Chiefs defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon’s path to KC involved plenty of schooling
Chiefs defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon said the bar was always high for his education. Both his parents had doctoral degrees, so academically, that was always the goal.
Even when Kpassagnon played at Villanova, he pushed himself in the classroom as an accounting and finance double major. He admitted his coaches didn’t necessarily advise such a strenuous workload coupled with football, but Kpassagnon persevered.
Kpassagnon has hit pause on his education for now. After being selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Chiefs, Kpassagnon has carved out a role on the defensive line.
So it might not be the most traditional path, but he said his mother, Winifred Wafuoyo, has embraced football and the NFL.
“I kind of joke around with my mom, I tell her I got a Ph.D in football instead,” Kpassagnon said. “I’m still taking classes now. I just signed up for Kelley Business School at (Indiana University) online. I’m still continuing my education for sure.”
Wafuoyo is a chemist while his father, Patrice Kpassagnon Tagro, is an economist and lives in the Ivory Coast.
Kpassagnon said he grew up with his mother, which took him a little bit before finding football. It wasn’t until he moved to Ambler, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, did he find the sport (soccer was his “first love,” he said).
“I just kind of jumped right in without knowing too much,” Kpassagnon said. “First position I played was safety just because we had 11, 12 guys on the team. Everybody was playing everything.”
Kpassagnon picked up only one scholarship offer, which is how he ended up at Villanova, a basketball powerhouse. While he was a late bloomer, he showcased enough skills to be selected by the Chiefs.
In the meantime, though, Kpassagnon was forging his own path through internships. He spent two separate summers with PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the largest accounting firms in the world. He called the internships “irreplaceable.”
His first summer, he said, was about getting feet wet and dabbling in different parts of the company: assurance, accounting and finance. Eventually, Kpassagnon said he settled on tax accounting by his second summer with the company. He admitted it’s not the most “glamorous” job title — especially compared to being an NFL player — but he enjoyed the experience.
“I got a lot of knowledge and got to network with so many different people,” Kpassagnon said. “You start to see there’s a lot of athletes in the finance and accounting worlds as well just because it’s a competitive field. Our competitive nature definitely leads toward that.”
Kpassagnon said there’s a lot more familiarity now that he’s navigating his second Super Bowl trip. The Chiefs defensive line has a huge task of getting to Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady and the rest of the Bucs offense.
He said his family should be able to watch on television. Wafuoyo was able to make the trip to Miami last year for Super Bowl LIV.
“She knows a lot about football now honestly,” Kpassagnon said. “Her football knowledge has grown a lot faster than mine. It’s hilarious. She’ll text me before a game, ‘Make sure you don’t let this guy grab you here or do this.’ Giving tips and stuff. You gotta love it.”
His dad is on the Ivory Coast, which makes the time difference a challenge. Kpassagnon said it was difficult for his father to get the Super Bowl on a TV last year, but he should have it squared away for Sunday’s game.
“They’re having a huge watch party,” Kpassagnon said. “I think it’ll start around midnight and go on until 3. A lot of people are calling out sick for work definitely on Monday over there.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 3:46 PM.