By Paul Schmidt
After a night that didn’t go exactly as planned, former University of Illinois offensive guard Jon Asamoah, believed by many to be the top guard prospect in the draft, was finally selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
Asamoah saw a few names go by that he wasn’t expecting to see, and that led to some anxiety in his household.
“Yeah, I was really kind of sweating it tonight just wondering and watching the names go by,” Asamoah said. ” With two minutes left on the clock Coach Haley (Kansas City head coach Todd Haley) called and I finally stopped sweating.”
While he wasn’t concerned about what team he went to, Asamoah was thrilled to be going somewhere where the tradition and history of winning runs as deep through the franchise’s history as it does in Kansas City.
“This is a dream come true,” Asamoah said. “To be able to come into the NFL and play football professionally, this is one of the things in my head I never thought that would happen. And that I get to play in a stadium that is as loud as Arrowhead is, and in front of fans that love the team so much is really great.”
Asamoah did work out for the Chiefs so their selection isn’t completely out of the blue. He was worked out and over extensively by Chiefs offensive line coach Bill Muir.
“It was good, I met him at the combine, came down for my workout and he took me through a bunch of drills and in the interview room with the coaches he was really firing questions at me,” Asamoah said. “I just want to go in there and work hard and earn everyone’s respect and learn whatever I can from the guys that are there.”
Asamoah is another in a long line of offensive lineman to make it to the NFL from the University of Illinois, and plans to use them as a great resource on what to expect at the next level.
“It’s such an honor to be a part of the group and I’m gonna look to those guys,” Asamoah said. “I’m going to talk to them and learn from them as much as I can.”
Asamoah hasn’t been to his new NFL home, Kansas City, but is looking forward to some of the finer things the city has to offer — as are his friends.
“No, I haven’t ever been there before, but I’ve heard nice things about it,” Asamoah said. “One of the first things that my friends said was I can’t wait to come visit you and get some great barbecue.”