Boston College defensive lineman Mehdi Abdesmad (45) makes a tackle on Syracuse Orange running back Dontae Strickland (18). (Mark Konezny/USA Today Sports)
CHESTNUT HILL — The size of Mehdi Abdesmad has always intrigued NFL scouts.
Now, the question is can his body hold up?
The 6-foot-6 defensive edge rusher, weighing in at 284 pounds at the NFL Combine last month, is hoping scouts are sufficiently satisfied that both of his knees can take the punishment of not just combine and pro days but NFL practice and games.
As good as his career was at Boston College, his health has been a big issue. Injuries to both knees and a combine performance in Indianapolis last month that didn’t go as well as he would’ve hoped dimmed his prospects somewhat.
“Just show that I can do better that what I did at the combine, that I can move, that I’m healthy,” Abdesmad said Wednesday after his workout for scouts inside the bubble at Boston College. “It felt good. Came back here and had better numbers than what I had there.”
At Indy, Abdesmad ran a 5.10 40-yard dash, a 7.55 in the three-cone drill and a 4.62 in the 20-yard shuttle. But on Wednesday, he felt stronger.
“It just shows how you move, if you can bend your knees, change of direction. That’s what they’re looking at,” he added. “That was the biggest question for me, to see if my knee was good. When I went to the combine, they did all the tests they had to do. It came back good.”
Not only were there 16 teams represented at Boston College’s pro day Wednesday, there was a representative of the Canadian Football League. It was the Canadian Football League’s Scouting Bureau that ranked Abdesmad as the fourth-best Canadian-born prospect in their list released in December.
Abdesmad’s play as a senior was good enough to earn honorable mention All-ACC notice from league coaches (49 tackles, 15 for loss, 5.5 sacks), but it was especially impressive given his battle with injuries the previous two years. He played a total of seven games, with five starts, (21 tackles, 3.5 for loss, two sacks) over the 2013 and 2014 seasons due to problems with his left knee.
In his first two years at Boston College, the Montreal native had made a big impression, playing in eight games (missed the final three due to injury) in 2011 and starting eight games in 2012 (25 tackles, three for loss).