Seydou Traore discovered football while watching Jason Bell and Osi Umenyiola’s weekly NFL show on British television. Years later, he’s vying to be their latest subject of analysis.
The Mississippi State University tight end, who was born in France and raised in England, will represent South London this week as he enters the 2026 NFL Draft with flying colors as the latest face of international football.
He comes across as calm when he speaks, with a calm focus and grounded demeanor, with little tendency to get carried away or have the kind of emotional outbursts that usually and understandably exude during draft week.
But he admits things could change if his name is announced at such an unexpected milestone in his footballing career.
“It’s definitely going to be a special moment,” Traore told Sky Sports. “I don’t really get emotional on the phone or anything like that, but I definitely have my emotional moments.”
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His path to this point was an easy one. Once he was one of the countless British youngsters who dreamed of a career in football, catching the football as a goalkeeper, now he supports the game as a tight end. During a winding career in college football, the fields and parks of South London became those of Florida, Arkansas, and Mississippi.
“I started playing American football quite late in my teens,” said the 23-year-old. “The first time I played was London Warriors and they were about 10 minutes away from my house.
“I grew up in Westmoreland, south London, and fell in love with the sport. Up until then, I was playing soccer, rugby, basketball, whatever was practically available and what my school offered.
“Before I started playing football, soccer was my sport, but once I started playing football, I ended up playing in an NFL academy for a year. That was around the time of coronavirus, before I left to go to Clearwater Academy in Florida.”
Traore had 26 catches, 433 yards and three touchdowns in his one season at Clearwater and was ranked as a three-star prospect before playing college football at Arkansas State University.
“Playing American football in London, only other people who play in London understand the path and how big this sport is overseas,” Traore says.
“I’m explaining to my family that I’m going to travel to the other side of the world to play soccer. To be honest, they’re just relying on me to believe in myself because they didn’t really understand what the sport was or how it was played.
“I just told them this and what I was going to do. And they trusted me, that I’ve always been a determined guy. They knew that if I set my path on something, I would go after it.”
He led the conference in tight end catches in his first year at Arkansas and was named first team All-Sun Belt with 62 receptions, 752 yards and four touchdowns in two seasons before transferring to Colorado.
Traore then spent one semester at the University of Colorado before deciding to enter the transfer portal again and enrolling at Mississippi State University.
Perhaps it will be at his final destination in college that he will truly realize the enormity of his opportunity.
“As for my family, last year was their first year in the United States during the 2025 season, and there were some big games that they were happy to watch, but I think it was a time when college football was somewhat integrated into the arena in which it is played,” he said.
“You can’t get enough of the magnitude of college sports in America when you tell them you play college sports. They came in and it was an eye-opener.”
“There were a few moments where I was like, ‘Damn, this is insane.’ I think one of the first moments was when I was at Arkansas State and I played at Ohio State, and it was the first time I ever went out and played in a game with over 100,000 people in the stands.
“It was kind of a surreal moment. That was the first moment for me where I was like, ‘Wow, I’m here.’
If the transatlantic gap in college opportunities between Britain and the United States wasn’t already complicated and unconventional enough, Traore faced a new hurdle after a brief stint at Colorado, when he was forced to sit out the 2023 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
In addition to current Jacksonville Jaguars two-position superstar Travis Hunter, he could also team up with Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. It wasn’t supposed to happen. The move may have lengthened his wait, but it would also shape his character as he prepares to enter the NFL.
“It reinforced everything I knew about myself. I’m always going to chase opportunities and I’m always going to grab them with both hands,” he said.
“So just because you don’t have that opportunity this week or next week or the last few weeks, just because you’re not playing this season, doesn’t mean you won’t have that opportunity next year.
“It was all about preparation, but also about reminding myself why I’m here. Just because I can’t play this year, I’m not here to just stay in my dorm and sleep and sulk. It really digs deep and reminds me of my purpose.”
Traore entered the draft as part of the first wave of NFL Academy players when the program first started in Burnett in 2019.
It was a story of diversion, and offered an opportunity to experience the contrasting environments of Arkansas and Mississippi compared to the hustle and bustle and skyscrapers of my hometown.
“I’m still the same person, I still have pretty much the same characteristics, but I think I’ve been in the south for the last five years, and it’s a completely different way of life to London,” he said.
“I live in what’s called a rural area, so I think it’s taught me a more peaceful way of life. It feels like a much slower pace. I think it’s taught me more peace.”
He spoke simply, sounding like a man at peace before the biggest moment of his young career.
“Sometimes you just have to keep knocking and keep trying different doors, because something will open. When the door opens, just step inside and see what’s in there,” he said in NFL UK’s documentary on his story.
Traore left college with 126 catches for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns, five of which came last season.
When he was at Mississippi State University, he would look up at the pictures of the school’s NFL alumni on the walls of the team’s indoor facility after practice and imagine one day joining them.
He will do so without ever forgetting where it started.
“I always remember my roots and remember where and how I grew up,” he says. “I think it’s important that people back home feel a little inspired and feel like it’s possible.
“We had the same meadow right next to our house, so I was running the route on the same hill.
“The environment I found myself in when I moved back home to London is a great reminder of where I started and how far I’ve come. I definitely remember my roots. And I really want kids and adults to feel like anything is possible, to be honest, and to take risks and go after it.”
“My message is, if you care deeply enough about something, go after it. Don’t listen to the ifs, buts, and maybes. If you feel it deep inside, it’s possible.”
Watch all three days of the 2026 NFL Draft live on Sky Sports. Day one begins early Friday morning at 1 a.m.
