INDIANAPOLIS ? Texas linebacker Emmanuel Acho is supremely confident he can follow in his brother's footsteps as an impact rookie in the NFL.
Sam Acho, a defensive end for the Longhorns who converted to outside linebacker after the Arizona Cardinals drafted him in the fourth round last year, registered seven sacks in 2011.
?He had a tremendous impact,? Emmanuel said Saturday at the NFL combine. ?I think I can make the same, if not a bigger, impact because of him, because of how he's educated me about the NFL.?
Projected as a mid-round pick, Emmanuel's stock could rise solely because of his score on the Wonderlic Test, which measures intelligence. Emmanuel is a three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection who graduated in December with a degree in sports management. Sam had an even more impressive academic record at Texas, winning the William V. Campbell Trophy, also known as the Academic Heisman, in 2010.
?Sam told me everything,? Emmanuel said jokingly. ?I got the answers for the test before I have to take it. He's told me everything I need to know. Yes, sir.?
Emmanuel was asked whether he has thought about the Cardinals drafting him. After all, why wouldn't Arizona want another Acho? Sam's sack total last season was the second most by a Cardinals rookie, trailing only the 121/2 recorded by end Simeon Rice in 1996.
?I haven't thought too much about it, but it would be awesome,? Emmanuel said. ?I played with him in high school, played with him in college and playing with him at the next level would be a great experience. But, at the same time, he's told me, ?Don't worry about where you get drafted. Worry that you got the right team.' I saw that first-hand with him, how that worked out.?
Emmanuel prepared for the combine by working out at a facility in Arizona run by athletic trainer Brett Fischer, who also works for the Cardinals. Naturally, Sam was there to make sure Emmanuel was comfortable.
?My brother was there for the first month,? Emmanuel said. ?He was kind of like the training wheels, so to speak. Afterward, he took off, left me by myself.?
The brothers' parents were born in Nigeria and are the founders of The Living Hope Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas. Their father is a family and marriage counselor. Their mother is a nurse.
Both brothers have served on medical missions to Nigeria with their parents.
?Those two guys work their tails off,? said NFL.com analyst Gil Brandt, the Dallas Cowboys' personnel director during the Tom Landry era. ?They are smart, good kids, and a lot of that has to do with their parents. They're from a nice family, and they are nice kids.?
Things change, though, when the brothers are on the field. Emmanuel, who likely will play inside linebacker in the NFL, is a shade over 6-foot-1, 238 pounds. Sam carries 257 on a 6-3 frame. Both know how to throw their weight around.
?They are aggressive guys,? Brandt said. ?They are not stand-back, hold-out types. They'll hit you.?
Sam proved that last year for the Cardinals. Now it's Emmanuel's turn.
?It won't be a hard transition for me to the next level,? Emmanuel said.
?And that's not only because of my intelligence, but also I got a guy who's done it 365 days prior to me, every step, whether it's an interview, whether it's the 40-yard dash, whether it's reporting to minicamp.?
torsborn@express-news.net
Twitter: @tom_orsborn
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