In a 2022 NFL draft class that’s stacked to the brim with edge rushing talent, Purdue’s George Karlaftis has managed to stand out as perhaps one of the best pure talents in the class.
He was a terror off the edge for the Boilermakers, tallying 14 sacks and 29 tackles for a loss in the 26 games he played for the team. Beyond the stat sheet, his combination of size, power and athleticism made him a consistent terror in opposing backfields across the Big Ten. He hopes to translate that success into his NFL career, where he is projected as a consensus first-round pick.
Draft Wire had the chance to speak exclusively with Karlaftis about moving to the United States from Greece as a teenager, his diverse athletic background, his development as a player, and much more.
JI: You moved to America over from Greece when you were in 8th grade. What was that transition like for you?
GK: It was crazy. It was really hard, obviously, mourning the loss of my dad, going to school in a different country; even though I spoke English, school’s completely different, from taking notes in English, a whole lot of different things. That transition was really hard. I was learning sports and playing sports that I hadn’t before. I played basketball my 8th-grade year. It was pretty difficult transition at first. It took just about that whole first semester [to adjust], I really was just juggling a lot. I took care of what I needed to take care of, I was struggling academically. After that first semester, I got through that hurdle, and was pretty well-adjusted, I’d say.
JI: How much exposure did you have to American football before you started playing it?
GK: I just knew that it was dangerous. That’s the narrative internationally, right? It’s violent. It’s dangerous. It’s aggressive. All those all those adjectives, so that’s really all I knew about it. My dad, I knew that he played football in college, and he had gotten hurt, so he always advised against it. But you know, that’s all I really knew. I didn’t know anything else.
JI: When I watch you play, I’m amazed by your hand usage, your pad level and just your flat-out motor. What’s gone into developing that ability to just go at 110 percent each rep?
GK: I think a lot of it comes to where people, they’re naturally good athletes, right? You take the guy that’s a pretty good athlete in football odds are, he’s gonna be pretty good basketball player. That athletic background for sure helped my transition. I was in sports for as long as I can remember. That did help with everything, that coordination, that just natural instinct. From there, once I discovered football and I started playing, I fell in love with it truly. Football isn’t a lot like other sports, like basketball, where you have like a shot percentage and your shooting percentage and three point percentage and blocks and all that kind of stuff. You’re just one-on-one, mano-a-mano type deal usually. It’s either you win or you lose 99 percent of the time, with not too many draws, so that constant desire to win every single time is what got me addicted to this, really. I don’t know if that’s the right word, but you know.
I wanted to become better and better and better, so I was exhausting all my time and all my resources into becoming the best player I can be. This is probably later in my life and in college, whether that was finding guys that were good at MMA and boxing and that kind of stuff, and picking their brain and working with them. I work with my position coach for extra conditioning, extra strength work, extra film work, mobility work with the trainers. Just all-around exhausting every resource [so] that I could become the best player, and just thinking about it, even just sitting at home watching TV, subconsciously thinking about football. That’s going to get you better if it was just thinking about something, and thinking about it and thinking about it, you might figure something out. So just that obsession.
JI: You have a diverse athletic background. How have those other sports helped develop you as a football player, specifically water polo?
GK: Water polo is obviously in the water, so there’s not too much translation, but the thing I figured out and I picked out that really helped me from water polo that I use in football is that lower body strength. I had to tread water constantly, and that leg strength, lower body strength is, I think, is one of my main strengths. That lower body strength, which is where the strike comes from. I have pretty heavy hands and a good strike. That’s probably the No. 1 way water polo has helped me.
JI: It seems like ever since your freshman year, you’ve been tabbed as a future first-round pick. How have you been able to manage those expectations?
GK: I didn’t really pay attention to that, honestly, I didn’t. I knew the expectation I had, that I had on myself. I came in, and that was one of my goals from before I played a snap at Purdue: To be a first-round pick. As soon as I touched a football and learned what football is, I knew I wanted to play in the NFL. That’s the drive that I have. If you start something, you want to become the best at it. That’s me to a T, whether that’s football, whether that’s whatever I do. I had that expectation on myself, so all these people are like, “Whoa, wow, you’ve got a chance.” and people are like, “How do you manage it? How’s your head not big?” I have a higher expectation of myself than you will ever have for me, so I guess that kind of answers your question.
