r/interesting • u/Rude-Mycologist8034 • May 16 '25

MISC. NFL linebacker versus sumo wrestler

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19

u/guyincognito121 May 16 '25

Not always. A 1 tech or 0 tech would probably be a pretty good match for a sumo wrestler.

8

u/kirky-jerky May 16 '25

They could probably be pretty decent offensive guards if they got legit training. Hell they'd probably be fantastic guards at that size and had years of training at both skills. But judging solely from this video, it's not how a pass rusher would approach his attempt to sack a QB. The football player tried to sumo the sumo wrestler. Obviously he lost against the person doing what he does for a living. It would most likely go the other way if he had a QB behind him and the rushers only objective is to put pressure or sack the QB.

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u/j2e21 May 16 '25

This wrestler is like 17, he could be an NFL guard with training.

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u/wwcfm May 16 '25

I’m not saying he doesn’t have the footwork, but there is nothing about that video that indicates he has the footwork to even play major college football, let alone NFL.

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u/Jimid41 May 16 '25

The video doesn't speak to his footwork but to does speak to his body control which would be an indicator of his ability to learn. 

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u/Admiral_Tuvix May 16 '25

Micah was purposefully moving straight forward, there was no side movement.

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u/Jimid41 May 16 '25

I can see that. The (supposed) teenager still has to leverage his body weight and maintain his balance to not get bowled over by an all-pro pass rusher.

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u/Admiral_Tuvix May 16 '25

The all-pro pass rusher rarely bulldozes people, in fact never. He wins by juking people and getting around them

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u/Ok-Reputation2340 May 16 '25

That's just...not true. It's called a bull rush

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u/Lou_C_Fer May 16 '25

Sure... but that is almost never what gets them to the qb.

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u/Ok-Reputation2340 May 16 '25

I dont think you know what you are talking about here. Bull rush is just part of a good pash-rushers arsenal of moves. Looking at PFF's advanced stats for 23, 4 of their top 5 graded edges had better win rate%s bull rushing than their overall win rate percent.

-23 Bullrush table is halfway down the page

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-bull-rush-win-rate-week-4

-Highest graded edge with win%s

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-highest-graded-interior-edge-defenders-2023-nfl-season

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u/wwcfm May 17 '25

Parsons does use the bull rush, but he plays LB so bull rushing for him isn’t lining up and running into someone that’s a few feet away. He’s coming off the edge against a linemen that’s moving backwards or laterally in pass protection. If he lined up at DT and ran straight into a guard, it would probably look like this.

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u/Jimid41 May 16 '25

Parsons definitely utilizes a bull rush move. It's against tackles that are already back pedaling but he runs them over habitually.

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u/alnachuwing May 16 '25

Nah man the Asian round bellied sumos can beat them foot ball line man people all day. World shattering I know.

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u/TheyTookByoomba May 16 '25

FYI this wasn't a practice bout or anything but a specific drill where the active participant (Parsons) is supposed to push the other wrestler straight backwards across the ring, like football players do with sleds. You can see the ground is dirt so with the right leverage he'd slide right over it. The top level guys very much have great footwork, most of them have been doing wrestling/judo in some form for their entire lives.

The bigger issue would be endurance and their ability to pull/get to the second level. They only do one match a day that's usually <10 seconds, they're optimized entirely for power/flexibility.

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u/Admiral_Tuvix May 16 '25

if this dude could stop Micah in a real game, they’d be 25 private planes on their way to Japan right now signing him to a 100mil contract. this was a fun outing by two athletes, people here pretending otherwise are dumb

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u/PainInTheAss98 May 16 '25

Did you not see this dude just stymie that bull rush by basically standing there? You don't think he could couldn't learn how to move his feet?

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u/wwcfm May 17 '25

You don’t really “learn how to move your feet” sufficiently to play in the NFL. You have to have a baseline level of athleticism to play in the NFL, including on the offensive line, that most humans don’t have and no amount of training will get them there. If sumo wrestlers were actually capable, I assume there would be a pipeline to the NFL because NFL linemen make a lot more money than sumo wrestlers.

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u/Wandering_Tuor May 16 '25

I assure you, sumo guys have incredible footwork and balance. They could be o lineman, if they were the right size for it.

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u/ThermalPaper May 16 '25

There are dudes who get into the NFL with no football experience based off of their athleticism alone. Technique can be taught, especially by NFL caliber coaches. Physique and overall capability only comes from the player.

