Frenchman Junior Aho will join the Minnesota Vikings who are preparing for the 2023-24 season, the first step in a possible career in the National American Football League, the NFL announced on Thursday.
“We are delighted to see Junior join the Vikings, after years of commitment and development of his talent at all levels of the game, both in France and in the United States,” said Will Bryce, in charge of the program. NFL International Development.
Not yet guaranteed to play the season
Originally from Nice, Aho (24) notably played for the France under-19 team before leaving for the United States, first at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, then at Methodist University. of the South (SMU) of Dallas, which evolves in division 1, the best American university level.
In January 2023, the one who plays in defense joined, after tests carried out in London, the international program of the NFL, created in 2017 to identify the best American football players outside of North America.
He is guaranteed to carry out all the preparation for the 2023-24 season with his team, which brings together 90 players at the start, but nothing guarantees him to be one of the 53 players selected for the season. If several French players have been under contract with NFL teams, only one has really broken through in the holy of holies, Richard Tardits, who was linebacker for the New England Patriots from 1990 to 1992.