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Teams are looking for potential where they can find it. In 2018, the Eagles took Jordan Mailata, an Australian rugby player who too had no football experience and already is one of the top tackles in the NFL, recently earning a nice contract extension from Philadelphia.
But Ndubuisi was thrilled when the New York Giants recently signed fellow Nigerian Roy Mbaeteka, who is 6-9 and like Ndubuisi has no formal football experience.
“I realized there are so many incredible athletes over there – I’m talking a hundred times better than I was as an athlete,” Umenyiora told Giants.com when Mbaeteka signed. “And they have no chance of bettering their lives, no chance to actually do something constructive with their lives because of the situation over there.
“In America and in the West, you have opportunities for these guys to do something with all the incredible talent that they have. I recognized that and I decided I was going to start a program to help get these guys opportunities in America.”
Like many kids in Nigeria, Ndubuisi began playing soccer. His height got him into basketball, when he found himself in Lagos at a all-star game run by former NBA player Ejike Ugboajai. Ugboajai suggested Ndubuisi try to play American football.
His background is far from organized. He practiced with other Nigerians trying to play the sport, but there was no coach. Training tips and how to play came from YouTube videos.
But Ndubuisi became convinced he had found the right sport.
“This is more me,” he said with a smile. “The aggressiveness and the toughness, I feel that’s what I was meant for.”
Ndubuisi is a project. His time with Bentley helps, even if he’s likely got work to do to even reach raw. But Ndubuisi will do that work, knowing what it took to get here — when he was first told the Cardinals wanted to sign him, his response was, “For real?” — and what his accomplishments mean in Nigeria.
“It means life,” Ndubuisi said. “It means a dream come true. It means hope, from where I am coming from.”
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