Ogbo Okoronkwo

Early life

Ogbonnia “Ogbo” Okoronkwo was born in Gainesville, Florida to Nigerian parents. His parents emigrated from Nigeria to the United States in 1980 for his father to pursue a pharmacy degree. The family eventually settled in Houston, Texas, where his father was a pharmacist and his mother was a nurse. Okoronkwo’s parents expected him to pursue a career in the medical field and were strict about his academics, to the point that he only began playing football as a sophomore in high school, which he (and his five siblings) hid from his parents until his junior season, as he feared their disapproval. His parents relented upon recognizing his talent and potential for an athletic scholarship.

Okoronkwo attended Alief Taylor High School. A three-star recruit, he committed to the University of Oklahoma to play college football.

College career

Okoronkwo redshirted as a freshman in 2013. He then spent his redshirt freshman and redshirt sophomore seasons in 2014 and 2015 as a reserve linebacker, recording 17 tackles and four sacks in 20 games. He broke out as a junior in 2016, earning Second-team All-Big 12 honors while starting 12 games (missing one due to an injury). He recorded 71 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and two forced fumbles.

As a senior in 2017, he was named the co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and was voted an Associated Press Second-Team All-American, as well as earning First-team All-Big 12) honors. In 2017, he started all 14 games, recording 75 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and two pass breakups.

In his 4-year career at Oklahoma from 2014-2017, Okoronkwo played in 46 games with 26 starts. He recorded 164 career tackles with 34.5 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, five pass breakups, five forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. Okoronkwo graduated from Oklahoma in December 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in African and African-American Studies.