lineman who was born in Egypt and moved to Europe when he was 3 years old.
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His family moved from the city of El Reyad in northern Egypt to Vienna, Austria, when he was a child.
And playing football wasn’t even on his radar until he got injured playing football.
Attia caught the attention of an NFL Academy scout in Loughborough, England, when he posted a clip on social media.
And now, he’s on his way to Boulder, Colorado, to join Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes.
He told The Sun: “I was always one of the bigger guys. When I got injured, I had to stop playing football and I became even bigger and heavier.
“My friends convinced me to get back into sports and that’s when I started playing football for the Vienna Vikings two years ago.
“In Austria, I thought he was a good player because he was one of the bigger guys.
“A coach from the NFL Academy followed me and I posted my highlight – I didn’t even know he was a coach at the academy.
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“When I got here, everyone was as big and strong as me!”
“I haven’t spoken to Coach Prime yet,” Attia continued.
“I didn’t know much, but I knew he was a two-sport pro and a Hall of Famer.
“I know his celebration and I know his children are playing there.
“I expect competition, I love competition and I expect wins.”
Attia will be under even more pressure to impress Coach Prime – as his job will primarily be to protect quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
When I’m on the field, I feel like a bulldozer.
Yahya Attia
His nickname – The Bulldozer – will help instill confidence in the central defender.
“Some of my friends gave me that name in Austria – only a few people call me that.
“It’s not even because of football – it’s because I was one of the bigger guys.
“When I’m on the field I feel like an excavator.
“People liked to call me a bulldozer because of my appearance.
“It came about before I started playing football, so I took the name with me into the football scene.”
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