Measuring in at over 200cm and weighing around 165kg, Semisi Tu'uefiafi was worth the wait for the organisers of the NFL International Combine.
The 19-year-old basketball player was late for the testing day in Auckland, where 25 NFL hopefuls were put through their paces, but his sheer size turned heads when he did arrive.
"My uncle texted me at like 8am and said, 'this was on' and I was like 'okay', slept, woke up at 10.30am and another uncle said, 'I'll come pick you up," Tu’uefiafi told 1 NEWS.
"It kind of caught me off guard, but I'm glad I'm here."
The lack of preparation wasn’t the only issue, with Tu’uefiafi proving too heavy for the scales.
"Apparently, the scales didn’t work, so I just had to make do with what they gave me, if I’m 165kg, I’ll take it," he said.
Tu’uefiafi is similar in stature to Jordan Mailata, the former league player drafted by the Eagles as an offensive lineman, and he was one of several hopefuls to excite the organisers.
"He’s such a big athlete, six foot six or seven, we couldn’t even weigh him, he went off the scales so I think we’re up around 168kg," Combine organiser Chris Orr said.
"If he shows the athletic ability in his testing here, then he’s certainly going to have a chance of getting on the plane with us."
There are also more than a few similarities with Michael Oher, the former NFL star whose story was turned into the movie, The Blindside.
"When I cut my hair shorter, a lot of people call me big Mike when I'm walking around so it's nothing new,"
Fortunately, one of Tu’uefiafi's found the 19-year-old some size 16 boots for him to squeeze into so that he could run the drills on grass.
The tight footwear was Tu’uefiafi's only concern as he went through the five drills; the 40-yard dash, the shuttle drill and the three-cone, the vertical jump and the broad jump (jumping horizontally from a standing start).
"I haven’t done something like this since probably year 9, but it wasn’t that serious, this is pretty fun so I’m enjoying myself right now," he said.
"Any opportunity to play a sport, leave home and gain something from it, I’ll gladly take it, basketball or anything."
The best 75 athletes from testing days in Auckland, Wellington, Samoa, Fiji, Sydney and Brisbane will be brought to the Gold Coast for the combine in October.
From there, up to five athletes will enter the NFL international pathway program that includes a fully-funded three-month training program at the IMG Academy in Florida.
The chosen athletes will then enter the NFL draft or be placed with an NFL franchise.
The next testing day is in Samoa on Friday and then in Wellington on Sunday.
Wellington
Date: Sunday 1st September
Time: 10am registration / 11am testing begins
Venue: Wellington College - 15 Dufferin street, Basin Reserve, Wellington
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