As is often the case, the NFL draft was full of many tearjerker moments. It’s an event honoring the realization of a dream for young men that have dedicated their entire lives to reaching football’s pinnacle.
For linebacker Brian Asamoah, it was made even more special when receiving a phone call from Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
In many ways, the draft selection almost felt like fate considering the conversation Asamoah had earlier with Vikings director of college scouting Mike Sholiton.
“The first thing [Asamoah] said when I met him at his pro day was how much he was looking forward to meeting Kwesi. He’s from Ghana, and he just really wanted to shake his hand,” Sholiton said at a media conference. “I think when the call finally came through, my first thought was Brian is going to get a chance to do more than shake Kwesi’s hand.”
You can hear the emotion welling up in Asamoah’s voice when Adofo-Mensah makes the phone call he’d been waiting for what probably felt like an eternity.
Adofo-Mensah said, “You know this one hits different, right? You ever think you’d be called by a guy named Kwesi for your NFL dream?”
“From one Ghanaian to another Ghanaian, man—let’s do it,” Asamoah responded.
From one Ghanaian to another 🇬🇭🇬🇭 pic.twitter.com/3V5Vbykmk7
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 30, 2022
The moment hits right in the feels.
Asamoah joins a Vikings linebacker room that already has Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks, but he is talented enough to push for reps on the field, even if it’s initially as a special-teamer.
There’s obviously the raw potential for him to be so much more, which is an added bonus with the Vikings’ aging, yet talented, linebacker corps.
