Overview
Position: Offensive Tackle
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 308 pounds
School: Auburn Tigers
Prince Tega Wanogho 2020 NFL Draft Profile
Every year, there are quite a few prospects whose path to the draft contains a truly unique story. Prince Tega Wanogho certainly has an interesting one of his own. Born in Nigeria, he eventually made his way to Montgomery, AL and was originally slated to play basketball. But he eventually discovered the sport with the oblong-shaped ball and fell in love with it. It didn’t take long for him to get the hang of it as well, as he eventually emerged as a top-10 strongside defensive end in the 2015 recruiting class according to Rivals.com. Among the major programs who offered him a scholarship were Clemson, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. But on National Signing Day, he decided to stay close to home, committing to Auburn.
Once on campus, a position change was in the cards as he moved to the offensive line. He sat out the 2015 season to learn the tricks of the trade as a result but made 10 appearances for the Tigers as a redshirt freshman in 2016. The following year, he began to see the field more often as he started seven of Auburn’s 14 games at left tackle. He subsequently became a regular contributor as an upperclassman, starting 25 of 26 games as a junior and senior and receiving second-team all-SEC honors in 2019. There’s a reason he goes by the name Prince. His grandfather was the king of a village in his native Nigeria.
Strengths
- plays with an aggressive and angry demeanor;
- boasts quite a few ideal physical traits for the position;
- gets hands in ideal spots to neutralize opponent;
- impressive anchor against opposing players to counter power rush;
- does a good job sliding laterally to set the edge;
- capable of recovering and keeping defenders at bay if initially beaten;
- attacks opponents in a nice, compressed stance with ideal knee bend;
- emerged as a regular starter and held his own against many elite collegiate edge rushers.
Weaknesses
- arms are a bit short relative to his overall frame;
- not the most initially quick after the ball is snapped;
- too much forward lean when down blocking in the second level, leading to balance issues;
- footwork can get a little messy when trying to pass set;
- needs to do a much better job sustaining blocks;
- received a medical red flag at the Senior Bowl due to an issue with his knee.
NFL Comparison: D.J. Humphries
Teams With Need at Position: Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins
Projection: Third to fourth round
Bottom Line
In a relatively short period of time, Prince Tega Wanogho went from never having played the game of football to NFL prospect at that all-important left tackle position. Given how well he fared in the always tough SEC, he should have no problem adapting to the speed and physicality edge defenders bring at the next level. What has scouts hopeful about his potential and what may give him a fairly high ceiling is his ability to consistently set the edge and prevent opponents from getting to his quarterback.
But that’s not to say that he needs significant refinement in order to reach said ceiling. Wanogho’s footwork is incredibly inconsistent and he relies too much on an initial pop followed by disengaging rather than sustaining his blocks. And his contact balance tends to suffer when run blocking. Still, Wanogho is one of those moldable clay prospects who, if coached up correctly, should develop into an NFL starter.
