Chiefs' Kpassagnon driven to succeed on, off football field

Tah Kpassagn grew up in a home where excellent grades and academic achievements were t only encourd, y were expected.

That's what happens when your mor's a chemist and far an ecomist, both holding doctoral degrees. bar is set incredibly high.

“I kind of always joke around with my mom,” Kansas City Chiefs defensive end said with a smile. “I told her I got a Ph.D. in football instead.”

Well, Dr. Kpassagn is about to head to office again Sunday, with his sights set on winning a second straight Super Bowl.

“Dreams are dreams until y come true, you kw?” Kpassagn said. “And y definitely have come true.”

You see, 26-year-old Kpassagn's journey has been a bit unconventional. He grew up with his mor Winifred Wafuoyo in Ambler, Pennsylvania, a small city about 15 miles rth of Philadelphia. Wafuoyo, who's from Uganda, wasn't familiar with American football, so Kpassagn gravitated to “or” football as a kid.

“Soccer was actually my first love,” he said. "That was only sport my mom actually knew of. Once I got introduced to football, I just kind of jumped right in without kwing too much. ... It’s really that rush you get, man. It’s never gone away. And I still have it. So it’s awesome.”

Kpassagn — whose full name is prounced TAWN-oh Pass-N-yo — was a naturally gifted athlete, dabbling in three sports at Wissahickon High School: football, basketball and track and field. But re was something special about him on football field.

Villava head coach Mark Ferrante, who was Wildcats' assistant head coach and offensive line coach n, was on a recruiting trip to scout a running back at Wissahickon when Larry Cann, one of school's assistants, asked him to check out Kpassagn.

“All of a sudden, this 6-foot-7, 240-pounder comes walking down hall,” Ferrante recalled with a laugh. “So from that day all way through into summer camp months, I was just trying to encour him to come to one of our one-day camps.”

Kpassagn, who didn't appear on any scouting lists, attended final session — coming off a two-week trip to Orlando, Florida, with Future Business Leaders of America. Kpassagn ran his 40-yard dash in 4.74 seconds, an eyebrow-raising speed for someone his size.

So, Ferrante had him run ar. And Kpassagn clocked same time.

“Through rest of camp, he just impressed in everything we did,” Ferrante said. “He just became more and more impressive.”

Villava offered him a scholarship next day and Kpassagn accepted soon after — with one condition from his mor: that he earn admittance into business school.

Well, he did. And became a star at Villava — on gridiron, after redshirting his first year, and in classroom.

Kpassagn was a double-major in accounting and finance, carrying a heavy academic workload while carving out a path to a football career. He also spent two summers interning with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Philadelphia, learning all aspects of insurance, accounting and finance first year, and homing in on tax accounting second.

“y were irreplaceable, man,” Kpassagn said of internships. “You start to see re’s a lot of athletes in finance and accounting world, just because it’s a competitive field. So our competitive nature definitely leads toward that.”

Meanwhile, things were also adding up for Kpassagn in football. Still a bit raw and inexperienced, Chiefs were fascinated by his potential and selected him in second round of 2017 NFL draft.

“He's earned it all,” Ferrante said.

Things began slowly as Kpassagn started just one game with two sacks in his first two seasons. He broke out with four sacks in 2019 and established himself as a starter with multiple roles on defense and special teams this season. Kpassagn had just one sack in regular season, but added ar in AFC championship win over Buffalo.

“All he wants to do is contribute in any way that he possibly can, and he’s found a way to do that and continue to get better while doing that,” Chiefs defensive line coach Brendan Daly said. “He’s a pleasure to be around. Hard-working, humble guy. Got a little artistic flair to him, so he brings a little more to table than just grind of football.”

His parents are happy to kw Kpassagn is continuing his education, recently signing up for online classes with Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. First, though, he needs to take care of one more order of business on football field.

Kpassagn's mor was in Miami for last year's Super Bowl and will be watching her son on television try to win a second straight. His far, Patrice Kpassagn Tagro, is living in Ivory Coast but is planning a watch party that will start at midnight locally.

“So a lot of people are calling out sick for work definitely on Monday,” Kpassagn said with a laugh.

Oh, and mom kws quite a bit about American football w. And she makes sure her son hears all about it.

“Honestly, her football kwledge probably has grown a lot faster than mine,” a smiling Kpassagn said. “It’s hilarious. She'll text me before a game, like, 'Make sure you don’t let this guy grab you here — do this.' She'll give me tips and stuff.

“So you've got to love it.”

Im credits: AP