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Bills draft pick weighed 448 in January

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Michael Jasper isn't nearly as difficult to find on a football field as he was online at about 7:15 p.m.

When the Buffalo Bills used their final draft choice on Jasper, a defensive tackle from tiny Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn., reporters here in the media center went flipping through their draft materials and openly cried out, "Who is this guy?"

Jasper didn't have player profiles posted on NFL.com or Scouts Inc. Jasper wasn't listed among the 105 defensive tackles in Mel Kiper's annual draft guide.

Somebody eventually found his height and weight and said, "That has to be a typo."

So we had to keep digging, and with some help from the Bills' media relations department we learned Jasper's more than a man.

He's about the size of three people and can play multiple positions.

Jasper is 6-foot-4 and played last season at 430 pounds. He weighed 448 pounds in January. To get an idea of his enormity, you can check out photos of Jasper on his personal website.

Jasper started out as a defensive tackle at Tennessee-Martin and switched to offensive tackle. Then he transferred to Middle Tennessee State before landing at Bethel, where he started at both guard and defensive tackle.

We finally found him listed at guard in Kiper's guide.

Bills scouts asked Jasper to get below 400 pounds, and he trimmed down to 375.

"He's drying up to nothing," Bills general manager Buddy Nix cracked.

Nix said Bills regional scout Matt Hand "has been stalking this guy for a year or longer."

The Bills planned on signing Jasper as a rookie free agent but took him in the seventh round.

"This is an amazing kid," Nix said. "He vertical jumps 32 inches, and he longed jumped like 9-5 and dunks a basketball with both hands. ... He's an exceptional athlete.

"We're going to see if he can play. Coach [Chan Gailey] can tell you what we're going to do with him.

"Besides feed him, I guess."