Traore: MSU's Ultimate Dream Chaser
August 08, 2024 | Football
STARKVILLE – The football that Seydou Traore grew up playing in England certainly looked a lot different than it does today at Mississippi State.
Traore was a standout soccer goalie in his homeland and only caught occasional glimpses of American football on television. However, as the now 6-foot-4, 235-pound tight end continued to grow into his late teens, someone suggested he stop by a nearby club and give football a go on the gridiron.
"I'd always been interested, but it wasn't until I went down to that local club that I decided it was what I wanted to do," Traore said.
He was hooked instantly. But Traore knew in order to have a successful future in football, he would have to leave London and venture across the Atlantic Ocean to pursue his newfound obsession.
"I realized that I had a great love and passion for football," Traore said. "It was an easy decision. I realized that I needed to come to America. If you want to be the best at football, you need to be in America so I knew it was something that I needed to do."
So in the fall of 2020, Traore left his family in the U.K. to enroll at Clearwater Academy International in Florida for his senior campaign of high school in hopes of turning the heads of college coaches.
"My mom and my sister were very supportive of it," Traore said. "I've always been a dream chaser. I've always tried to grasp my opportunities."
But before Traore was ready to sign any scholarship papers, there was still a major obstacle he still had to overcome. He had never played 11-man football prior to arriving in the U.S. having only experienced England's nine-on-nine version of the game.
He was a natural, however, catching 26 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns during his lone prep season. Those numbers were good enough to land him a full ride to Arkansas State.
Traore finished his freshman season with the Red Wolves off strong, making 10 of his 12 catches during the final three contests and setting the stage for a stellar sophomore campaign. In 2022, he started 11 of 12 games and led the team with 655 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He was a first team All-Sun Belt performer and finished fifth in the country among tight ends in receiving yardage that year.
'Ziko', as he's known to his friends and teammates, spent a spring at Colorado before transferring to Mississippi State last fall but was ineligible to play in 2023 due to NCAA transfer rules.
But instead of pouting or simply biding his time, Traore rolled up his sleeves and got to work in Starkville as a member of the Bulldogs' scout team.
"You really find out how much you want it," Traore said. "It would be real easy when you know you're not going to play to take days off and not go 100 percent. But that's not the way that I'm built. I attacked every day. I had to change my mindset of it not being a year of sitting out, but a year of developing and getting better."
Traore carried that growth mentality into his second year at Mississippi State. Although he spent a majority of his first season with the Bulldogs playing wide receiver, Traore bulked back up in order to return to tight end and provide new head coach Jeff Lebby with a dynamic weapon at that position.
"He can do a lot of different things," said tight ends coach Jon Cooper. "He's really changed his body this summer. He's gotten bigger and gotten faster. He takes ownership in everything that he does…He brings a different element to our offense."
The Bulldogs are set to unveil their revamped and up-tempo offense in the season opener against Eastern Kentucky on Aug. 31. By that time, it will have been 644 days since Traore last competed in a college football game and he is eagerly counting down the dwindling time remaining until kickoff.
"I'm more than excited, it's been long overdue," Traore said. "There's a lot of buildup of emotions and excitement for this."
Traore's journey had been anything but traditional. However, after chasing his dreams to another continent and spanning four schools in doing so, he finally feels like he has found a perfect environment where he belongs.
"Being at Mississippi State just feels like home now," Traore said. "I feel so embraced around here. They've shown me nothing but love since I've been here. It's just a place I can call home."
