Dynamic tight end Theo Melin Öhrström commits to Texas A&M, continues path from Sweden to America

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Dude Perfect and Odell Beckham Jr.

That was the introduction to American football for a 13-year-old Swedish soccer goalkeeper who would one day become a five-star caliber tight end.

And now, Theo Melin Öhrström is bringing that story – plus his incredible physical gifts and pass-catching ability – to Texas A&M.

Öhrström, one of the most gifted tight ends in the 2023 class, committed to the Aggies on Wednesday. He picked the Aggies over Ohio State and LSU.

As we previewed earlier this week, the two key deciding factors in Öhrström’s recruitment were the program’s usage of tight ends in the passing game and which one he believed would provide the best pathway to the NFL for what he brings to the table with his skillset.

He felt more comfortable that the Aggies and tight ends coach James Coley was the best situation for him.

“In the end, I just felt that A&M’s way of using tight ends fit me better, so I would say that was the deciding factor,” Öhrström told On3. “To me, it seems like tight ends are a bigger part of the passing game at A&M and includes them more. I like how OSU uses tight ends a lot, too, and they’ve been very consistent. But I had to go with my gut telling me A&M.”

Öhrström informed both Coley and Ohio State tight ends coach Kevin Wilson on Monday morning of his commitment before he made his official announcement on Wednesday.

“I just wanted to call coach Wilson and show my appreciation toward him and everyone at Ohio State,” Öhrström said. “Coach Coley was really happy, but it wasn’t fun having to call coach Wilson because we had created a great relationship, and I really like OSU.”

The next step for Öhrström is to figure out when he will sign. Right now, he is looking at reclassifying to the 2022 class as a serious option and getting on campus a year earlier than expected. 

That would help him get an even bigger head start in completing an NFL dream that he has had since he was a kid.

Scouting Theo Melin Öhrström

On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power says Öhrström is an intriguing prospect:

“Theodor Melin Öhrström hit the college camp circuit with gusto this summer,” Power said. “He traveled with a group of European prospects (PPI) and hit a bunch of different campuses. We had the chance to see him at The Opening Finals in July. 

“Öhrström already has considerable size at 6-foot-6, 243 pounds. He moves fairly well for that size. We see Öhrström play as an outside receiver back in Sweden, which should give him some experience as a pass-catcher.

“How he develops over the next two years will be key. He’s an older prospect for the 2023 class, as he’s already 18 years old. With that said, Öhrström is still relatively inexperienced from a football standpoint. Coming from playing in Europe to Power Five football is a huge adjustment and one few others have made without playing high school or junior college football in the United States. With that said, Öhrström showed enough on the camp circuit to create considerable intrigue about his upside.”

Theo Melin Öhrström: An introduction to American football

Öhrström sat in the living room of his mother Sarah’s home on Feb. 1, 2015, ahead of Super Bowl XLIX between the Patriots and Seahawks. Ironically, it wasn’t that all-time classic that initially got Öhrström interested in the game.

In the lead-up to the Super Bowl, NBC aired a video of Odell Beckham Jr. working with the trick-shot artist group Dude Perfect. Beckham was less than three months removed from making one of the most absurd catches in NFL history with his three-finger grab against the Cowboys. Beckham went back to work with one-handed snags in the video, and it had Öhrström catching his jaw from smacking against the carpet.

He began watching more Beckham videos, leading to an infatuation with the sport. Weeks later, Öhrström, his mom and his grandmother took a vacation to Orange, Calif., to celebrate his grandma’s 70th birthday. Öhrström bought his first football at Dick’s Sporting Goods, and when he returned to Sweden he threw that same ball all over the playground with his friends at recess.

“I guess the rest is history, right?” Öhrström told On3 this summer.

Öhrström is now a five-star caliber tight end. He collected 13 offers highlighted by Ohio State, Alabama, Oklahoma, LSU and, of course, Texas A&M.

Before all of those could come, first he had to sell his parents on football being the passion he would pursue over soccer. His mom didn’t want him to play at first for fear of him getting injured. His dad had been Öhrström’s soccer coach growing up, and with all the time they put into that sport, he wasn’t thrilled with his son’s new pursuit. But they knew he was passionate about it, and they threw their support into the endeavor.

The main reason they did was simple – he was really good from the get-go. Öhrström thought he could use his physical gifts better if he became a receiver rather than a goalie.

