The back story on Dolphins’ latest smaller school gem, with rookie minicamp opening Friday
The Dolphins have had success with a few non FBS-school prospects through the years, from Eastern Kentucky’s Yeremiah Bell to Hampton’s Kendall Langford to Liberty’s Walt Aikens.
They hope Texas A&M University-Commerce cornerback Kader Kohou becomes the latest.
The Dolphins held Kohou in such high regard that defensive coordinator Josh Boyer reached out to him multiple times in the draft process, and Miami then offered him $130,000 guaranteed (on the high side for an undrafted rookie).
Kohou, who’s 5-11 and 190 pounds, had 20 NFL offers — some comparable financially to the Dolphins’ —but Kohou liked the Dolphins’ vision for him, which Boyer explained in a Zoom session before the draft.
He can play boundary cornerback, nickel cornerback and safety and is expected to focus initially on cornerback with the Dolphins.
So what are his NFL skills than translate from Division II football?
“Kader has unbelievable man skills, incredible instincts and work ethic and the courage to hit you,” Commerce coach David Bailiff said. “I was shocked he wasn’t drafted. The Dolphins are going to be really thrilled. I really believe he will make the team and play in the NFL a long time.”
Bailiff coached two longtime NFL cornerbacks — Bryce Callahan (who has made 45 NFL stats) and Phillip Gaines (36 starts) — and believes Kohou is a comparable talent.
“We played him at corner; he was the loneliest corner in the Lone Star Conference because nobody was going to challenge him,” Bailiff said. “Great overall athlete. Great ball skills. He did punt returns for us too. He’s tough enough to play linebacker and fast enough to play cornerback.”
One NFL scout said Kohou has fluid hips, good burst and good strength for his size and projected him as an NFL nickel cornerback.
Kohou wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine but impressed scouts at the Hula Bowl. He ran a 4.46 in the 40 at his Pro Day.
Kohou had 113 tackles, 37 pass breakups, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and 453 return yards in his career at Commerce. He was a member of their 2017 national championship team and was named the Lone Star Conference’s Defensive Back of the Year in 2021.
Kohou moved from the Ivory Coast to the Dallas area with his family at age 9 and told draftdiamonds.com that “the whole move was a big step because there was such a big cultural difference. My first language is French so learning English was hard too.
“My parents motivate me the most because they came from nothing to us living comfortably. The fear of being broke and average motivate me also.”
Kohou had predraft visits with the Patriots and Chiefs; the Dolphins did not work him out privately and their only significant predraft contact with him was multiple calls from Boyer.
We hear that Dolphins scout Lenny McGill also was a big advocate internally for Kohou. McGill is leaving to become Las Vegas Raiders’ West Coast National scout.
Bailiff said Kohou is well positioned to succeed, even beyond the physical gifts.
“He was first to practice, last to leave,” Bailiff said. “Had great grades, is a great teammates. When I got the job here, he was the first player to come to me” to introduce himself.
NEW RUNNING BACK
South Carolina’s Zaquandre White, the one undrafted rookie running back signed by the Dolphins, faces an uphill climb to make the roster, with Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert, Sony Michel, Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed ahead of him on a hypothetical (but logical) depth chart.
But he is talented. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said White was worthy of a fifth- or sixth-round pick.
Zierlein called him “an explosive, athletic runner with good size but a lack of discipline in his running style. White was a high school runner who played linebacker at Florida State but returned to running back at South Carolina in 2021. He’s entertaining to watch with unpredictable, razor-sharp cuts from any spot on the field, but he frequently strays from designed run tracks, which prevents him from finding a rhythm.
“White has plenty of tread left on the tire and his blend of size and explosiveness will be very appealing for teams looking for a developmental [third running back] with run/catch upside to move up the depth chart.”
White was a top-150 overall recruit nationally coming out of North Fort Myers High School in Florida, committed to FSU and moved from running back to linebacker as a freshman, playing on special teams in 11 games.
He transferred to Iowa Western Community College to get on the field as a running back and was a first-team junior college All-American, averaging 6.4 yards on 137 carries.
He transferred to South Carolina in 2020 and started six games last season.
He had 88 carries for 583 yards last season, a 6.6 per carry average. He also caught 19 passes for 202 yards.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article260250505.html#storylink=cpy
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 12:03 PM.
