Mahoungou made 34 catches for a team-best 570 yards and six touchdowns this season

The senior has 12 receptions for 248 yards and four touchdowns the last three games

The native of Paris, France has 26 catches on first and second downs

Has seven catches for 30 yards or more

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Anthony Mahoungou made a promise to his parents - Alphonse and Chantal – last year as the family celebrated Christmas in Paris, France.

He wouldn’t be coming home to enjoy the holidays this year.

“I told them, ‘This is my senior year. I know I have to fight to earn a starting job and playing time but I promise you I won’t be back,’ ” Purdue’s senior receiver recalled. “It happened. I told my mom, ‘If I don’t come back for Christmas that means everything is going well.’ She understood.”

Mahoungou played a big role in missing Christmas with his family. He’s happy about it.

His play the last two games against Iowa and Indiana – hauling in three long touchdown receptions - helped the Boilermakers secure the program’s first bowl bid in five years when they take on Arizona in the Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, California.

He led the Boilermakers in receiving yards and has caught at least one touchdown in three straight games after being replaced in the starting lineup by Jared Sparks. Sparks, though, suffered an ankle injury against Iowa, bringing Mahounghou back into the lineup.

“He works hard and he never complains when things aren’t going his way,” senior cornerback Da’Wan Hunte said. “He’s going to find a way to make it happen. It’s probably a surprise to a lot of people but the work that I see Mahoungou put in on a daily basis – first guy to come in, last guy to leave type mentality – it was no surprise.”

It’s no surprise Mahoungou is in this position, playing in a bowl game for a Power 5 program.

His football career started outside of Paris when he was 13 years old, following in his older brother’s footsteps, Axel, who discovered the American version of the sport.

The younger Mahoungou’s path took him to West Hills Community College in Coalinga, California – about a 2.5-hour drive from Levi’s Stadium, the site of Purdue’s bowl game – before he landed in West Lafayette prior to the 2015 season with three years of eligibility remaining.

Mahoungou has advanced farther than most thought. He didn’t have the football background. He didn’t have a foundation of knowledge to draw from. He didn’t initially fully understand the rules.

The support from the family was strong. Outside the family, not so much.

“I always felt like I was an alien because my classmates in high school in Paris did not understand,” Anthony said. “They said, ‘If you don’t play soccer, why do you get so involved in a sport that’s not going to pay for your food later on because nobody can live by just playing football?’ They didn’t understand.”

But Mahoungou quickly embraced this journey. A passion to play this game overtook his mind, body and spirit to the point where it became his mission to follow it through until the end, whenever that comes.

“I think I’m an optimistic person,” said Axel, who came to West Lafayette last weekend to watch Anthony go through graduation ceremonies before returning to Paris. “I’m glad he wanted to take it seriously. I don’t know if I was doubting if it was possible.

“I knew if he tried hard, maybe there’s a chance but the odds were really against him coming from France. As long as it didn’t get in the way of his studies – our parents were fine with whatever he wanted.”

***

In middle school, Axel and Anthony were shown Eyeshield 21, a Japanese comic book – also known as a manga - created by artist Yusuke Murata that tells the story of an introverted boy who joins an American football club.

Growing up, the brothers played soccer and rugby. Their interests, though, starting shifting toward football, despite the lack of acceptance from outsiders.

“Some think of it as a rugby look-alike because of the shape of the ball and the tackles,” Axel said. “I even remember some rugby players jabbing fun at me saying, ‘It's what you do when you want to play rugby but don't want to get hurt.’ ”

Anthony’s interest started to ramp up about 10 years ago.

Go back to February 2007. The Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts are playing in Super Bowl XLI in Miami.

Devin Hester returns the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. Anthony watches it all unfold in the early morning hours outside of Paris. From that moment, the sport takes hold of Mahoungou. It hasn’t released its grip.

He bought a video game, Madden NFL 08, conducted his own research on the sport and asked his brother a million questions. He followed the NFL closely the first couple of years until being introduced to college football.

“I became a fanatic,” Anthony said. “I would stay up, not only on Sunday night, but sometimes on Thursday and Friday just to watch LSU. Don’t ask me why. Some people say it’s because of the French thing. I love watching LSU.”

***

Anthony's talents were starting to show up. He has the size at 6-foot-3 to be that big receiver coaches crave. He earned a spot on the national team and on an important watch list, a group of players who had the potential to play in the United States at any level. Mahounghou’s goal was coming into focus.

He was invited to attend a camp at Boise State along with four other players. It was his first experience competing against American players.

“I’ve always been a little bit crazy,” Anthony said. “I was on the plane – a nine-hour flight and all I could think about was the importance of this camp. If you look at the big picture, it’s just a camp.

“To me, I don’t know why but I saw it as a huge opportunity. Maybe to get a D-1 offer or something like that. Just getting scouted. On the way back home, all I could think about – I’m going to play in college in America.”

