The Los Angeles Rams selected University of Washington safety Taylor Rapp No 61 overall in the second round of the NFL draft, providing a massive boost for Asian-Americans trying to make the big time in major sport.
Rapp, who has dual citizenship between the United States and Canada and whose family has Chinese ancestry, was picked by the Rams, who also added Memphis running back Darrell Henderson, Michigan cornerback David Long and Oklahoma offensive lineman Bobby Evans in the third round.
In a teleconference, the 21-year-old Rapp, who wants to be a role model for Asian-Americans, said he couldn’t wait to play for the Rams.
There has been some doubt over a hip injury Rapp suffered while playing for the Washington Huskies last season, but he said: “Got it checked out by the Rams’ doctors and physical stuff there, so it’s completely healthy,” he said. “I’m ready to play ball now. I’m ready to get to work.”
Rapp said he was eager to learn from new teammates – free safety and fellow newcomer Eric Weddle and strong safety John Johnson.
“It’s an incredible opportunity and I think it’s the perfect scenario for me,” Rapp said. “I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Rapp played three seasons at Washington and intercepted seven passes. Last season, he intercepted two passes and helped the Huskies reach the Rose Bowl. But he suffered a hip injury in the final regular-season game and sat out the Rose Bowl game, where they lost to Ohio State 28-23.
The Huskies have won the Rose Bowl seven times and the conference championships 17 times.
Rapp is the Rams’ highest-drafted defensive player since 2014. The team hadn’t drafted a defensive player higher than 91st overall since then and Rapp wasn’t surprised that he made the second round of the draft knowing there was interest in him by the Rams in training.
“When I first got there, I could tell right away that it’s the perfect place for me,” said Rapp on his recent visit to the Rams’ training centre. “The culture is just so unique, and the way things are done around there is just so unique and so great. I just knew I would be a perfect fit.”
There are not many success stories from Asian-Americans in the big time of sport.
Jeremy Lin, the Taiwanese-American whose unexpected winning turnaround with the New York Knicks in 2012 generated what was known as “Linsanity”, is one of the few exceptions of Asian-Americans making it big.
“There’s not a lot of Asian-Americans in sport,” Rapp said in his instalment of the Rolling With The Rookies video series. “In football there’s none.
“My mission is to inspire Asian-American kids who don’t have someone to look up to. I want to be that role model that they can be inspired by.”
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Rapp hits the big time with NFL draft
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kwLG70a1mqKyYmr9uv8%2Boqa1nkafBqq%2FLnmZsaGBshnWFjqKkZqqVlrG6ecaeq2avn6e4brjOrGSappeauaa%2FjKuYpqtdmb%2BistNmmKyhkaN6ornEq6CcmZ5iwaLFy6ip