The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Sankoh has taken long, intriguing road to NFL
Defensive back Tigie Sankoh is in his second year with the Browns via the NFL’s International Pathway Program. Chris Lillstrung has the story on his path to professional football.
Safety in second year with Browns via league’s International Gateway Program
The last few miles getting to FirstEnergy Stadium for the Orange and Brown scrimmage Aug. 3 might have been a tall order for Browns fans amid heavy traffic.
But it’s nothing compared to the unique route Tigie Sankoh took to get here through heavy traffic of his own.
In the safety’s case, it entailed spending his formative years abroad and reaching his NFL dream in a manner to which few counterparts can relate.
Sankoh is in his second year with the Browns via the NFL’s International Pathway Program. Started in 2017, the program “aims to provide international athletes the opportunity to compete at the NFL level, improve their skills, and ultimately earn a spot on an NFL roster,” the league states.
Players signed to teams through the program do not count against a team’s roster limit, and teams can carry those players as an extra practice-squad member through the season.
Sankoh, 21, grew up in Maryland and lived there with his mother Nancy and father Alhajie until he was 15. The Sankoh family moved from Maryland to London, where Sankoh attended Archbishop Tenison’s Church of England High School in Croydon, located in south London.
“My family just felt like it was a better opportunity, coming from Sierra Leone,” Sankoh said after the Orange and Brown scrimmage Aug. 3. “They felt like they could have better jobs over in London, so they started their life over there, and they brought me along with them.”
Sankoh also brought his aspirations of playing football with him to the United Kingdom. American football has made strides in recent years in the UK, including the annual NFL games at London’s venerable Wembley Stadium, but not to the extent opportunities for Sankoh to play were prevalent.
In order to find a team, Sankoh went to the old reliable: He did a Google search for it.
“Actually, it was easier than I thought,” Sankoh said. “I just Googled a couple of local teams, and the closest team was like a 20-minute train ride from where I was living. So I went over there. Training was twice a week. I went over there and played games on Sunday and had fun.”
Sankoh’s first amateur football teams, perhaps with fitting nicknames given the quest to incorporate an American sport into another country, were the South London Renegades and Kent Exiles. In 2015, Sankoh made a local newspaper account when he scored the winning touchdown in the Renegades’ win over the London Warriors.
He later spent time with the PRIDE American Football Academy at the Bristol Academy of Sport and with the London Warriors in the British American Football League.
“Obviously, the sport is growing over there,” Sankoh said. “So, as the years develop, guys get better. And as the game grows overseas, more are starting to play. So I guess it’s a newly growing sport over there. The level isn’t as high as it is over here obviously, but the sport grows over there with the NFL.”
Sankoh had some of the typical staples of players his age seeking to garner notice for his ability, including a Hudl highlight video. But his big break came when he was chosen for the Class of 2018 in the NFL International Pathway Program.
He spent three months last summer training at IMG Academy in Florida with fellow hopefuls based abroad trying to find their niche in the sport as well.
As part of that journey from the United Kingdom to IMG to, hopefully, a call from the NFL, Sankoh was featured in a YouTube profile as part of the NFL’s “Undiscovered” series. The video, as of Aug. 3, has more from 27,000 views.
“Tigie really has that mindset that no one is going to outwork him, and that is what we love,” NFL International Development coach Will Bryce says in the YouTube video.
Sankoh is shown preparing for and taking part in the Pathway Program’s pro day. Each year, an NFL division is chosen at random to participate in the program and sign a player from the pool training at IMG. Last year, it was the AFC North’s turn.
At the end of the “Undiscovered” video, Sankoh is shown at a table, eagerly awaiting a call.
“This,” Sankoh said, “is the longest wait ever.”
The call comes from Browns general manager John Dorsey, welcoming Sankoh to the team.
“When I first got to IMG, when I was playing in London, I was playing multiple positions — linebacker, running back, anything that the team really needed,” Sankoh said. “But when I finally got to IMG, I finally got a set position, which was DB. So everything was actually new to me. My DB coach, Donnie Henderson, was DB coach for the Browns and Bills at one point, and he brought me from the ground up.
“(Getting that call from Dorsey) was probably one of the best days of my life. We were at IMG, working hard for three months. So to finally receive that phone call, and to find out what team I’m playing for and to find out it was the Browns, was huge for me. Because I see what they were doing. It was their first year with John Dorsey, building a new group. I was glad to be a part of it for the first year.”
International Pathway players don’t count toward a roster limit unless they make the final 53-man roster. If they’re placed on the practice squad, they spend the entire year there.
Sankoh returns for Year 2 as one of six safeties in the Browns’ camp. He had an interception of backup quarterback David Blough in camp Aug. 2, and he was in on a tackle during the scrimmage at the stadium.
The whole journey, from playing amateur football in the United Kingdom to securing his NFL shot, still may register as surreal for Sankoh.
But after the miles he’s logged persevering through heavy traffic, he’s taking his optimal shot at keeping the dream alive as long as he can.
“I was with a great group of guys (last year), including a rookie Pro Bowler in Denzel Ward,” Sankoh said. “I look at him every day and see the things he does and try to implement that into my game and my skill set.
“This is crazy. It felt like a packed stadium. It was crazy out there. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like for the preseason games and for Game 1, the season opener, against Tennessee.”