John Krahn, likely largest man in football, losing weight and heading to prep school
By USA TODAY High School Sports July 27, 2016 9:22 am
By USA TODAY High School Sports | July 27, 2016 9:22 am ET
@total_athlete @PlayBookAthlete #gpsa lions pic.twitter.com/tmc6XZperG
— john krahn (@JrkJohn) July 19, 2016
John Krahn, who got national attention last fall as the presumed largest man in football at 7 feet and 440 pounds, will continue his football career at prep school in hopes of landing an FBS scholarship.
Krahn enrolled at Georgia Prep Sports Academy in Decatur and is down to 400 pounds with a goal of getting to 350 by the time his freshman year starts in college and then losing another 50 to play defensive end. By attending the academy, Krahn can do post-graduate work to get situated academically and potentially attract recruiters.
MORE: Meet John Krahn, a massive defensive lineman from California
Krahn, from Riverside, Calif., told Champion Newspapers in Georgia that he had a few Division I walk-on invitations, some Division II offers and also considered junior college. He said by going to prep school he does not have to use his college eligibility and would still have four years wherever he lands.
Krahn said he had visited Georgia and Georgia Tech and fell in love with the state.
"I thought [GPSA] was way better than junior college, especially being out here where a lot of big-time schools like Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Auburn [which recruit] out here," he told Champion Newspapers. "I thought it would be a better recruiting process out here."
Krahn will be working out intensely with former New York Giants defensive end Dwight Johnson, who owns a complex in McDonough, Ga., beginning this week.
Johnson said Krahn will take part in weekly two-hour lineman technique training on Saturdays and doing conditioning and core training during the weekdays. Johnson and his team plan on helping Krahn develop a better nutrition plan.
"The goal is to trim him up around the midsection, get him quicker, get him limber, and improve his pass blocking," Johnson told USA TODAY Sports.
Krahn was more known as a defensive lineman in high school but the plan is for him to attempt to play both ways this season.
As for how Krahn is maintaining his diet to this point, "It's only hard if I'm surrounded by cookies, chips and stuff like that, but living here you get the kind of [healthy] food you get and that's what you eat. It hasn't been that hard. If I go to the store I'll just get a jar of peanut butter and that' be my little sweet snack, but it also has protein and fat that I'm able to burn when working out."
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