Story Poster
Story Poster
If this football thing doesn’t work out, Texas A&M defensive tackle Albert Regis should consider weight loss coaching.
Except that his ability to lose weight may enhance his chances for an NFL career.
Regis, who was listed at 6-foot-1 and 315 pounds on A&M’s roster last season, looked absolutely svelte on Wednesday at A&M’s Pro Day.
He’s lost 20 pounds since the end of last season. His secret?
“I really locked in,” Regis told a gaggle of reporters. “When I would hit 310, my body would kind of hit a plateau, and I’d be like, ‘Oh, I can’t lose weight past 310.’
“So, then I lowered my carb intake. I mean, for dinner, I was eating these protein chicken nuggets you can air fry. I was eating a salad with that and some fruit.
“Or my fiancée (Kaley) would make some air-fried lemon pepper chicken thighs. I’d eat that for dinner with salad and fruit.
“I dropped from 21 percent body fat to 15 percent. I think I put on three pounds of lean mass.”
At Pro Day on Wednesday, Albert Regis measured at 6-foot-1 3/8 and 295 pounds.
Hordes of NFL scouts saw the 6-foot-1, 295-pound version of Regis. That’s the version who ran an eye-opening 4.88 40-yard dash last month at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
This version also bench pressed 225 pounds 27 times.
“I prayed right before (the bench press),” Regis told a group of reporters. “I was like, ‘Lord, give me strength one rep at a time.’
“I was like, ‘Just get me the strength until I can’t go no more. Let me listen to my body and not try to push it and hurt myself.’
“I was just repping it out. Then I hit 15, and my hand slipped, but really, I was just breathing. Every time the bar hit my chest on the way up, I breathed, and I just had my little rhythm going and hit flow state. I’m happy with what I got.”
That’s an impressive combination of size, speed and strength to go with some impressive videotape.
Last season, Regis had the best showing of his career. He posted 49 tackles — a hefty total for an interior lineman. That included three tackles for losses, two of which were sacks.
He also broke up three passes, was credited with two quarterback pressures and forced a fumble.
Over four seasons at Texas A&M, Albert Regis appeared in 49 games and had 116 career tackles, 11 TFLs and 3.5 sacks.
Despite that, he’s always been somewhat overlooked. In 2024, Regis was arguably the most consistent player on a defensive line that featured first-round draft choice Shemar Stewart and second-round draft choices Nic Scourton and Shemar Turner.
Then, this season, he was overshadowed by Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year Cashius Howell and tackle Tyler Onyedim, who posted more tackles for loss (8.5) and sacks (2.5).
Regis never worried about grabbing the spotlight, though. He was more focused on grabbing the ball carriers.
“That’s their journey. I’m not going to knock another man’s journey,” he said. “We all got our own paths. We’re all on the same train, just with different stops.
“So, I wasn’t going to hate on their journey because I know my time would come.
“And I was extremely happy for Cashius and Tyler. I mean, they did amazing things this season. Playing next to them was amazing. I wasn’t jealous, worried or anything like that. I just knew my time would come.”
“I was just repping it out. Then I hit 15, and my hand slipped, but really, I was just breathing. Every time the bar hit my chest on the way up, I breathed, and I just had my little rhythm going and hit flow state. I’m happy with what I got.”
His time will come next month when the NFL Draft is held. The draft begins on April 23 with the first round selections. The second and third rounds are on April 24. Rounds four through seven are on April 25.
Regis is likely to be taken on the 25th, but after his positive performances in the Combine and on Pro Day, maybe he could go earlier.
And maybe — just maybe — the young man from LaPorte could be taken by his hometown Houston Texans.
“It should be special,” he said. “Hometown. Thirty minutes from the crib. It would be amazing. I grew up a Texans fan my whole life.
“But at the end of the day, whoever calls my phone … that’s who I’m rocking with. I don’t care who it is. Whoever wants to give me an opportunity, I promise you, you’re not going to regret it.”
Regis said they will watch the draft from home with Kaley, their baby daughter, Akari, and probably other family and friends.
“We’re just going to sit around (and) be nervous,” he said. “When we hear the phone call, we’re going to cry and celebrate.”
And probably eat some air-fried lemon pepper chicken thighs. With salad and fruit, of course.