Cornerback Marcel Dabo has made the jump to the NFL via the “International Pathway Program”. The native of Reutlingen is now under contract with the Indianapolis Colts. In a media roundtable, the 22-year-old talks about his goals as a player, his skills on the football field and his path to the Colts.

Munich – Marcel Dabo, a native of Reutlingen and former cornerback for the Stuttgart Surge, has made the jump to the NFL via the International Pathway Program. The 22-year-old is now under contract with the Indianapolis Colts. In a media round, Dabo gave first insights into his life as an NFL player.
Marcel Dabo on…

.. his experience at the Pro Day:

I wasn’t particularly excited, I just wasn’t sure I could deliver.

.. his visit to the Indianapolis Colts before the draft:

That was a great day. I had a chance to meet the coaches and watch tape with them and think about how I’d fit into the defense.

.. the 2022 NFL Draft:

I wasn’t expecting anything big. My goal was just to get into the NFL. You can’t expect to be picked in the draft as a German player, so I just hoped that somehow I would make it to the NFL.

.. Contact with other players from the IPP: ..

Of course, you always have contact with your predecessors (Jakob Johnson or David Bada, for example) in the IPP. We Germans always stick together quite well and have a great community.

… Jonathan Shaw, the Colts’ head of scouting:

I had a good connection with him, he took notice of me. Then because of him, I had the opportunity that I could visit the Colts before the draft.

.. Contact with Björn Werner, who also played for the Colts and could give him tips along the way:

I have regular contact with Björn, actually I have that with all Germans in the NFL. But of course I have to find out for myself how it works with the Colts.

.. the Colts’ plans with him:

I talked a lot with Gus Bradley and the defensive backs coaches. In Germany I played a lot of cornerback, with the Colts I will probably be used more as a safety or nickel cornerback.

.. the Colts’ defensive backs:

When I look at the Colts’ defensive backs, it’s just insane. I want to soak it all up like a sponge and I can learn a lot.

.. His interest in the NFL:

I’ve been following the NFL for a while, but I haven’t settled on one team. But then I started watching Kenny Moore’s games, for example, to learn from him.

.. the upcoming rookie minicamp:

I’m totally excited. We have to look at learning the playbook and internalising the scheme and the plays. But of course, this is new territory for me as well.

.. the move from Germany to Indianapolis:

The most important thing is to show professionalism. In Germany we only trained three times, now it’s almost every day. I think analysing games might become the biggest hurdle for me. It’s pretty complicated and the NFL is obviously much more complex.

.. His goals with the Colts:

I want to play right away and I think I can do that. Especially on special teams, I can help at first. I want to make the squad as soon as possible without relying on the IPP.

.. His chances of getting playing time with the Colts:

Of course, it’s difficult for me to assess my chances, I haven’t even set foot on the club’s ground yet. I’ll give it my all in rookie camp and give it my all in training camp. Step by step. And then I want to prove myself in such a way that the coaches think: “He can help us on Sunday.”

… the future of international players in the NFL:

The ELF is a good opportunity to make the step up to the NFL. There, I’ve had the opportunity to play against former NFL players and Division I college players. That helps. Of course, everything still has to become a bit more professional in Europe. But in general, it’s nice that the NFL is becoming more international because there’s good talent all over the world.

.. His style of play:

I’m pretty athletic and I think the Colts have the coaches to put me in the best position possible.

.. Contact teammates:

I haven’t had any contact with teammates yet. I wrote to Bernhard Raimann on Instagram, but I will get to know the rest of the team in the next few days.

.. Bernhard Raimann (Austrian selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Colts):

Of course we can help each other to connect. But in general, all coaches are interested in us acclimatising quickly;

.. a possible plan B:

I studied English and sport in Stuttgart and would now like to concentrate fully on my football career. My studies are on hold for now.

.. as a human being:

I always want to train, train, train. But of course you have to be able to switch off sometimes. I’m still trying to find the middle ground.

.. his leisure activities:

I like to eat out, preferably Swabian food. I’ve also seen that there’s a German restaurant here in Indianapolis, so of course I’ll have to rate that.

.. Training for the NFL:

At the end of January we trained for ten weeks in Arizona. That’s when we had a lot of athletic training and worked out in the individual position groups. We trained Monday through Friday, from morning to night. That was a lot of fun. Especially the position training helped me a lot because the coaches brought a lot of expertise.