Kamaal Seymour: The Right Tackle

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Kamaal Seymour was a member of the high school basketball team at Grand Street Campus in Brooklyn, New York, and was spotted by the football coach who told him he should try out to play on the gridiron. Seymour took the advice and made the team sophomore year as a defensive lineman for his first football experience. He then posted 44 tackles and two sacks as a junior before breaking out as a senior with 10 sacks and 61 tackles despite facing constant double teams.

College coaches also saw the football potential of Seymour as he attended camps and collected scholarship offers. A three-start recruit, he was rated as the second-best defensive lineman and fifth-best prospect from New York. One of the camps Seymour competed at was Rutgers, which is close to home and immediately rose to the top of the list.

"The people, the environment and the education made the difference," Seymour said of his college decision. "It was close to home. I could visit family at any time."

Seymour was born in Jamaica and moved to United States at five years old. He would go back to visit his father, who moved to New York towards the end of Seymour's time in high school, during summers growing up.

Another major change for Seymour came during summer camp in 2016. He had spent his redshirt freshman season as a defensive lineman, but the coaching staff decided Seymour had more value moving to the other side of the ball.

"The plays were different for one," Seymour said of the adjustment. "The whole concept of blocking for the quarterback is different, especially compared to going after the quarterback and trying for a sack. You have to be a lot calmer as an offensive lineman. I used to feed off of anger and aggression on defense. On the offense, you have to be level-headed and locked in."

Seymour quickly adjusted and made his collegiate debut at right tackle in the win over Howard before claiming the starting spot for the road game at Minnesota. Fast forward to this week and Seymour has started the last 38 games at the position, the longest active starting streak on the team. He is second on the roster with 43 games of experience.

"One thing I'm proud of is getting on the field as a starter and every year seeing consistent growth in my game," Seymour said. I'm really proud of that."

With four seasons of starting experience against Big Ten competition, the 6-6, 324-pound frame and agility, Seymour has been listed as a possible NFL Draft prospect next spring. He will focus on preparing for Pro Day once the season is over.

After his football career comes to a close, Seymour, who is into science fiction and drawing off the field, will be able to use his degree in information technology and informatics to work with computers. He is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and did an internship with Bristol-Myers Squibb.

"I'm a big computer guy, anything that has to do with technology or computers," Seymour said. "That's where my interest is. For now, my goal is to keep getting better every day, that's all I want to do."

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Kamaal Seymour

Footer

Upcoming Events