He terrorized opponents in Idaho. On Saturday, he was taken in the NFL Draft.
The Cleveland Browns selected Idaho native Tommy Togiai in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday, using the 132nd overall pick on the Ohio State defensive tackle and Highland High graduate.
Togiai’s selection makes him the first Idaho native taken in the NFL Draft since Leighton Vander Esch, a Boise State linebacker and Salmon River High grad the Dallas Cowboys selected with the 19th overall pick in 2018.
Browns General Manager Andrew Berry announced Togiai’s selection in the draft, which was hosted in Cleveland this year and keeps Togiai in Ohio.
“I know they have history, and these last couple years, they are on the rise,” Togiai said of the Browns in a Zoom call with reporters. “You see what they did last year. And with their D-line, I think I fit well with them and can be a diverse player with them playing inside.”
Cleveland fields two of the top defensive ends in the NFL in Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. But the Browns entered the draft with a need for a defensive tackle, and they used their fifth overall pick on Togiai.
“To be able to go in and learn from them and pick up tips from them and be able to play with them, maybe side by side, it’s just really exciting,” Togiai said. “I’m blessed with this opportunity to be able to learn from them and pick up anything I can and try to soak in all the information I can from them.”
Togiai (6-1.5, 296 pounds) was projected as a third- or fourth-round pick by draft experts. He was the ninth defensive tackle taken in the 2021 draft.
“He’s got some 3-technique to him, in terms of getting up the field and being disruptive,” ESPN’s Todd McShay said on the draft broadcast. “He’s got a quick first step. I really think that he can disrupt in the passing game and as a run defender.
“You can see how quickly he gets off the ball, good snap anticipation. He’s not great in the run game in terms of anchoring. That’s not what you want to do with him. But if you put him at that 3-technique spot, he’s going to get up the field.
“For a guy who doesn’t have a huge anchor at 296 pounds, he’s got a powerful upper body. And that helps him get off the blocks.”
TOGIAI’S IDAHO ROOTS
The Idaho native dominated Idaho athletics for years, and his dedication to the weight room remains legendary.
Born weighing 12 pounds, his mother often carried his birth certificate to convince skeptical youth coaches of his age. And the only gift he requested for his 12th birthday was a membership to the local Gold’s Gym, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
The state’s football coaches elected him to the 5A All-Idaho first team three times during his high school career. And as a senior, he was named the 5A All-Idaho Player of the Year and the state’s all-class Gatorade Player of the Year after racking up 93 tackles and 11 sacks along the defensive line.
“He’s one of the most dominant football players our state has ever seen,” Mountain View coach Judd Benedick told the Idaho Statesman that fall. “It’s amazing that someone playing defensive tackle can completely change a football game.”
Others around the country agreed. The Army All-American was tabbed a four-star recruit and the country’s No. 3 defensive tackle in the 2018 recruiting class.
Togiai graduated from Highland in December 2017 and signed with Ohio State, making him the first Buckeye football player from Idaho.
TOGIAI AT OHIO STATE
Long known as the Buckeyes’ strongest player, Togiai broke out last fall after biding his time behind an experienced defensive line.
He helped lead Ohio State to the national championship game, ranking second on the team in sacks (three) and tackles for loss (4.5) to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors. He drew widespread praise for his performance in a national semifinal win over Clemson, spearheading a defense that held Clemson to 44 rushing yards on 22 carries. Togiai also forced a key fumble, broke up a pass, made four tackles and recorded three quarterback hurries in the game.
But he missed the championship game loss to Alabama after testing positive for COVID-19. A week later, Togiai declared for the NFL Draft, skipping his senior season at Ohio State.
“Making this decision to come out was really just my health,” Togiai said. “I wasn’t healthy coming out after this season. I didn’t know what next season would look like with risking injury and then with the pandemic still around and everything. So that risk factor is kind of the reason why I came out early.”
His performance at Ohio State’s pro days solidified his potential as an NFL player. He completed 40 reps in the bench press, tied for the most in this year’s draft class. He also ranked among the leaders in the 40-yard dash (4.97 seconds), vertical jump (32 inches), three-cone drill (7.20 seconds) and shuttle time (4.49 seconds) for defensive tackles.
His limited playing time worried many draft experts. But it could also mean the Browns grabbed a diamond in the rough.
“In that Penn State game earlier in the year, he had three sacks and seven tackles. You thought, boy, he’s going to be wow-ing everybody over,” ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said on Saturday’s broadcast. “He leveled off a little bit after that. But you can’t deny the fact that the kid is strong, one of the strongest players you’ll ever see.”
FROM IDAHO HIGH SCHOOLS TO THE NFL
Togiai is set to become the seventh former Idaho high school football player currently on an NFL roster. Others include:
Dallas linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (Salmon River)
Carolina offensive lineman Matt Paradis (Council)
New Orleans quarterback Taysom Hill (Highland)
Detroit tight end Josh Hill (Blackfoot)
Cleveland defensive end Porter Gustin (Emmett)
Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Jonah Williams (Rocky Mountain)
Vander Esch and Paradis were the only ones drafted. The rest signed as undrafted free agents.
Fellow Highland grad Tristen Hoge (2015), an offensive lineman at BYU, signed with the New York Jets on Saturday as an undrafted free agent.
This story was originally published May 1, 2021 at 11:49 AM.
