From Ivory Coast to Dolphins' secondary, Kader Kohou is ‘an incredible feel-good story'
MIAMI GARDENS — What are the odds? The more you hear Kader Kohou’s story, the more you find yourself asking that question. You can’t help yourself, not with a guy whose college coach calls Kohou’s story “unbelievable” while his pro coach prefers to go with “incredible.”
Save yourself the trouble, then, by conceding up front that the odds of his story at every turn are at best slim, at worst, astronomical. If you don’t believe that, you’re not going to buy what the kid did with the few snaps the Dolphins gave him at cornerback last week.
Just like you won’t buy Kohou’s reaction to it. Any other rookie might be wide-eyed over what has happened to his world during the past few weeks, going from undrafted free agent to NFL player making an impact. Not him.
“It’s just one week, so hopefully I can get it again, Week 2,” Kohou said, referring to Sunday’s game at Baltimore. “So I’m leaving it in the past. It happened already.”
Tua or Lamar? Ryan Fitzpatrick calls Tua Tagovailoa ‘limited' as Lamar Jackson fans line up | Habib
Sieler under radar: Defensive tackle Zach Sieler remains one of Dolphins' most underrated players
OL adjustments: How the Dolphins are adjusting offensive line after Austin Jackson's injury
A few other things happened in Kohou’s past. He was born on the Ivory Coast. Arrived in the United States at age 9 only after his family won a lottery for the right to do so. Used sports as a way to make friends, then used sports as a way to gain a piece of a scholarship to Texas A&M Commerce.
You starting to get the part about the slim odds? Good. Because one spring day, Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer was going through reels of film, knowing he had to run out to practice, when the images on his screen stopped him cold.
“I like this kid and I need to talk to him,” Boyer recalls thinking.
Heading outside, Boyer shared news of his find with general manager Chris Grier, expecting Grier to wonder whether his defensive coordinator had gone over the edge. Instead, Grier said, “OK, I’m going to get on that.”
Thus began the courtship of Kohou and the Dolphins, opening the door for this 23-year-old to show up in Miami Gardens seeking a job even though half the guys suiting up with him would end up out of a job.
Kader Kohou says it will be ‘surreal' facing Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
Now you might think that a guy who considers French his first language, who was a latecomer to football, would have an underdog mentality. In the fourth quarter last Sunday against the Patriots, Kohou, who is 5-feet-9 and 195 pounds, was matched up with tight end Hunter Henry (6-5, 250), yet outdueled Henry to bat the pass away.
“During the game, he’s just another guy on the field,” Kohou says.
It applies to Hunter Henry just like it applies to a former NFL MVP — Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, whom Kohou will face Sunday.
“Just going from seeing him on TV to playing against him, it’s a little surreal,” Kohou says. “But he’s just another opponent now.”
Against the Patriots, the hits kept coming as Kohou — in just 18 snaps — finished with three tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass defensed and one forced fumble when he jarred the ball from receiver Nelson Agholor.
“If I was out there for two snaps, I would try to make two plays,” Kohou said.
Compare those numbers to what Kohou’s family faced when they entered a lottery to come to the United States. According to the site dvlottery.me, a current citizen of the Ivory Coast has a 0.29% chance of being selected.
“I was ready to get up out of there,” Kohou says. “It was just a new opportunity for us. And you know, you’re always reading about America and how great America is.
“My parents were trying to keep it — not a secret — but just not tell everybody until like a week before we left. But it was hard for me. I wanted to tell all my friends, like, ‘I’m going to America.’ ”
No English? Sports is an international language
It wasn’t the simplest journey.
David Bailiff, Kohou’s coach at A&M Commerce, recalls Kohou sharing with him that his parents didn’t speak English at the time.
“He said on the way over here, they didn’t even know how to say ‘water,’ ” Bailiff says. “But they would just motion to the flight attendant that they were thirsty.”
Kader, too, didn’t speak English. Despite being from Africa, he wasn’t big on soccer. Basketball? “I wasn’t tall enough.” But that oblong ball?
“It was just a little easier sport to get into,” Kohou says.
According to Pro Football Reference, Kohou is only the second NFL player born on the Ivory Coast, at the southern coast of West Africa. The other is Amos Zereoue, who rushed for 2,137 yards from 1999-2005 for the Steelers, Raiders and Patriots.
Football played to both Kohou’s athleticism and ability to play bigger than his size. In college, Bailiff jokes, “If he’d have a muscle cramp in his left bicep, he may die.”
Kohou: “It doesn’t matter how big or small you are. Get the opponent down, no matter how that’s done, whether it’s a big hit or simple tackles. Take opportunities right there and not be scared. It’s all about not being scared.”
The Dolphins weren’t afraid to give Kohou $130,000 guaranteed — bigger than most undrafted free agents. By making the team, he’s now operating on a three-year deal worth $2.6 million, according to spotrac.com.
After Kohou’s debut performance, coach Mike McDaniel told reporters, “Well, hopefully, it showed you guys we’re not all crazy working around here. It was something that, I was happy for him as a rookie. I can just tell it on his face this week. He’s a cool dude who has an incredible story, but you can see he’s coming out of his shell. And I thought he was a lot more quiet than he really is.”
Kohou explains his early, tight-lipped approach: “I just felt I had to earn the locker room’s trust and trust in my coaches and players and stuff. It’s hard to come in and just be kind of vocal. You’ve got to be in a shell to begin with.”
They didn’t wonder about Kohou being silent at Texas A&M Commerce. He bulked up as time passed and, Bailiff says, “All of a sudden he was the most powerful defensive back I’ve ever been around. He was lifting weights. You know, he hollered at the O-linemen they weren’t doing enough.”
Kohou was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Back of the Year.
“He was the loneliest player in the Lone Star Conference last year,” Bailiff says. “Because nobody wanted to throw the ball his way. Nobody wanted to run his way and get tackled.”
Coordinator Josh Boyer's honest vision impresses Kohou
Kohou nevertheless was bypassed in the draft but opted for the Dolphins’ offer in part because of the rapport he’d developed with Boyer.
“You always need to be honest and upfront,” Boyer says. “And I think when you’re talking to players, you have to have a vision for what you see them doing and their desires, skill set, kind of have to match that vision.”
Boyer’s vision of Kohou?
“He was physical,” Boyer says. “He had a great play style.”
Kohou rates his highlight from the Patriots game as his second-quarter hit that stopped Rhamondre Stevenson for a 4-yard loss. Kohou made enough plays he even was Wilkinized, which occurs when defensive tackle Christian Wilkins gets so excited celebrating a play, you need to get out of his way.
“Now I know to stay away from Christian when we’re celebrating,” Kohou says. “Christian is big. I thought we were just going for a little shoulder tap. As soon as I jumped up, he just clotheslined me.”
A 195-pound defensive back from the Ivory Coast gets clotheslined by a 310-pound defensive tackle from Clemson. Who’s a teammate. And the defensive back lives to joke about it.
What are the odds?
“Unbelievable story, you know, where you start in the Ivory Coast and you don’t even speak English,” Bailiff says. “And now you’re in the NFL and you just had a phenomenal game and you didn’t even play the game growing up.
“It’s an incredible feel-good story.”
Sunday's game
Dolphins at Ravens
1 p.m., CBS
Hal Habib covers the Dolphins for The Post. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins' Kader Kohou, from Ivory Coast, defying NFL odds