JI: Which defensive linemen have you grown up idolizing?
GK: Without a question, when I was younger, I really look up to Ryan Kerrigan. I got a chance to talk to him a bunch of times. We talk to each other quite frequently even still. I’ve watched a lot from him and his game, and I was able to learn a lot just by talking to him and all that kind of stuff. We’re different players in a lot of ways. I think our relentlessness and our motor are very similar, and that’s why I think we get compared a lot, but in terms of our game, I think we’re pretty different. Someone that I’ve watched that I think I have a pretty similar skill set to would be Khalil Mack. He’ll go with speed which, I think he might be a little faster than me when it comes to that in-game speed, but I pride myself in winning with speed a lot more than I think people give me credit for (laughs). I do rush the edge a lot, so I’ve got to be fast.
He’ll do a lot of speed, but his bread and butter is when he goes to power, that speed to power, and that’s my bread and butter, too. That’s what I’ve watched a lot and learned a lot from is Khalil Mack, for sure. And there’s other guys, like there’s Cam Jordan who’s a guy that’s not quite as athletic as the rest of those elite edge rushers, but he uses his hands so damn well. It’s awesome to watch. He’s someone that I really look to. And then the Bosa brothers, they do some stuff and they play differently than everyone else. They have their own technique in how they use their hands. [I’m] just watching a bunch of different perspectives, but I guess as to who I relate myself to most and compare myself to, I’d say Khalil Mack.
JI: I’m a Bears guy, so I’ve been watching Mack every Sunday for the last couple years. He’s quick off the edge and can turn the corner, but that power game is unreal.
GK: He’s not the fastest guy, but he’s fast enough to beat you with speed when he wants to beat you with speed, and that sets up the power.
JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
GK: I don’t play video games. I think it’s a waste of time. I watch a lot of TV: TV shows, documentaries, informational stuff, a lot. I watch a lot of film, but I guess that’s not away from football. When I’m at home, I’ll either be watching film or watching TV and hanging out with my girlfriend and my dog. I like to grill a lot, so I’ll tie that in just at home. I’ll be cooking, I’ll be watching TV, and I’ll be hanging out with my dog and my girlfriend, a lot of the time simultaneously.
JI: What kind of stuff do you like to grill mostly?
GK: Meat, you know? Indiana has a lot of deer, so we’re able to get a lot of venison. Love to grill venison. Obviously, you can’t go wrong with a ribeye. You know, I think into eating a lot of organs, like the liver, heart and spleen and all the muscle meats, just about everything meat-related.
JI: With everything that’s gone on in your life, from your father’s passing, to moving to a new country, to your rapid rise in the game of football, how does it feel knowing your dream of playing in the NFL is about to come true?
GK: It’s a more recent dream of mine. I didn’t know what the NFL was until I moved to the United States. I would say ever since I discovered football, it’s been my dream. My dream for as long as I’ve had memory recollection was to be a professional athlete. I was bred [to be an athlete]. My parents were both athletes, and they’re both academics. They both have their Master’s, my dad’s a PhD. We’re really big on that combination of school and sports. My dad always said to graduate and be able to take sports so far, but also be an academic and graduate and you could do good things with that. Also, just the fact that I graduated from Purdue in three years is crazy; I think my parents were really proud of me for that. Just being able to accomplish and getting close to that dream I’ve had since I was a toddler, being a professional athlete, and in that, I found my calling in football. It’s crazy to think about, and it’s just that next natural step in life to grow up to go in the real world.
JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
GK: Well, you’re gonna be getting someone that’s the hardest worker that they’ve ever seen, someone that’s gonna not take no for an answer and takes a relentless attitude from the football field to life. Someone that his locker room respects and someone who’s a leader on the field and off the field, someone that will take time to help the younger guys but also call out the older guys when they’re not meeting the standards. Someone that has a locker room behind them that also knows how to maintain respect and the love of his teammates while doing so. As a football player, you’re gonna be getting someone that rushes the passer just about as good as anyone, if not better, and someone who can stop the run just as good. I like to pride myself in that I’m the complete package. I could rush the passer, I could stop the run, and do all things in between as a football player. Off the field, I’m the same guy. Just all around, very well-rounded and could do everything. I just care a lot, so I’m not going to take no for an answer.
