King/Drew senior Chinedu Onyeagoro has helped the Golden Eagles football team have a 5-3 overall record and a 3-0 Coliseum League record. However, there was a time where he was reluctant to play the sport.
“I started off as a basketball player and coach [Joe] Torres had came one time, seen me on the basketball court,” Onyeagoro said. “He tried to get me to play, but I didn’t want to at first … I went out there, tried it for a little bit and actually had fun.”
Playing basketball gave him the footwork and speed needed to get past linemen and sack quarterbacks. Working in the weight room gives him an edge when it comes to physicality on the hardwood.
Onyeagoro was able to break records on defense as a sophomore on the football team. During his junior year, he struggled in mirroring or superseding that level of success.
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“I started playing football sophomore year. My first year, I had a great year, 19 sacks, beat Kayvon Thibodeaux’s record,” Onyeagoro said. “The second year, they started really paying attention to me. Teams started doubling, sending triple teams my way. I had to figure out a way to overcome that.”
Onyeagoro learned how to be a leader of a team as a freshman.
“I was thrusted into a starting position freshman year, I was one of the leading scorers, one of the best players on that team,” he said. “Being put in this position where my brothers trust me in the football field, they trust me to do my job and to lead.”
Being a student athlete means understanding the impact of taking academics seriously, according to Onyeagoro. His parents consistently tell him the importance of getting good grades.
“It’s always important for you to have that education because your education will never leave you,” Onyeagoro said. “Football is going to end one day, basketball ends one day but that education and the world of opportunity from education will never leave you.”
His favorite class is physiology. Onyeagoro is a member of the careers program at King/Drew which allows him to explore the medical field.
“We go over to the hospital and volunteer and learn from different areas on how to do certain things,” Onyeagoro said.
Key motivators for Onyeagoro are his coaches, teammates, and players. His family is from Nigeria, he aspires to improve the lives of Nigerians.
“My family, I want to help them get out, I want to help them to have a better situation for themselves,” Onyeagoro said. “Every time I get on that field, every time I’m working out, that’s what’s always on my mind.”
