Daily article on Timi Oke

[NUCat320]

Good read on a truly unique path to NU.

Timi Oke’s journey from South London to Northwestern football

Under the Loughborough University floodlights, with unforgiving winter winds whipping across the English countryside, no coaches or scouts had traversed the NFL Academy’s manicured training grounds. Before the sun began its ascent, 6-foot-1 defensive back Timi Oke found his usual spot on the...

dailynorthwestern.com

 

[loyolacat]

Should we give the NFL a high five on this one for their London games , increasing awareness across the pond? We took some one off the pitch.

 

[KramerCat91]

Did we get a backup to a kicker/punter backup or a trick play option?

 

[Hungry Jack]

Did they tell him about the car wash?

 

[cattul]

I’m really going to be rooting for him to succeed. It takes a lot of guts to not just study abroad, but to do so while playing a sport relatively new to him at such a high level. Very impressive guy. I hope he finds a home away from home in Evanston.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

We all know there's going to be an Okee Dokee or two per game.

I'm just not sure if its a pass breakup or a bone-jarring hit.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I wonder who his favorite Premier League team is.

Sounds like he ran a laser-timed 4.38. Probably makes him the fastest guy on the team.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Did they tell him about the car wash?

Seriously?

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I wonder who his favorite Premier League team is.

Sounds like he ran a laser-timed 4.38. Probably makes him the fastest guy on the team.

Nowhere does it say his 4.3 40 was laser-timed and I would be pretty surprised if a camp at Mercer had legit laser timing.

He’s a good athlete that shows twitch and length on tape, but let’s not get out over our skis.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

I wonder who his favorite Premier League team is.

Sounds like he ran a laser-timed 4.38. Probably makes him the fastest guy on the team.

So he’s faster than Tyus?

 

[EvanstonCat]

Good read on a truly unique path to NU.

Timi Oke’s journey from South London to Northwestern football

Under the Loughborough University floodlights, with unforgiving winter winds whipping across the English countryside, no coaches or scouts had traversed the NFL Academy’s manicured training grounds. Before the sun began its ascent, 6-foot-1 defensive back Timi Oke found his usual spot on the...

dailynorthwestern.com

This story is a bit over the top. I mean I really like Oke as a recruit, especially when it comes to diamonds in the rough - and I hope he ends up being Prime Time good.

But, we are supposed to believe that this all happened because his mom determined when he was 18 that he didn’t have the measure of greatness that Ronaldo or Messi had for soccer, but that American Football, a sport that the kid never touched, would be the better fit and was where he did have promise? And in one year, he fulfilled his mom‘s prophetic views?

Again, I hope he ends up better than any CB we’ve ever had, but this was a bit too much to stomach.

 

[NJCat]

This story is a bit over the top. I mean I really like Oke as a recruit, especially when it comes to diamonds in the rough - and I hope he ends up being Prime Time good.

But, we are supposed to believe that this all happened because his mom determined when he was 18 that he didn’t have the measure of greatness that Ronaldo or Messi had for soccer, but that American Football, a sport that the kid never touched, would be the better fit and was where he did have promise? And in one year, he fulfilled his mom‘s prophetic views?

Again, I hope he ends up better than any CB we’ve ever had, but this was a bit too much to stomach.

English football is a meat grinder. Kids enter Academy football even before they are in their teens, hoping to play professionally. There is no path to professional football through Universities. There are 7 levels of football, from the English Premier League down though the National leagues. Players in the EPL make life-changing salaries, but the majority of players make little and have nothing to fall back on when their careers end, typically in their late 20's. So Timi's mother's calculus could have been, Timi is a good athlete but nowhere near the top 2 or 3 levels of English football. Therefore, it would be better for him to go to the States and get a free University education than wind up playing low level football for a few years in England. The upside to the US Football route was far greater than the likely upside in the UK, and if as many Nigerians do she valued education then the choice is obvious. She and Timi won the lottery by getting a scholarship at NU.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

This story is a bit over the top. I mean I really like Oke as a recruit, especially when it comes to diamonds in the rough - and I hope he ends up being Prime Time good.

But, we are supposed to believe that this all happened because his mom determined when he was 18 that he didn’t have the measure of greatness that Ronaldo or Messi had for soccer, but that American Football, a sport that the kid never touched, would be the better fit and was where he did have promise? And in one year, he fulfilled his mom‘s prophetic views?

Again, I hope he ends up better than any CB we’ve ever had, but this was a bit too much to stomach.

Actually wouldn’t surprise me at all if his mom encouraged a switch based on a dream or premonition. Very “on brand” in Nigerian culture.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Nowhere does it say his 4.3 40 was laser-timed and I would be pretty surprised if a camp at Mercer had legit laser timing.

He’s a good athlete that shows twitch and length on tape, but let’s not get out over our skis.

Article says “verified” which I interpreted as laser. Maybe two guys with stopwatches showed the same time, or that hourglass is finely tuned.