Obinna Eze moved from Nigeria to the United States less than a year ago in hopes of playing basketball. It didnt take long for him to shift his focus to football.
After playing for Davidson Academys junior-varsity team this season, the 6-foot-8, 270-pound Eze received his first three offers in November within a span of less than 10 days. And it might not be long before others follow suit.
Eze said he had made multiple trips to the United States for AAU basketball before moving to Tennessee last year. Basketball initially was his primary focus. But he said Buck Fitzgerald, a former Tennessee defensive back who runs the Nashville-based National Playmakers Academy, convinced him to give football a try.
(Fitzgerald) was like, Hey, man, I think youve got a great body for football, Eze said. He told me to give it a try. I said, OK, Im going to trust you, man. Initially I picked football as a secondary sport because I was still taking basketball first. Along the line, I was like, Oh, well, Ill make a switch. Football is better for me.
Im new. I try to work more than the rest of the guys do, because I know Im a senior this summer, and then I havent been playing football for a long time, so I have a lot of things to cover. The rest of the guys have been playing since their eighth grade or freshman year.
Ive just got eight months, so Ive got to get work in. Thats why you see me (working) every day.