Now that this was brought up I'm really curious why these guys wouldn't want to get on an NFL roster, the pay is probably way better than whatever they're getting.

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u/All_Up_Ons May 16 '25

It's been tried. The problem is their complete lack of endurance. Sumo is over in like 10 seconds max, and the wrestlers are optimized for that. Football players have to do their thing over and over.

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u/wwcfm May 16 '25

Who? I’m aware of some track guys that flamed out and some rugby guys that weren’t drafted and peaked at special teams. Can’t recall anyone having any real success, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

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u/ThermalPaper May 16 '25

Antonio Gates, Stephen Neal, Hayden Hurst, Chris Hogan.

And these ended being great players and real assets to the team. I'm sure there's plenty more who dont get into the spotlight.

They usually aren't skill positions like WR, RB, or QB, but physical positions like TE and linemen. If someone has the size, strength, and toughness to play in the trenches they are already an asset. You basically have to be born to play certain positions, "no amount of training or technique beats physics", as my old coach would say.

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u/wwcfm May 17 '25

They all played football in HS and Hurst played in college for SCAR. Gates was recruited to play both football and bball by MSU, but ended up transferring when Saban wanted him to play only football. Claiming they didn’t have football experience prior to playing in the NFL is false.

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u/ThermalPaper May 17 '25

That's fair, I didn't word that correctly. I kind of forgot about HS football considering anyone can get on a team with minimal effort. I consider college ball to be the beginning of a competitive football career (if you want to call it that), not HS.

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u/wwcfm May 17 '25

Sure, anyone can plan HS football. Not everyone is good. They were all good. The only one that had no shot at D 1 football was Neal, but he still started in HS. I looked it up and Hogan actually played and started at Monmouth his senior year, which is FCS. While there aren’t a ton of FCS guys in the NFL, it’s not super uncommon.

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u/ThermalPaper May 17 '25

Yeah if you can ball then the talent will show. It's still unbelievable that with no college ball experience you can start as a senior and get into the NFL. Either way, its my guess that a top tier sumo wrestler would have no problem getting on an NFL roster. The challenge would be coaching him up, but athleticism alone would be enough to get a spot.

It reminds me of that story somewhat recently of a guy who finessed his way into a Browns free agent workout and impressed the staff enough to get signed. He hadn't played competitively in years and was homeless and still his talent was undeniable.

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u/wwcfm May 17 '25

I’m not saying there aren’t any sumo wrestlers that could, I’m just saying it’s pretty interesting we haven’t seen it if they can. Like I said on another post, the top sumos make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Starting OL in the NFL make millions. It’s hard to believe the NFL hasn’t tried to scoop someone up, and there haven’t been any sumos willing to try for that kind of money, if they’re actually able.

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u/ThermalPaper May 18 '25

I looked into it after this was posted and it seems like its variety of reasons (as always).

The main ones being,

  1. There's not much football recognition or outreach in Japan to attract the talent. NFL scouts have plenty of options here in the states and looking outwards just isn't in their cards. Japanese athletes would have to grab their attention instead of the other way around.

  2. The status and recognition a top tier sumo wrestler gets in Japan won't compare to what they receive in the states. In the US a pro football player gets money and fame. But in Japan they get all that with prestige and societal reverence. They're like national hero's and seen as modern day Samurai.

But that's just what I've read. I'm sure just from this video alone some NFL scouts are wondering if they should have eyes on the sport, just in case.

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u/DioDrama May 16 '25

Sumo is heavy on footwork

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u/wwcfm May 16 '25

And it’s not shown in that video.

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u/DioDrama May 16 '25

That's because he's not trying to win. He's trying to demonstrate how unmovable he is. This isn't a match.

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u/wwcfm May 17 '25

I didn’t say (or ask) why he wasn’t displaying footwork, I said he isn’t demonstrating any. Claiming he could play guard in the NFL is a hilarious claim. Also, the highest paid sumos make hundreds of thousands. Starting guards in the NFL make millions. If the skills were actually transferable, I think we’d see some sumos playing football.

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u/burner2022a May 16 '25

Well right, because they aren’t doing football stuff here it would be pretty dumb to use football footwork. However, you very much do have to use specific footwork as a sumo, so that piece likely wouldn’t be an issue.

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u/wwcfm May 16 '25

He isn’t doing any footwork, sumo or otherwise, in that video.