Louisville football: The 50 greatest Cardinals of all time

One of the more interesting stories in college football anywhere over the last two decades is that of former defensive lineman Amobi Okoye.

Standing at 6-foot-2, 285 pounds, Okoye began his career at Louisville as a 16-year-old kid. Born in Nigeria, Okoye was always a couple of years ahead of the American school system. That’s why, at the ripe age of 15 he graduated from high school in Huntsville, Alabama and ventured to Louisville to play for Bobby Petrino.

He was intelligent, too. Okoye chose Louisville over Harvard, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, committing to the Cards as an offensive lineman. However, Okoye’s quickness off the ball fit what Louisville needed right away on the defensive side, so the grown child-man switched sides and began to dominate in his freshman year.

Though Okoye spent his years in college as a teen, he played like a grown man and his statistics and accolades stood up to that testament. As the youngest player in NCAA football, Okoye played in all 13 games as a freshman in 2004.

His final two seasons as a college player were impressive. His senior season he racked up 54 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, recorded eight sacks and forced two fumbles.

In his senior year, Okoye earned Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big East honors. He started all 13 games that season and was drafted No. 10 overall in the NFL Draft by the Houston Texans in 2007.

Okoye became the youngest player in nearly four decades to play in an NFL game. He earned NLF Rookie of the Month honors during the first month of his professional career.

Over his five years in the NFL with the Texans and the Chicago Bears, Okoye recorded 177 career tackles and 16 sacks.