The difference between the fifth overall pick and the 13th overall pick in the NFL draft is about $8 million.
That was the price paid by former Ole Miss star Laremy Tunsil for an old video of him smoking weed with a gas mask.
Someone hacked Tunsil’s Twitter account and leaked the video just a couple minutes before the draft was about to start. His Instagram account was also hacked and a screenshot was posted of Tunsil talking to a coach and asking for money to pay his mom’s rent.
Tunsil was projected to be the No. 1 pick at one point and has the size and talent to be one of the best offensive tackles in football in the next couple years. However, the video completely ruined this for him. He slipped to the Miami Dolphins who had the 13th pick and wasn’t even the first or the second offensive tackle taken in the draft.
Ronnie Stanley out of Notre Dame was taken by the Ravens with the sixth pick, and Michigan State’s Jack Conklin was taken with the eighth pick by the Titans. Both of these prospects were thought of as inferior to Tunsil before the social media fiasco.
Though draft night was pretty rough for Tunsil, there were signs that his stock was going to drop. Just a couple weeks before the draft, NFL prospect and Tunsil’s college teammate Robert Nkemdiche told reporters that Tunsil was at the scene of an incident last December. Nnkemdiche had gotten in trouble for falling out of a window while drunk and said that no one else wanted to own up to the drugs and alcohol that were in the room.
To me that was already a red flag in itself, but teams were able to overlook that mistake. However, the video in which his face is clearly shown smoking is tough to look past.
Don’t let anyone take a video of you doing something that you’re not supposed to. Whether it’s of you smoking, drinking or anything with a gas mask, you should never let anyone record you no matter how close you are to that person. These videos can always resurface and hurt you, and in this case it turned what was supposed to be one of the best days of Tunsil’s life into a huge mess.
Tunsil lost $8 million because of a video of him smoking that may have been from high school. In just a couple minutes, he went from someone who was guaranteed to be a great player in the NFL, to a player who some think will struggle with substance abuse issues.
Your past can always come back to haunt you, so you should watch what you do. Especially if your future is as bright as Laremy Tunsil’s.
Patrick Pace can be reached at [email protected] or @PatPaceSports on Twitter.
Kiambe Tunsil // May 10, 2016 at 11:22 am
Patrick,
You are correct about your “past” coming back to haunt you from time to time. For starters, if Laremy Tunsil was that good BEFORE the gas mask incident, he’s that good AFTER this incident. His skills, size, and technique didn’t just all of a sudden disappear or decrease. Before the trade with Los Angeles, he was widely considered to be the number one pick with Tennessee. He was the #1 offensive tackle coming out of high school three years ago and he’s the #1 offensive tackle coming out of college right now. Ronnie Stanley is right behind Laremy, according to reports, as their overall skill level is comparable. Overall, again, however, Tunsil is at the top. Stanley allowed three sacks, along with four hurries just last year. Tunsil was personally responsible for TWO sacks in THREE years; one his freshman year; one, his sophomore year. Laremy allowed NO SACKS last year, although he only played five regular season and the Sugar Bowl. All this was done while playing in the SEC. He’s admitted to his bad decision and I would tell him the same thing if I could talk to him. Ronnie Stanley was the “safer” pick, NOT the better pick. Every one has an opinion of course. If Stanley was that much better, then why was he not being considered the potential #1 pick by Tennessee before the trade? I wish BOTH of them nothing but continued success. And obviously, I’m partial to Laremy because he’s a younger cousin of mine. Again, though, based on the reports I’ve read, including stats, Tunsil is the better tackle, bar none.