Colorado OLBs coach Brian Michalowski had a chance to observe his former pupil and outgoing senior Alex Tchangam a few weeks ago during CU's Pro Day.

Tchangam's speed was impressive and overall, he had himself a day that seems likely to earn him some consideration among NFL scouts. Michalowski offered a reflection on his time coaching Tchangam, noting both his on-field abilities as well as personality.

While the coronavirus pandemic certainly has hurt fringe Draft players in the sense that they can't build upon their Pro Day performances by visiting NFL team facilities, meet with scouts or otherwise perform in front of interested sets of eyes, guys like Tchangam ultimately have to count their blessings where they can find them.

At least they and he had a pro day at all.

"To be honest, with (Colorado’s) Pro Day going on right before the world changed, there’s a lot of programs that didn’t have a pro day," Michalowski said. "In a weird way, (Tchangam) sort of had that opportunity to separate himself, where maybe there’s someone like him that isn’t going to have the same exposure."

Recapping Tchangam's performance at CU's Pro Day, he raised some eyebrows with a 4.47 40-yard dash time.

"That was really impressive," Michalowski said. "I know with our GPS systems, he took a lot of pride in hitting certain miles per hour in practice. It wasn’t a surprise to me, but I was proud to see him run (a 4.48). He looked really good. He had good shuffle mechanics, which obviously we worked the hell out of."

Tchangam's 2019 stat line included 31 tackles, 3.5 sacks (third-best on the team) and seven quarterback pressures, which was second to only Terrance Lang, who registered 12.

As a senior, Tchangam was able to earn the trust of coaches in the pass coverage department. The road to doing so began months before the 2019 season got underway and was a testament of Tchangam's ability to learn the defensive systems in spring and fall camp.

"He was a sponge every day, especially early in the spring," Michalowski said. "He really took a lot of time to understand what we were trying to do defensively. He was a very consistent guy in terms of his responsibilities. He really did a good job and he wasn’t prone to busts."

At 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, Tchangam's frame may not lead the boards, but with his kind of speed, he's likely to draw interest from NFL teams as a player worth gambling on.

“I think that NFL scouts are always looking for outliers," Michalowski said. "The common thing you always hear across NFL personnel people is that film is the most important thing. What (players) put on tape is the most important thing and Pro Days allow (scouts) to verify some things. But I do think because (Tchangam’s) size and weight are in an outlier category, (his speed) is definitely not going to hurt his stock.”

Ultimately, as is the case for many "outlier" types of players searching for a home in the NFL such as Tchangam, his and their bread and butter in terms of where they can make contributions on the field will likely involve special teams.

"I think the trajectory for Alex is upward," Michalowski said. "There’s still some things in his game I believe he could get better at, but every player has those. He developed as a pass rusher; he found a signature pass rush move that works for him and he was effective in those things."

"He projects well as a 3-4 outside linebacker but the main thing he’s going to have to do to make an NFL 53-man roster is show value on special teams. I think that’s going to be really important for him. But when you're that big and can run like (he does) that always sticks out to special teams coordinators.”

On a final note, one thing working well for Tchangam aside from his speed and on-field abilities that could help him win over an NFL team is his personality.

“He’s fun," Michalowski said. "He was someone whose laugh brought an energy to our room. He was a really good teammate and he was really focused on football. There is no doubt that he loves football. His overall demeanor — he brings a lot of positivity and he has a lot of pride in doing the right thing. His laugh is one of those positive, contagious things.”

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