Packers 2017 Draft: Interview with Northern Illinois RB Joel Bouagnon
The last couple days before the start of the draft can be among the most nerve-raking for an NFL prospect that knows neither where he’ll be drafted or whether he’ll get drafted at all, as the athlete tries in vain to apply some sort of logic to all the conversations, workouts and team visits that have taken place over the past few months to come up with a possible destination.
This is what’s commonly known as the waiting game and it’s something that Northern Illinois University (NIU) product Joel Bouagnon (pronounced BU-Anyo) is experiencing after a distinguished career in which the versatile back scored 34 touchdowns.
Many of the scores, 26 to be exact, took place during his final two seasons that saw the 6-foot-1 pile driver turn the corner in becoming the unquestioned workhorse in the Huskies’ backfield.
The strapping ball carrier would end up producing 11 games in which he toted the rock 20 or more times.
His performance versus the almighty Ohio State Buckeyes in his 2015 junior campaign would certainly have to rank as a shining moment that put him on the map for the legions of NFL scouts scouring the nation in search of pro-level talent.
Neither Bouagnon nor his teammates were in the least bit intimidated as the heavy underdogs from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) went up against one of the nation’s elite in front of a crowd of over 100,000 Buckeye diehards in the Horseshoe.
Despite being a well-rounded performer that continued playing special teams as a senior. No. 29 wasn’t afforded the opportunity to attend any of the premiere all-star games nor did he ever receive a much-deserved invite to the Indy combine.
In his typical style, Bouagnon had no reservations about initiating contact against Joey Bosa , Raekwon McMillan and company. He routinely ran through the contact and dragged defenders on his way past the first-down marker.
The end result was 78 hard-earned yards in a 20-13 loss in which NIU had their opponents on the ropes for long stretches.
But in addition to his take-no-prisoners style of running and excellent vision to see cutback lanes, the California-born NFL hopeful is no one-trick pony when it comes to bodying up on blitzers in pass protection.
In NIU’s offense that employed a great deal of designed quarterback runs out of the read-option, Bouagnon found himself serving as a lead blocker in the ground game as well.
During his signature junior season, the two-time All-MAC selection ranked 10th in the FBS with 18 rushing touchdowns while going over 1,200 yards. His receiving numbers weren’t as prodigious, but Bouagnon was masterful in the way he would deceptively get into his blocking stance at the line of scrimmage only to then slip into the flat and be wide open for a short completion.
But the abject neglect didn’t deter Bouagnon from showing out at his pro day where he officially posted a 4.6 in the 40 at 230 pounds, along with elevating 34-inches in the vertical and recording a solid 6.9 3-cone for a man of his physical dimensions.
Those numbers and his position drills at the campus event earned him the recognition of several organizations, including the Packers, who recently brought the former MAC standout for a visit.
Bouagnon isn’t just fun to watch, but he has an engaging personality and is far from being the type of self-absorbed personality we see all too often in the world of sports.
The young man’s genuine love of the game and infectious enthusiasm were immediately evident when he recently joined Lombardi Ave in an interview in which he stated his case as one of the most complete prospects at his position.
His size, instincts and general toughness are reminiscent of current next-level runners, such as Matt Forte and those of the recent past, including Green Bay’s own Ryan Grant and Arian Foster.
Of those three, however, Foster is far and away the one that Bouagnon admires the most and, in fact, spends several hours of his free time studying the one-time Houston Texan and Miami Dolphin.
Here is NIU’s seventh all-time leading rusher sharing his thoughts about his college career and the whole pre-draft process in his own words.