Former Towson University football coach Rob Ambrose had gambled years ago on a European player named Tibo Debaillie, who now plays for the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League. So when German offensive tackle Roman Wahrheit became available in 2019, Ambrose had no reservations.
Wahrheit later became a Tiger, and he might soon earn a spot on an NFL roster. He probably won’t get selected in the three-day draft, which begins Thursday, but he’ll eventually sign a free agent contract somewhere.
When he plays, Ambrose says he will make a strong impression.
“Physically, he is a freak of nature,” said Ambrose, who was fired by Towson in November after 13 seasons. “He is as gifted as anyone I ever coached and he is incredibly smart. This is his dream to play at the next level. These teams know what they are getting.”
Wahrheit is a hybrid, capable of playing guard or tackle. He is considered an investment because he has only been playing football for six years. He is also 27 years old, an age when a lot of NFL players are either entering their prime or close to losing a step or two.
Needless to say, it’s been a long road for him just to get to this point. Ambrose thought it was convenient for the Tigers to start looking at European players more than a decade ago after a friend and Canadian college coach invited him to help run a camp in France.
It was also cost-efficient because a Towson assistant, former defensive line coach Konstantinos (Gus) Kosmakos, could check out prospects in five countries for the same price as recruiting from New York to Charleston, South Carolina.
That’s where the Tigers found Debaillie, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive lineman from Belgium who was taken in the third round of the 2021 CFL draft. Wahrheit was a no-brainer despite the limited experience of playing with the Oldenburg Knights in the German Third Division.
“Gus came to me and asked, ‘What do you think about recruiting freaks of nature, some guys who are really raw?’” Ambrose said. “With Tibo, I could see he didn’t know anything about football but I also saw he could start at three different spots for us right then.
“When you get one of those European kids, they know what they don’t know. They didn’t grow up with young coaches, trainers and people telling them how great they were.”
Wahrheit eventually connected with Brandon Collier, founder of Premier Players International, a scouting agency that has sent nearly 100 players to 20 countries. Wahrheit could have chosen Florida International of the Football Bowl Subdivision but instead picked Towson.
“I knew nothing about the process,” Wahrheit said. “I knew Coach Gus because he came to Germany and we knew about Tibo. I got a chance to speak with him and his dad.
“My family was excited about the opportunity to come here, get a scholarship and study abroad. There would be different experiences like learning about the language.”
The language slowed Wahrheit’s development because he had to learn the playbook and a new offensive system, which was also in English. The physical stuff was the easy part. Wahrheit is 6-6 and 325 pounds. At a recent pro day on campus that three NFL teams attended, including the Ravens, he bench-pressed 225 pounds 26 times and ran the 40-yard dash in 5.52 seconds. He had a vertical leap of 23 inches and a broad jump of 8 feet, 2 inches.
“He has the athleticism of a 6-2 and 220-pound tight end,” Ambrose said, “except he is a giant.”
Wahrheit’s weakness and strength are the same. He is extremely intelligent and studies the game, but he also has a tendency to be too critical of himself. However, if he makes a mistake, he won’t do it again.
He can dominate at the point of attack.
“The transition was tough,” Wahrheit said. “The speed which everyone else was playing was so far ahead of me as far as studying and knowing the game, but I think I have caught up. It was a steep learning curve.”
Wahrheit won’t be going home this summer. The window of making an NFL team is narrow, so he works out five days a week. There will be plenty of time to visit family later.
According to Ambrose, Wahrheit believes in helping others and has a big heart. He’ll be missed at Towson because he was older and more mature than the other players. Wahrheit isn’t sure what he’ll be doing on draft day, but don’t expect him over at the Ambrose house for dinner.
Wahrheit is a vegan.
“He is very serious about that,” Ambrose said, laughing. “You know how much vegetable stuff you have to feed when he comes to dinner?”
NFL draft
Round 1: Thursday, 8 p.m.
Rounds 2-3: Friday, 7 p.m.
Rounds 4-7: Saturday, noon
TV: ESPN, NFL Network, Chs. 2, 7
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