Huskies Offer Towering African New to American Football
Collins Acheampong has played exactly nine games of organized football at any level.
Two years ago.
However, the lack of gridiron experience for this 6-foot-8, 230-pound athlete from Fairmont Preparatory Academy in Anaheim, California, has not scared off any college recruiters.
Certainly not those from the University of Washington.
It has only made them all that more intrigued about this teenager from Ghana in West Africa.
On Monday, Acheampong received a football scholarship offer from Kalen DeBoer's Husky staff, giving him six altogether. Others drawn to the big kid from halfway around the world are UCLA, Utah, Colorado, San Jose State and San Diego State.
Acheampong never played any football or basketball until three years ago. While his basketball career has continued on uninterrupted, he pulled on a helmet and shoulder pads at Fairmont Prep only as a freshman because the COVID pandemic forced his small private school in Orange Country to disband its program.
Acheampong still took enough snaps in the 2020 season for people notice him. He piled up 51 tackles, including 15 tackles for loss and 9 sacks, and forced a fumble.
He knew right away that American football would be beneficial to him.
"Well, at the back of my mind I always knew I would be a beast playing football," Acheampong told 247Sports. "I haven't ever lifted [weights] yet and I know for sure that there’s nobody 6-8 and 230 pounds that can move as fast as I can."
He is the second African athlete who is a recent arrival to the U.S. who has received a scholarship offer from the UW, joining Bai Jobe from Senegal. Jobe is 6-foot-5, 215-pound edge rusher for Community Christian School in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Bruins measure Collins Acheampong's wing span.
UCLA
On the basketball court, Acheampong has turned himself into a power forward who's played for both high school and AAU teams. While he's averaged a modest 9 points per game for Fairmont Prep, he had a breakout outing earlier this month where he scored 31 against San Juan Capistrano High. It's all happened fairly quickly.
"It was hard because I started both sports basically from scratch, so every year being in this country, I began to understand things better and I got better and better," Acheampong said.
UCLA has been the most aggressive in his recruitment, encouraging him to come play both football and basketball for the Bruins. His football contact is outside linebacker coach Ikaika Malloe, the former Husky assistant coach and player. The young African already been on campus for a visit and attended basketball game at Pauley Pavilion.
Fairmont Prep still hasn't restored its football program, but Acheampong says he won't consider enrolling at another Southern California school for his senior year. He'll just participate in football camps and 7-on-7 competition to keep himself in front of the talent scouts.
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