Towson University defensive line coach Konstantinos “Gus” Kosmakos has seen firsthand what it means to search far and wide for quality football players.
Over the summer, the former Dulaney High School standout, who is also responsible for recruiting select areas in the U.S. and abroad, made a trip to Europe that he described by invoking the name of the popular 1980s Steve Martin-John Candy movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”
During the hectic 10-day visit to scout athletes talented enough to play at the collegiate Football Championship Subdivision level, Kosmakos traveled to seven European Union nations.
"It was an amazing experience,” Kosmakos said, noting that the trip began and ended in Germany, with in-between stops in France, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Latvia. “I went to combines and club team practices. What I was doing was trying to gauge size, speed, change of direction [of the players] — those kinds of things.”
The excursions have paid off for the Tigers, who now list three European players on their roster.
The constant quest to stock an 85-man roster that allows for 63 full or partial scholarships is what drives recruiters like Kosmakos, in his 12th season overall as an assistant coach and seventh as the defensive line coach under Towson head coach Rob Ambrose.
Ambrose said the idea to recruit overseas started from a simple conversation and grew to the point of evaluating as many as 70 prospective recruits.
The selection process included what Ambrose called a “gray area” of figuring out how less-experienced European players would stack up against their more-seasoned American counterparts.
“But we didn’t look to take the best guys,” Ambrose cautioned. “We want to take the right guy, a guy who was a good athlete and a good student-athlete. We bring them in here with the understanding that they don’t know as much about football that our kids do. But on the other hand, they don’t have any bad football habits, so that’s a plus.”
The multitasking Kosmakos is also responsible for finding players from Baltimore County and southern New Jersey to play for the 3-1 Tigers, who have the daunting task of taking on the University of Florida in Gainesville this weekend.
In addition to bringing in three players from Baltimore County public schools on the current TU roster, Kosmakos, a versatile offensive lineman at Towson from 2002-2005, is credited with helping to secure roster spots for the three EU natives as well.
True freshman Vaino Paakkonen is now a Tiger through Kosmakos’ hard work and similar efforts from independent organizations such as PPI Recruits that showcase European players in the U.S. during the summer months.
Paakkonen, a 6-foot-5, 325-pound offensive lineman from Porvoo, Finland joins 6-foot-6, 335-pound sophomore offensive lineman Roman Wahrheit from Rhauderfehn, Germany and 6-foot-2 junior defensive lineman Tibo Debaillie from Gistel, Belgium.
They are following in the footsteps of the first EU lineman at TU, KJ Brandal, who hailed from Torod, Norway before finding his way to Towson in 2014.
Brandal at least had a taste of playing the sport with American players at the IMG Academy in Florida before he enrolled at Towson, which gave him an inkling of how competitive the sport is in the U.S.
Paakkonen, Wahrheit and Debaillie had to learn the hard way, without the benefit of previous experience in the gridiron’s hotbed, yet still have managed to earn full athletic scholarships.
To say the baptism of fire been a challenge is an understatement for the Europeans, who are acclimating as well as can be expected against pretty daunting odds of finding playing time.
So far, Debaillie has made the most progress, considering that he has been starting for the Tigers. On Saturday, Debaillie had four tackles, two solo and two assisted in a 52-45 overtime loss to Villanova.
He is currently seventh on the team with 15 total tackles after playing in only two games in an injury-marred sophomore season.
As a freshman, however, Debaillie made the the football transition from EU to TU look relatively easy by playing in all 11 games while posting seven tackles, including a sack for a 7-yard loss against Big Ten Conference member and in-state rival Maryland.
Although he didn’t play in Towson’s opening game against the Citadel, Wahrheit, who has yet to declare an academic major, was one of 64 Tigers to make the trip to South Carolina. He did, however, appear in the last couple of series on the offensive line in the second contest against North Carolina Central.
Paakkonen, who has only been in the U.S. since the beginning of training camp in August, and Debaillie said the challenges for EU players are considerable.
Getting used to the the hot and humid conditions that dominate the summer months in Towson also was a major adjustment, he said. And there are a variety of other challenges they face, both men agreed.
“It’s been pretty tough,” said Paakkonen, a pre-business administration major with a concentration in entrepreneurship. “It’s the speed of the game and the physicality. Good technique is important, too. There is no room for mistakes. You have to be more disciplined here.”
Some blocking schemes are entirely new to the EU players, along with the overall athleticism of American collegiate players.
“I had never played against cut blocks before,” Debaillie said, alluding to the legal maneuver of blocking below the waist but above the knees.
“Every position, they are stronger, faster and more agile,” he added. “Over there, I could play every position — running back, halfback, wideout. To most of the players [in Europe] it’s just a hobby. And not may people know about football. They say, ‘It’s just like rugby, right?’ But it’s getting to be more popular. My dad and uncle played in Belgium.”
Neither Debaillie nor Paakkonen had heard of Towson before arriving on campus.
“The first time I got here for a workout I saw the stadium, I thought this is the real deal,” Debaillie said. “Coach Gus did a great job. All my hard work paid off.“
Kosmakos said the fact that European players travel to the U.S. even before they have a college scholarship shows how much they hope to compete at a higher level.
“Their dream is to play college football,” the Dulaney Athletics Hall of Fame member said. “They just really want that opportunity.”
Having international students is also a good way for the TU brand to reach a much wider audience, he said.
“Planting our flag over there is very important,” Kosmakos said. “It gives us a lot more recognition in Europe.”
TU is in the vanguard of recruiting EU players compared to the other major programs in the state. The University of Maryland, Morgan State University and the Naval Academy don’t list any European imports on their rosters.
And while the expats said they miss having more fresh food like they do in their home countries, Debaillie said that when he ventures out to eat, he prefers Towson establishments Pho Dat Thanh on York Road and Glory Days Grill on Joppa Road.
Paakkonen said that he has taken advantage of the local food culture by cracking a few steamed crabs with a distant cousin who lives in the area to see what the local crustaceans are all about.
Regardless, it’s fair to say that the EU imports are getting a taste of Towson along with an advanced course in the America’s new pastime in one huge bite.