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Mehdi Abdesmad waits and hopes for his name to get called at NFL Draft

The Montreal native and Boston College standout is hoping to be selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.

By Jamie Thomas

Mehdi Abdesmad is waiting to find out if he will keep playing football south of the border and that answer could come as early as Thursday night.

Abdesmad is hoping his name is called at the NFL draft in Chicago. If you ask his coach at Boston College about that, it’s a no-brainer.

“He’s a really hard guy to block whether you are pass blocking him or run blocking him, he’s so long and he can get extension on ya,” explained Steve Addazio. “It’s very hard to get any power into him. He’s a powerful guy but he’s got really good athleticism, he’s really, really long, so that means it’s hard to get into his body.”

The crop of defensive linemen available this year is a deep one, led by Ohio State pass rusher Joey Bosa and Oregon lineman DeForest Buckner. Draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki says in his NFL Draft 2016 Preview that Abdesmad will not hear his name called over the three-day event but should be signed by a team as a priority free agent.

“I don’t worry about stuff like rankings,” said Abdesmad, who has also been ranked No. 3 by the CFL Scouting Bureau for its draft. “I only worry about the things that I can control.”

Either way, his university coach says he will play in the NFL.

“I just told him it doesn’t matter what happens whether you get drafted, whether you get drafted in a low round, none of that matters,” Addazio said. “He’s gonna go make a team. He’s gonna go to camp, he’s going to lock in, he’s really, really intelligent, great work ethic and he’s gonna be a pro football player.”

Overcoming road blocks is nothing new for the 6-foot-6, 284 pound lineman from Montreal. He went to Boston College in 2011 and had to learn English in his first year on top of transitioning from Canadian high-school to NCAA football.

An issue with his knee forced him to miss large chunks of the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He came back and played the entire 2015 campaign notching 49 tackles and 5.5 sacks. He says the knee is just fine.

“When you go to the (NFL) combine, you talk to all the team doctors,” Abdesmad said. “So when you say you have a knee problem then they are going to make all the tests. The did X-rays, (an) MRI and it all came out good.”

One of Abdesmad’s Boston College teammates, Louie Addazio, says an NFL team will get more than just a hard worker and good player.

“He’s a big-time guy. Just how he treats people, how he is…we had all our classes together and stuff,” said Addazio, who is also Abdesmad’s best friend. “He treated everyone with such respect and you know, his work ethic, coming back from his (knee) injury and playing and stuff, it was incredible.”

“A lot of people like to advertise how hard they work and all that. He’s one of those guys who outwork those people every day and he doesn’t say a word about it. The guy’s preparation and dedication and passion was unbelievable and I’m going to sound partial cause we are close but it is what it is, that dude’s right there.”