Lucas Niang talks about his NFL dreams, his TCU days and his rehab
TCU right tackle Lucas Niang is in good spirits these days, rehabbing his way back from hip surgery and getting ready for the upcoming NFL Draft.
Niang is making solid progress, recently being cleared to run in water.
“I feel great,” Niang told the Star-Telegram in a recent telephone interview while rehabbing at the Andrews Institute for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in Florida. “I don’t have any pain, which I was dealing with before. I’m training twice a day, doing what I can.”
Niang would love to be participating in this week’s Senior Bowl, and likely would have been invited if he didn’t undergo season-ending surgery in early November. But he remains confident in himself as one of the top offensive tackle prospects in the 2020 class.
Asked if he’s still a first-round talent, Niang chuckled and said: “Yeah, for sure. My hip is supposed to be better than before, so, in my head, there’s no doubt.
“I’m a hard worker. I put my head down and I go to work. I try to be successful, and I try to uplift the people around me. I don’t cause problems. I just like to go to work and handle my business.”
Niang would like to be able to go through a few drills for NFL teams at the Scouting Combine next month in Indianapolis. He should be OK doing tests such as the 225-pound bench press.
As far as running, Niang may be cleared to run the 40-yard dash, but he would not be ready for tests such as the 20- or 60-yard shuttles.
“If I can run, it would be straight forward,” said Niang, who stands 6 feet, 7 inches tall, and weighs 325 pounds.
Despite his injury issues, Niang remains one of the more highly-touted offensive tackles in the draft. This is a guy who didn’t allow a sack in seven games this season, and didn’t allow a sack when he started all 13 games in 2018.
Niang ranked as the highest-graded pass blocker in the Big 12 (minimum 300 snaps) by Pro Football Focus in 2018. As far as the 2020 offensive-tackle class, Niang hasn’t spent much time stacking himself up.
“To be honest, I haven’t watched a lot of the 2020 tackles,” Niang said. “Ever since I got hurt, I really don’t look at the mock draft stuff. I just focus on getting back and getting healthy. I want to get back to my old self.
“I’ve been dealing with pain for a year now, and now I’m feeling no pain. My range of motion — because they shaved off some of the bone — is supposed to be better than before. The hardest part for me mentally is just that I miss running. I miss training. I miss working hard, but I know I’ll come back to the player I was when I left. I’m not worried about that part.”
Niang played through the hip injury as long as he felt he could. After visiting with specialists early in the week going into the Texas game on Oct. 26, he knew he was going to shut it down and undergo surgery.
Niang decided to play in the Texas game and then undergo surgery.
“I pushed through it until it got unbearable,” Niang said.
He’s now focused on his pro career and looks back on his college days fondly.
He joined the program as the first recruit from Connecticut and went on to start 28 consecutive games.
As far as not allowing a sack for two consecutive seasons, Niang said: “I guess I’ll start taking more pride in that now that I’m not playing. Beforehand, it was just a stat.
“As a lineman, all I can do is help my team win. I don’t really have points to put up, so as long as I was helping my team win is all that really matters to me.”
Niang helped TCU win more often than not. He also feels the program is positioned for success in the coming years.
“The potential is through the roof,” Niang said. “Not only on offense, but defensively as well. We’ve got a lot of young guys with a lot of talent.”
The NFL Draft is scheduled for April 23-25 in Las Vegas.
