Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Gavino Borquez

Chargers DL CJ Okoye on first sack: ‘It was an amazing moment for me’

Chargers defensive lineman CJ Okoye recorded a sack in last Saturday’s win over the Rams in the preseason opener. While this would be a tally in the stat sheet for any other player, this was a special moment for Okoye.

It marked Okoye’s first-ever organized football game. Not just an NFL game but the first organized football game. Okoye is a Nigerian athlete signed by the team as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.

Buy Chargers Tickets

“It was an amazing moment for me,” Okoye said Tuesday.

Okoye sacked Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett on the Chargers’ final defensive play. Afterward, his teammates went wild on the sideline.

“Watching it is like putting all this together in one, it was a moment for me,” Okoye said. “It was [an] amazing moment seeing my teammates, see my D-line room go crazy like that. I wish to go back there again.”

Notable players from the International Pathway Program include Raiders’ Jakob Johnson, Commanders’ Efe Obada and Eagles’ Jordan Mailata.

Even though he made a highlight play in preseason action, Okoye knows that nothing is guaranteed, and he will have to keep his head down and keep working hard.

“I don’t think I’m a celebrity yet, it’s just my story,” Okoye said. “I have never played football, just magically got a sack. I won’t lie, it’s an awesome feeling but you don’t go too high, you don’t go too low just stay in the middle and do your thing.

“For me, it’s just learning the most I can do, go out there and learn because we have the best D-line in the entire league. I want to learn more plays and learn more techniques.”

Regardless if Okoye makes even the practice squad or not, this was a moment that he will never forget.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.