BYU football: Ezekiel Ansah shines in Senior Bowl practice sessions

FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Former BYU defensive lineman Ezekiel Ansah took the college football world by storm during his final season this past fall. He's been doing the same thing during Senior Bowl practices this week.

The Senior Bowl prides itself in trying to be the premier college all-star showcase of future NFL talent. Most of the country's top NFL prospects have made their way down to Alabama to try to wow scouts in workouts and practice sessions leading up to the game, which will take place this Saturday at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast on NFL Network.

Ansah is representing BYU at the event and is grabbing national notice every time he takes the practice field. Many national pundits have praised the 6-foot-6, 270-pound prospect, including the NFL Network's Mike Glennon, who lists Ansah as his second "under-the-radar" prospect who is certain to capture loads of attention from NFL scouts.

"Scouts rave about his raw talent and rush skills despite a limited football background," Glennon said. "In fact, the comparisons to Jason Pierre-Paul have been flying off the tongues of evaluators since Ansah started wreaking havoc on opponents in the fall."

Others compared Ansah to sushi — seriously.

“He’s raw like sushi,” said Rob Rang, the senior draft analyst at NFLDraftScout.com. “He’s a long, lean athlete with good speed, and he uses his hands so much better than one might expect for a player that inexperienced. As far as players who could absolutely skyrocket based on what happens this one week, Ziggy might be the most intriguing prospect at the entire Senior Bowl.”

Email: bgurney@desnews.com

Twitter: @BrandonCGurney