2021 NFL Draft: Michigan edge Kwity Paye scouting report

Background

Paye had a unique journey to the 2021 NFL Draft and his experiences ultimately influence everything about him. Born in a refugee camp in Guinea, Paye is the son of Agnes Paye, a Liberian woman who was forced to leave her home when her village became the target of armed factions. Charles Taylor, an American-educated Liberian politician (and recently convicted war criminal) launched a coup in 1989, plunging the country into chaos and inter-ethnic violence.

First living in a refugee camp in Sierra Leone, Agnes was forced to relocate again when the war in Liberia spilled across the border. She gave birth to Kwity and named him after her father, who was killed during the war, according to a profile in the Detroit Free Press.

Moving to America in the ’90s, Agnes and her two sons were forced to start their lives over as immigrants in Providence, Rhode Island. The three of them were together but still had their struggles, with Kwity’s mother working full-time while attending community college to become a nursing assistant.

Kwity will often cite his mother as his primary inspiration in life and how everything he does, all the hard work, is going towards making a better life for her. During an interview for ESPN’s College Gameday, Paye explained his motivation to succeed:

"“She (Agnes Paye) never asked for anything in this life. But for me, I take it personally to make sure she gets everything she never had. I feel like that’s why I work so hard.”"

Paye originally started off his athletic journey running track before making the jump to football in the eighth grade. Before entering high school, Paye took two entrance exams that would set the course of his football journey.

The school he wanted to go to was Bishop Hendricken, an expensive Catholic school that required him to walk an hour before taking a 40-minute bus trip every day. The high school had a world-class football program though and Paye convinced his mother to pay the extra tuition by saying “If you send me to Hendricken, you won’t have to pay for college.”

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1380158493127180288

Paye impressed coaches at Hendricken, excelling at a wide variety of positions. Starting out as a running back and safety, Paye started playing defensive end during his sophomore year. Head Coach Keith Croft (the football coach of Hendricken) remarked in the same Gameday video, “He (Paye) never came off the field. Defensive end, running back: He could have played any position.”

Paye would receive lots of attention from college recruiters during high school, including Michigan. He impressed Don Brown (Michigans defensive coordinator) during pass-rushing drills so much that he offered him a scholarship on the spot.

It would be at Michigan where Paye made a name for himself as one of the up-and-coming edge defender prospects in college football. Click below to review Paye’s on-field attributes.