Northwestern Wildcats have sealed the commitment of British-Nigerian NFL Academy defensive back Timi Oke, who was once a promising right-back in a different type of football, drawing interest from the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion.
Oke, who attended the Whitgift School which produced Bayern Munich‘s Jamal Musiala and Nottingham Forest‘s Callum Hudson-Odoi, among others, realised that while he stood a chance of being a decent soccer player, his true talents lay in American football.
The NFL Academy turned him into a defensive back – coincidentally the closest one could come to the American football equivalent of his soccer position of right back.
Having also previously competed in track, he drew attention for his impressive 4.38-second 40-yard dash from several schools, with UConn among his eight offers. However, the studious 19-year-old believes he will get the best education at Northwestern.
Oke told ESPN: “I’m what I call the definition of a student athlete. I have a high GPA – 4.0 – and I play American football. I really wanted to find a school where I have the best of both worlds. I didn’t want to put my academic career to waste and I felt like Northwestern is the perfect school for that.
“They play in the Big Ten – a Power Five conference in football – and they’re one of the best academic schools in the country.
“I thought it was a no-brainer for me, because a big goal of mine is obviously to go to the NFL and be one of the greatest to play the game. That’s my number one goal, but I also want to graduate with a good degree from a good school. Northwestern allows me to do both, so I just thought it makes perfect sense for me to go there.”
