The name CJ Okoye may not be familiar to you, and with good reason.
He’s an athlete from Nigeria who joined the Los Angeles Chargers in the preseason thanks to the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, which has given us alums like Jordan Mailata and Efe Obada.
Okoye had never played in an organized game of football until he appeared in Saturday’s preseason contest against the Los Angeles Rams — he had gone through the NFL Combine and had worked with ex-Giant Osi Umenyiora at the former defensive end’s Uprise camps — but the 6-foot-8 defender got a sack on Stetson Bennett.
And the reaction from the Chargers’ sideline is just the best:
when you play in your FIRST GAME EVER AND GET A SACK the guys are gonna go crazy
nothin' but love for @Cj_dlion12 💛 pic.twitter.com/2d2m72pjaF
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 13, 2023
First football game of his entire life. He gets a sack. You can’t make this stuff up. @chargers Sideline going crazy. Only in the @NFL @Cj_dlion12 @NFLAfrica #IPP pic.twitter.com/0vInPW1pIT
— OSI (@OsiUmenyiora) August 13, 2023
Just an awesome moment all around.
