Amobi Okoye didn’t grow up dreaming of the NFL.
In fact, when he moved to the U.S. from Nigeria at age 12, he didn’t even know what football was.
“I saw it maybe once or twice on TV and just thought, ‘Why are they hitting each other like that?’” he said.
But just a few years later, at age 19, Okoye became the youngest first-round draft pick in NFL history. Born in Anambra State, Nigeria and part of the Igbo ethnic group, Okoye arrived in Huntsville, Alabama, with his family in the late ’90s.
Like many immigrant kids, he was adjusting to a new world. What set him apart wasn’t just his intelligence; it was the speed with which he adapted. After just two weeks in middle school, he tested into ninth grade.
But at that point, he had never played American football. That changed in high school thanks to a coach who spotted Okoye and suggested he try out.
“He looked at me and said, ‘You should come out for football,’” Okoye recalled.
A close friend, already on the team, encouraged the challenge. Okoye was in.
He had no idea how the game actually worked.
“They told me to go play Madden to learn,” he laughed. “I was literally learning football from a video game.”
Okoye was trying to get in shape. He had joined JROTC, but didn’t enjoy it. He enrolled in track and field and leaned on his soccer background to build stamina. Slowly, the athlete in him took over.
“I was getting a little obese eating American food,” he said. “So I got serious.”
Okoye earned All-State honors by his senior year as a defensive and offensive tackle and had offers from top-tier colleges.
In his household, education was non-negotiable.
“It was always, ‘education, education, education,’” he said. “My dad was excited when Harvard showed interest. But I was thinking about football. Louisville had the better program. That’s where I went.”
He enrolled as a 15-year-old biology major, later switched to psychology and graduated in just three and a half years. At 16, he became the youngest player in NCAA Division I football. He entered the NFL Draft when he was 19.
His mother, Edna Okoye, remembers being caught completely off guard by her son’s interest in the sport.
“No! We didn’t know anything about football. We only saw it once in a movie, and we didn’t even understand what it was,” she told the Defender. “He always said he wanted to be a doctor, even a pastor at one point. Football? That wasn’t in the picture.”
Okoye was selected 10th overall by the Houston Texans in the 2007 NFL Draft. But even with his rising profile, he didn’t expect to land in Houston.
The moment was surreal for the Okoye family.
“I didn’t even understand what the draft was,” Edna admitted. “People kept asking me questions and calling me, and I didn’t know why. When I realized he got picked, we were happy and thanked God.”
“The Texans interviewed me at the combine, but they didn’t show any extra interest,” he recalled. “So when they called my name, it was shocking, but perfect.”
The choice hit especially close to home for his family.
“My dad was the most hyped. When he left Nigeria to come to the U.S., Houston was on the top of his list,” Okoye said. “So when I got drafted, he said, ‘I’m going back home.’”
Houston embraced him. The diversity, energy and connection to African culture all clicked.
“This city has a huge African population,” he said. “The love for their hometown teams is real. Win, lose, or draw, fans here still show up.”
Okoye settled in Katy and has stayed in the Houston area ever since.
The medical battle that changed everything
In 2013, at just 27, Okoye suffered a seizure in his office, his first warning sign of a rare and devastating condition called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a form of autoimmune encephalitis that causes the body to attack its brain receptors.
Within five months, certain parts of his memory disappeared.
“I thought it was still March 15th, the day of my first seizure, when I woke up in August,” Okoye said. “I couldn’t remember anything.”
Doctors placed him in a medically induced coma to control recurring seizures. He became the first NFL player diagnosed with the condition and one of the first adult male athletes to publicly survive it. The illness gained more awareness through the book and Netflix film Brain on Fire, which chronicles a similar case.
“I lost all sense of time,” he said. “It’s a very rare illness. They diagnosed it with a spinal tap and finally got me the treatment I needed.”
Recovery was slow, brutal and uncertain. He stayed in intensive care for 12 weeks, lost weight and mobility in his body, but Okoye was determined to return to football. So, he retrained his body one step at a time.
After stints with the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. Though he was cleared to play, his body hadn’t fully recovered.
“I gave everything to make it back,” he said. “But it wasn’t going to happen.”
His NFL career was over at the age of 29.
Life after football
There was no roadmap for what came next.
“I had to figure it out,” Okoye said. “But I already had other things going, such as my foundation, a marketing company and farming in Nigeria. I just kept building from there.”
“From the time he got drafted, he was thinking about what he could do for youth,” Edna said. “He’s always been selfless like that. He’s doing it here in Houston, and he’s doing it in Nigeria too. I just pray God continues to give him the strength to keep going.”
The Amobi Okoye Foundation became his focus. Its programs serve youth across Houston and beyond, offering football camps, book readings, motivational movie nights, school visits and food distribution events. He collaborates regularly with the Texans’ community outreach team.
“Young athletes and their parents often think talent is enough. But it’s more than that,” Okoye said. “You’ve got to go all-in. Do every part of it. School, discipline, nutrition, mindset. And even then, prepare for life after the game.”
Okoye no longer wears a jersey, but his work is far from over.
“This city has given me so much. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I give back.”