Once he started catching passes with two hands like 99% of humans do – instead of being flashy and imitating Beckham’s one-handed wonders – something special was in the works.

That’s when Brandon Collier came in.

Collier, a Cleveland native, is the owner of Germany’s PPI Recruits (Premier Players International). The organization puts international players on the American map via training and coaching to put their faces and film in front of college football’s top coaches. The program has led to more than 80 Division I scholarships for its alumni since it launched five years ago.

Theo Melin Öhrström is a member of RIG Academy in Uppsala, Sweden, a rigorous football academy that allows only 10 students in each graduating class. A little more than two years ago, Collier saw Öhrström for the first time at a camp in nearby Stockholm. He got him to join PPI Recruits and has been training and mentoring him ever since.

“When you saw him he was big, but he didn’t have the tools that he has now,” Collier told On3. “The first time I had him he ran a 5.1 in the 40, and the next time I saw him he ran a 4.65.

“I knew once he got the chance to come to America for the tour he would be in the position he’s in today. In my opinion, he’s the best tight end in the class, and he proved he’s on that level.”

Acclimating to America

Whenever Öhrström does move away from Sweden, acclimating to this country shouldn’t be a long-term issue. Collier estimates that only two players who have come to the United States for college out of his program have had difficulty assimilating to America.

Öhrström is much likelier to be in the majority.

He has familiarity with this country via his mom having several friends in Minnesota (whom he stayed with briefly this summer), and his mom attended college in Washington, D.C. He’s gotten lessons from her over the years about the differences between Swedish and American culture.

“Pretty much everything in America is different,” Öhrström said. “The way that people are, everything is different. There’s no other way to put it.”

People are more outgoing here as opposed to Swedes, he says. They’re friendly once you get to know them, but typically they are more standoffish, he said. That’s a contrast from the Midwest and the South, where he was happy to see that meeting new people is common and seamless.

Nonetheless, when he does begin his American life in 2022 or 2023, he says there will be “a culture shock.”

He loves pretty much everything about Sweden. He loves the schooling, the public transportation system that he takes every day and, of course, his family.

He was living out of his duffel bag for the seven weeks he was on the Dreamchasers Tour. That’s the longest he’s ever been away, and it served as a trial run.

“That’s something I’m gonna have to get used to, but when I get to college it’s gonna be a whole different thing,” Öhrström said. “I’m gonna have a home to live in.”

Life-altering June

The Dreamchasers Tour is PPI’s annual summer trip in which dozens of players from the organization are taken by bus throughout America for college camps and visits.

This summer’s trip served as a life-altering June for Theo Melin Öhrström.

He racked up his first Division I offer at Arizona State, followed by offers from Minnesota, Florida State, Alabama and LSU. On June 8, Ohio State’s coaches got their eyes on him at a one-day camp, and that served as yet another monumental moment to get him on the map. 

Öhrström proved this summer that he is one of the best receiving tight ends in his class. His blocking, though, needs a lot of work. He’s not used to the physicality that he will encounter in the SEC. He will need to become a more well-rounded tight end who can be used in-line and split wide, but the Aggies are likely to use him more on the outside.

Collier backs up Öhrström in that his biggest factors are looking at how programs use their tight ends and which programs are doing the best at getting their tight ends drafted.

Öhrström speaks three languages fluently, including French since he was 6 years old. He is an incredibly intelligent, well-rounded kid. If he wanted to stay in Europe, he would have no problem getting a great education at a top university.

But playing in the NFL is his dream. It’s why he quit soccer, why he worked so hard on his club team (the Tyresö Royal Crowns) to pave his way to play at RIG Academy and why he took his American tour seriously.

Eight months ago, Collier was telling people Öhrström is a five-star tight end.

Öhrström is already 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, and runs a 4.6-second 40-yard dash at 16 years old. If he gets in the right coaches’ hands to teach him blocking, and if he can adjust to the competition level, he has the ceiling to be an early-round NFL draft pick. He believes Coley and the Aggies will take him down that right path, and the Aggies know they have a special talent on the way.

“He’s a man amongst boys where he’s at, so once he’s able to face more and more competition it’s gonna force him to raise his level. That’s what I’m excited about for the next couple years,” Collier said. “Whatever school he goes to, I think that he could become an All-American.”

A Swedish All-American? What a world.