TCU draft prospect Tayo Fabuluje learns you really are what you eat

Published Apr. 29, 2015 1:33 p.m. ET

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In preparation for this week's NFL draft, TCU left tackle Tayo Fabuluje didn't really have to change his workout habits or his technique or really much of anything that pertains to playing football.

What did the projected sixth- or seventh-round pick desperately have to change?

"I just had to change my diet," Fabuluje told reporters during a teleconference call Tuesday and reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Once I cut out all the bad stuff, the pounds just melted away. It was so amazing."

The 6-foot-6 Fabuluje weighed 360 pounds last season while protecting quarterback Trevone Boykin's blind side in the Frogs' new up-tempo, high-scoring spread offense.

During the conference call, Fabuluje said a TCU nutritionist and New England Patriots lineman Marcus Cannon, a former Horned Frogs star, helped him understand that he can no longer pile drive everything and anything down his gullet and expect his massive frame to be nimble enough to compete at the next level.

So he stuck with the diet and stuck with it and stuck with it. Now just days before the draft, Fabuluje checks in 30 pounds lighter.

So how does he feel?

"I feel almost like a kid coming out of high school," he said. "I feel that extra burst of energy. It’s like a weight’s been lifted off my shoulders. I feel nimble, but I feel so strong."

The first round of the NFL draft is on Thursday, followed Friday by Rounds 2 and 3. The final four rounds are on Saturday. Fabuluje cites the recent track record of Horned Frogs having success in the league and his now better regulated size as reasons why teams should take a shot on him.

"A lot of people covet my size," Fabuluje said. "I feel like for my size, I can still move pretty well. And after dropping 30 pounds from where I was playing, my movement started getting even better. With me being such a big guy, most people aren’t going to bull-rush me. And being a powerful guy, I can open big lanes for anybody that’s ready to run through them. I feel like I can take a physical and technical skill level to any team. I think I can contribute right away."

Yet another classic case of addition by subtraction.

(h/t Star-Telegram)

Photo Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports