Ex-NY GIANT, Osi Umenyiora creates a football to college pipeline

[get these nets]

One of Osi's proteges is on the practice squad. With the injuries the team has suffered, he should get called up by the end of the season.

 

[Whatupdoe?]

Happy the brothers are getting an opportunity to change their families lives.

I think it's getting alot better since it seems, these guys are getting better coaching. No shade but in coaching circles it has always been assumed, until proven otherwise that the African players lacked the aggression and were some what soft for the game. I can't be sure why that would be the case perhaps having not grown up with the game or it could be they are simply chosen due to athletic traits and can hopefully be taught the game. It's kind of similar to the thought that European players were soft in the NBA. The NBA has changed to a less physical game one could say a more skilled game but certainly changed.

I hope as time goes on this thought changes. And the achievements of some of the current athletes change the perception. An more opportunities follows.

 

[Phitz]

I also saw alot of kids now of Congolese and Liberian background in NCAA and NFL. Nigerians probably have at least 1 player on every team.

There was an Ethiopian at one of the NFL combines

 

[get these nets]

UK NFL Academy's Emmanuel Okoye Signs With Vols​

April 2023
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football has received a signed financial aid agreement from talented NFL Academy athlete Emmanuel Okoye of Lagos, Nigeria, it was announced on Wednesday.


Okoye (pronounced oh-KOY-ay) represented the NFL Academy overseas in Loughborough, U.K., during the fall of 2022 and is slated to enroll at Tennessee this summer and be eligible for the 2023-24 athletic year.

The 18-year-old Okoye's football journey began after being discovered by Osi Umenyiora and his 'The Uprise' program scouts. He was invited to attend the inaugural 'The Uprise' football talent identification camp in Abuja, Nigeria in 2022. After impressing there, he was invited to NFL Africa's talent identification camp held in Ghana in the summer of 2022, with his performance earning him a place at the NFL Academy.


Okoye played defensive end and on special teams for the NFL Academy. He played in contests against IMG Academy, Scotland U19's and Nottingham University. During the NFL Academy Combine, he jumped a 45'5" vertical and a 11'3" broad jump.

 

[UpAndComing]

So many Igbos back home got NFL potential. They built for the NFL

Whats good breh, Igbo Kwenu

 

[Khadafi1982]

I also saw alot of kids now of Congolese and Liberian background in NCAA and NFL. Nigerians probably have at least 1 player on every team.

There was an Ethiopian at one of the NFL combines

You will see more and more Congolese playing American football just because of sheer number! We are almost 100 millions. My nephew is playing at college level right now.

 

[get these nets]

The pioneer, has a new book out.





Christian Okoye on growing up in Nigeria, playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and his Top 5 Big Running Backs



Christian Okoye was born in Enugu, Nigeria and grew up playing soccer and running track despite his dad not wanting him to play sports. Okoye excelled in track and field but when the Nigerian government declined to put him on the 1984 Olympic team, he focused on football which he saw for the first time when he moved to United States in his early 20s. Okoye combined speed with his 6'1" and 260-pound frame to become a force in his new sport at Azusa Pacific University in California. Kansas City drafted Okoye in the 2nd Round in 1987 and he embarked on a 6-year career with the Chiefs. Under coach Marty Schottenheimer, Okoye led the NFL in rushing in 1989 and was named First Team All-Pro, AFC MVP and a Pro Bowler that year. Nagging injuries forced Okoye to retire following the 1992 season as Kansas City's all-time leading rusher. In 2000, he was named to the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame. Okoye, known as the "Nigerian Nightmare", shares his incredible story with us including the impact Schottenheimer had on his career, the NFL running backs he studied to learn the game and whether or not he could play in today's NFL. He also gives us his Top 5 (or 6) Big Running Backs.

Okoye also tells us about his memoir "The Nigerian Nightmare: My Journey Out of Africa to the Kansas City Chiefs and Beyond" available November 7 published by Triumph Books

 

[#1 pick]

The pioneer, has a new book out.





Christian Okoye on growing up in Nigeria, playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and his Top 5 Big Running Backs



Christian Okoye was born in Enugu, Nigeria and grew up playing soccer and running track despite his dad not wanting him to play sports. Okoye excelled in track and field but when the Nigerian government declined to put him on the 1984 Olympic team, he focused on football which he saw for the first time when he moved to United States in his early 20s. Okoye combined speed with his 6'1" and 260-pound frame to become a force in his new sport at Azusa Pacific University in California. Kansas City drafted Okoye in the 2nd Round in 1987 and he embarked on a 6-year career with the Chiefs. Under coach Marty Schottenheimer, Okoye led the NFL in rushing in 1989 and was named First Team All-Pro, AFC MVP and a Pro Bowler that year. Nagging injuries forced Okoye to retire following the 1992 season as Kansas City's all-time leading rusher. In 2000, he was named to the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame. Okoye, known as the "Nigerian Nightmare", shares his incredible story with us including the impact Schottenheimer had on his career, the NFL running backs he studied to learn the game and whether or not he could play in today's NFL. He also gives us his Top 5 (or 6) Big Running Backs.

Okoye also tells us about his memoir "The Nigerian Nightmare: My Journey Out of Africa to the Kansas City Chiefs and Beyond" available November 7 published by Triumph Books

6'1 260 ain't fair

 

[Billy Ocean]

to Osi. My mans always been a solid dude.

 

[get these nets]

Spoiler: Full episode

Ogbo & JOK talk NFL Africa, Ghanaian vs. Nigerian food, and pregame fits! | EP 4 | Dawgs Only​

Cleveland Browns
Sep 30, 2023
Co-hosts Rodney McLeod Jr. and Anthony Walker Jr. go deep with Ogbonnia Okoronkwo & Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on their African roots, NFL Africa, and some of the customs and traditions they still enjoy to this day.

00:00 Introductions
01:08 Meaning behind the names
03:48 Growing up in Nigeria and Ghana
13:45 Ghanaian vs. Nigerian food
17:40 NFL Africa trip
26:10 USA football camps versus Africa camps
33:10 Visiting Elmina Castle in Ghana
36:03 JOK's traditional pregame fits
40:43 Who from the team would be your bodyguard?
42:15 Favorite show to binge?
44:05 What would you do if you weren't a ball player?
50:15 Traditions at home

Ogbo & JOK talk NFL Africa, Ghanaian vs. Nigerian food, and pregame fits! | EP 4 | Dawgs Only​

Cleveland Browns

Snippets of the episode

 

[get these nets]

NFL really promoting football as a global game

NFL shoots brand new Super Bowl ad in Makola market, GH fans react

The NFL has released a teaser of its upcoming Super Bowl commercial shot in Ghana, the commercial which will be aired in February features five top NFL superstars

yen.com.gh

Jan 29, 2024

 

[F*ckthemkids]

6'1 260 ain't fair

You don’t need fair…You just need Steve Atwater

 

[get these nets]

Early.

 

[RedBull]

You don’t need fair…You just need Steve Atwater

 

[get these nets]

Was glad to see this air right after Usher tore it down at halftime. For a few reasons

• Osi used to play for us, and good to see him spot the opportunity and act on it.
• Coli used to always be ahead of the curve in terms of stories that others would catch on to months or years later. That's what drew me here, and wish it would go back to that.
• This is the rare chance that mainstream gets a look into African life in a normal light.