He stayed in touch with coaches from the camp. He sent out tapes. He contacted schools at all levels. Meanwhile, Anthony was named captain of the national team and was selected to participate in the International Bowl.

He was one of two French players on the roster and the only European receiver who played in the all-star game.

One of the coaches at the Boise State camp – Cam Olson - became the offensive coordinator at West Hills Community College. He gave Anthony a chance to continue his dream.

He ramped up his training, working out twice a day. He had to take the SAT to qualify academically. He had to fill out the paperwork to apply for a visa. He also had to earn money.

Mahounghou worked as a waiter at a restaurant next to the Paris Opera.

***

Anthony was one of two junior college receivers recruited by Darrell Hazell to join the Boilermakers in 2015 along with Domonique Young.

In his one season at West Hills, he caught 42 passes for 739 yards and nine touchdowns. It’s taken him three years to surpass those numbers at Purdue.

He struggled to get on the field with the Boilermakers. He didn’t crack the starting lineup until this season. His numbers the first two years weren’t overwhelming, catching a combined 21 passes for 192 yards and no touchdowns.

The statistics and his performance in spring practice sent coach Jeff Brohm and his coaching staff looking for upgrades. They brought in two junior college receivers and one graduate transfer with the idea they would play. Immediately.

To Anthony's credit, he held onto this spot and did so for most of the season. He set up the game-winning touchdown against Minnesota with a 39-yard reception. But there was a stretch of dropped passes. Remember Rutgers? He does.

His playing time was reduced and he didn’t see more until Sparks was injured against the Hawkeyes.

He started the second half. What transpired during a five-play sequence that helped set the stage for the Boilermakers to earn a bowl bid and reclaim the Old Oaken Bucket from Indiana seven days later.

Against Iowa, Anthony caught five passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. It turned a 9-7 deficit into a 21-9 lead early in the third quarter. Against the Hoosiers, he caught a 49-yard touchdown pass, increasing the lead to two touchdowns.

Running back D.J. Knox remembers the scene in the locker room before the Iowa game, watching receiver coach JaMarcus Shephard push the right buttons.

“Mahoungou be fire hot mad in the locker room before the game,” Knox recalled. “He would be so mad he didn’t want to talk to nobody. The Iowa game, he was pissed in the locker room. Coach Shep kept picking with him, kept picking with him and he ended up winning the game for us.”

Shephard is animated with all of his receivers. It’s his approach to provide motivation. Anthony wanted to be coached hard, sharing those sentiments with Sherphard.

That falls right into Shephard’s motivational wheelhouse.

“It’s challenging him consistently over and over again,” Shephard said. “If you go back and watch the tape, he came up with a huge play against Minnesota. Rutgers, he didn’t make those catches that he should’ve made. It’s been an up and down season but in the same Rutgers game, he made the catch to give us a chance to tie the game.

“I want Anthony to play like a big receiver. As he started to sit his butt down on the sideline, and know I wasn’t playing with him – you’re going to play like a big receiver – he started to figure it out.”

Said Anthony: “I believe – and I don’t know if it’s true – he sees something in me and he just wants to help me find a way to use it.”

Anthony figured it out at the right time, not only for himself but for the Boilermakers.

He feels more comfortable around football players and the sport's culture. He always has. His dreams never matched those of his friends growing up and that’s why he pursued this path.

Although Axel closely followed his brother’s career – watching games on the Internet - it wasn’t until he stepped on Purdue’s campus last weekend that he realized the magnitude of what Anthony had accomplished.

“I knew what it was but seeing it with my own eyes was really different,” Axel said. “I know that he was doing great but now it’s really real. I couldn’t be more proud of what he’s done.”

And it’s all because Anthony Mahoungou carved out his own destination and wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way.

“It was just my vision. That’s why I said I’m an alien because it’s something they haven’t seen. A French guy that played football in France his whole life trying to go play Division I football. I think I could be the one. Everybody says it’s impossible but I did it,” he said. “I truly believed in my vision.”

FOSTER FARMS BOWL

Dec. 27

Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, California)

Arizona (7-5) vs. Purdue (6-6)

Time: 8:30 p.m.

TV: FOX

Radio: WAZY (96.5)

BIG TEN BOWL SCHEDULE

Dec. 27: Iowa vs. Boston College (Pinstripe), 5:15 p.m., ESPN

Dec. 28: Michigan State vs. Washington State (Holiday), 9 p.m., FS1

Dec. 29: Northwestern vs. Kentucky (Music City), 4:30 p.m., ESPN

Dec. 29: Ohio State vs. Southern California (Cotton), 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Dec. 30: Penn State vs. Washington (Fiesta), 4 p.m., ESPN

Dec. 30: Wisconsin vs. Miami (Fla.), 8 p.m., ESPN

Jan. 1: Michigan vs. South Carolina (Outback), noon, ESPN2