Johnathan Kongbo's stay on the hill will have mixed opinions and reviews. Some say he has been a bust and his numbers have come close to expectations. Others will say he is a byproduct of an incompetent head coach who is currently licking Nick Saban's bootstrap. Regardless of which side you fall on I'm here to tell you something different, and that is Kongbo will not only make the NFL, but he will make it, and make a big name for himself.
But let me take a step back for a second. I've had this discussion with a lot of people I know and I often get some smack talk directed in Kongbo's way, and I want to say first and foremost if you don't know Kongbo's backstory of where he has come from, and what he has been through I encourage you to do some Googling. There is no man you should want to root for more than, Johnathan Kongbo. He comes from a distraught background filled with war, violence, and genocide. He himself is a humble giant, and a Vol for life anyone should be proud to put their hat behind.
Okay, back to the article. Now if you look at Kongbo's stats and compare them to say Derek Barnett you will be asking yourself what makes you think this guy will be anything close to DB? (It's not a pretty comparison, especially if you compare the solo tackles vs the two, hell pretty much any stat between the two for that matter.)
But I'm not going to be comparing him to Derek Barnett. Instead I will be comparing him to Jadeveon Clowney and how once he went to the Texans, who ran a 3-4 Defense, he thrived and was finally in his natural position.
This whole time, Kongbo has been pedestrian because he's been out of position. And it's taken a real coach like Jeremy Pruitt, a multi-National Championship winning Defensive Coordinator, to see what the others had mentally passed over.
Kongbo will fit the 3-4 system as a linebacker much better than he did as a 4-3 Defensive End. Jadeveon Clowney was starting to look like a bust (similar to Kongbo) when a position change, changed his entire outlook of opportunity as a player and as an athlete. I think after this season the same will be said about Kongbo, and this time next year we will be discussing how much higher he was drafted than we had ever expected in the past. We will be asking how did nobody see this gifted talent sooner and why it took so long to put him in the spot he has belonged in the entire time.
You know I just realized earlier I brought up a comparison of stats between Derek Barnett and Kongbo and failed to mention the one thing Kongbo did that Barnett never did, and that's return an interception for touchdown for 59 yards.
I think it, along with just his physical abilities, are a great sign of the things to come for the young man. I believe Pruitt will put him where he belongs, and start putting all our players in the best possible positive to thrive and make their dreams come true by having their names called on draft day like in the "Glory Days" of Tennessee football.The days of us hoping we have a least one or two players drafted are soon to be behind us. Things on The Hill are changing, and I think this year our defense will be beyond stellar partially lead by breakout player, and future NFL starter/star, Johnathan Kongbo.
(Please comment and let us know what you think, do you think he will have a breakout year or continue to be a bust?)