Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah had never seen a football game when he arrived in Provo, Utah, in 2008 on an academic scholarship to Brigham Young University.

  In two weeks he could be drafted in the top five. He could be a Lions' defensive end.

  Ansah (in photo with the football) has gone from “Who’s he?” to “How high will he be drafted?” in no time at all.

 “He's enjoyed his meteoric rise up the board as any other players in my 35 years covering the draft,’’ ESPN’s Mel Kiper said in a conference call this week.  “So I would say two to Jacksonville or five to Detroit, at worst eight to Buffalo. Anywhere between two, five and eight is where he could come off the board, which is amazing considering he was off the radar, completely undrafted when the season began.’’

USA Today has an interesting feature on Ansah who wanted to be the next Lebron James. That just didn’t work out at Brigham Young and if it didn’t work there he wasn’t going to the NBA.

  To say he’s picked up football quickly is quite the understatement. He’s played three seasons at BYU. In 2010 played just six games, then 12 in 2011 and 13 last season with nine starts. 

  Ansah’s stock rose dramatically after he was named MVP at Senior Bowl.

 Love how Pro Football Weekly describes him in their draft preview — ”dripping with upside.”

(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her new book,  “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)