I mean he had a 95 OVR combine card in 23 before he was even in the league.  So yeah, I think some people were aware of his existence.

You'll have to excuse me. I try to stay on top of all of my favourite sports and sometimes I lose track of some players. It's hard to be an expert in each of your 4th favourite sport. My ranking goes:

  1. Futbol
  2. Cricket
  3. Table Tennis
  4. Football