Praise Olatoke's Unlikely Journey from Lagos to the NFL
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Praise Olatoke's journey to the NFL has been anything but conventional. Relocating to Scotland at the tender age of five, Olatoke's early years were marked by a focus on track and field. His athletic prowess earned him a scholarship at Canada's Trinity Western University and set the stage for a remarkable, albeit unpredictable, sporting journey.
In 2021, Olatoke transitioned to Ohio State University, where he joined the Buckeyes track team. His time there was marred by a significant setback, as he suffered a torn Achilles tendon during one of his seasons. However, adversity often opens new doors, and it was during this period that Olatoke was introduced to American football through the club football scene at Ohio State.
"I never played NCAA football," Olatoke recalls. "The club football is just guys who come together to play football and enjoy a Saturday morning. That's really it. It might be 15, 20 people in a crowd. There could be 50. Who knows?" Despite the modesty of his introduction to the sport, Olatoke's raw talent was evident.
Perhaps fortuitously, Olatoke participated in the NFL International Player Pathway Program (IPPP), a critical juncture in his burgeoning football career. His performance caught the attention of multiple NFL teams. "After the IPPP and stuff, there were a couple of teams that reached out. One of them, obviously, was the Eagles. I went to their rookie minicamp, but that didn't work out," Olatoke explains.
Though the Philadelphia Eagles did not offer him a spot, the Los Angeles Chargers saw potential and invited him to their minicamp. "A few weeks later, the Chargers reached out to me and said, 'Hey, we would be interested in bringing you out to our minicamp.' At first, I wasn't sure what was going on because they only sent me a one-way ticket," Olatoke recounts. That uncertainty quickly transformed into opportunity.
"On the last day— which was a Thursday—one of the staff said, 'Hey, you've got a meeting with the GM.' I walked in and saw the GM. There were a couple of other people there, and they basically said: 'We like you. We think we're going to take a chance on you, so if you're up for it and you're willing to work, we're going to sign you,'" Olatoke says. "There and then, within an hour-and-a-half or so, they offered me a contract, and I'm a Charger."
Determined to make the most of his opportunity, Olatoke joined a Chargers team that finished the previous season with a 5-12 record. The Chargers also boast another IPPP alum, CJ Okoye, marking a concerted effort to harness international talent.
Olatoke's journey is a testament to resilience and seizing opportunities, even when the odds seem insurmountable. "I'm not going to deny that I got lucky to be in this situation. So many different dominoes had to fall my way," he admits. "I think the statistic is one out of every 300,000 or 400,000 high school kids in the U.S. make it to the league."
Louis Rees-Zammit, a former Welsh rugby star and close friend, is among Olatoke's supporters. Their bond underscores the international nature of Olatoke's journey, bridging continents and sports to show that talent and hard work can defy convention.
"If you want it bad enough, I think you can always make things fall your way. You can create your own luck essentially," Olatoke believes. It’s a philosophy that has certainly rung true in his extraordinary path to the NFL.