Obinna Eze is chasing his American dream with TCU football. Why failure isn’t an option
Obinna Eze hasn’t returned to his native Nigeria in six years. He’s been in the United States chasing his dreams of being a professional athlete since the summer of 2015.
That means he’s missed watching his little sister grow up. He’s missed being around his parents. His immediate family missed his wedding in May.
For Eze, though, it’ll be worth it if he reaches the highest level. That’s why he joined TCU as a graduate transfer this offseason, believing he can become the school’s next offensive lineman to make it in the NFL.
“When you come over here, you come here with a drive and a motor to be successful,” Eze said. “Coming here as a Nigerian takes a lot. You give up a lot of things. One of the things that hurts me the most being in America is my little sister is a woman now. I didn’t watch her go through her teenage years. I gave up all of that, so there is no way I’m in America just loafing around.
“I’m here at TCU to take on bigger challenges, you know what I’m saying? To serve in whatever role the team needs me to. Right now, it’s the starting left tackle and I take pride in that. I take great honor in that. I intend to do it to the best of my abilities.”
Eze (whose name is pronounced Oh-BEAN-uh Ezz-ay) spent his first four years in college at Memphis, ending his stint with the Tigers by starting 25 consecutive games at left tackle. He was the Tigers’ left tackle during their run to the American Conference Championship and Cotton Bowl during the 2019 season, and then started all 11 games last season.
Playing for Memphis was great, Eze said, but TCU provides him a higher level of competition every day in practice and on Saturdays in the Big 12.
At TCU, Eze has emerged as the top left tackle since arriving on campus in January. He’s shown leadership traits in his short time with the team and has earned praise from coach Gary Patterson throughout fall camp.
At 6-foot-8, 334 pounds, Eze has the frame and size to become one of the top left tackles in the Big 12. He’s proving himself on a daily basis in practice, too, by going up against some of the best pass rushers in the Big 12 such as Ochaun Mathis, Khari Coleman and Dylan Horton.
“I feel like it’s sharpened me,” Eze said. “Those guys are NFL size and move at NFL speed. There are guys like that in the American Conference, but I would expect the frequency of playing against guys like that in this conference is way higher than it was at Memphis.
“I feel like here in the Big 12, it’s going to be a really good season for me. It’s going to be challenging in the right way for me because I feel like I could go up against guys that have potential to play on Sundays literally every Saturday.”
Coming to America
Eze arrived in Nashville initially to play basketball. He was long and lanky (6-foot-7, 215 pounds) with athletic ability. But he quickly discovered that football would be his best path forward.
Eze crossed paths with Antonio Richardson, a former offensive lineman at the University of Tennessee who had a stint with the Minnesota Vikings before a knee injury ended his playing career. Richardson took Eze under his wing and taught him everything about football.
“I just started to teach him the game,” Richardson said. “We started watching games. I taught him from the interior offensive line positions out to the tackles. What their job is, different alignments, different defensive fronts. From there, we worked on pass protection and run game footwork.
“O is an extremely smart guy and he caught on pretty fast. He came to the States in the summer of 2015 and by 2016 he had offers from everyone.”
Richardson believes it helped that Eze was introduced to the sport in high school. No bad habits were developed during his childhood years and Eze received his first coaching from someone who had played at the highest levels of college and professionally.
Additionally, Eze came up through the ranks in high school. His first year of organized football was on the junior varsity level at Davidson Academy in Nashville in 2015 due to eligibility rules pertaining to exchange students.
Eze then played varsity in 2016, earning all-state honors and becoming one of the top 30 offensive tackle prospects in the 2017 class. In the process, Eze went from 220 pounds when he arrived in the U.S. to 280 pounds when he left for Memphis.
“I started learning football at almost 18. My approach to it wasn’t, ‘Let’s go play middle school football,’” he said. “I’ve always looked at it like a job and a career and that’s fun. I love football. I don’t feel like I’m new to the game. I don’t feel like I’m a veteran. I love football and don’t watch anything on TV when football is on. That’s all I do. I enjoy watching it. I enjoy reading about it. I enjoy studying it. I enjoy doing it.”
His football journey has now landed him in Fort Worth. Those closest to him couldn’t be happier.
“It really warms my heart to see how O came to America and took advantage of every opportunity put in front of him,” Richardson said. “He’s been diligent and consistent. He’s tall. He’s long. He’s athletic. I think the best is yet to come when it comes to his football career. He’s going to do really good things at TCU.”
Immediate impact
TCU had the best running game in the Big 12 last season. The Frogs had one of the worst passing games.
Part of the problem was quarterback Max Duggan being under pressure consistently. The Frogs allowed 2.30 sacks per game last season, which ranked 71st in the country and in the bottom half of the Big 12.
The hope is Eze solidifies the left tackle spot and the entire offensive line comes together. Patterson has mentioned Steve Avila as being one of the top centers in the country, and the Frogs have strong guards in Wes Harris and John Lanz. Andrew Coker is now an experienced right tackle after starting eight games last season.
Eze believes the offense has a chance to become elite behind the O-line, Duggan and playmakers ranging from receiver Quentin Johnston to running backs Zach Evans and Kendre Miller.
Asked about the offense’s ceiling, Eze said: “Really special. Like really, really special. I don’t think the people outside know yet but, man, this team is loaded.
“TCU has a reputation of being a defensive school and I understand how so. But with all due respect to Coach P, I wouldn’t say that TCU right now is a defensive school. It’s a tug-of-war right now. Our offense is pretty loaded. If we play to the level of the talent and just to the capacity that we’re capable of, there’s really no limit to what we can do this season.”
Eze sees no limit to what he’ll be able to accomplish personally, either. He has the opportunity to establish himself as a legitimate NFL prospect.
He’d like to play with more consistency and shed the label of being a newbie to the game. After all, this is his fifth year of college football and it’s now at the Power Five level.
Most expect Eze to pursue a professional career after this season but he’s listed as a junior on TCU’s website. With the COVID-19 pandemic freezing eligibility last year, there’s a chance he could play two seasons with the Frogs.
“When it comes to leaving or going, I think that the game of football lets you know where you are and what you need to do next,” Eze said. “I don’t know if that’s weird to say, but I felt the game needed me to develop some more. So at the end of this season, I’ll listen to my coaches and my family and go from there. I like to be flexible in the way that I plan my life.
“Like Coach P always says, it’s the process. A lot of people focus on, ‘This is what I’m going to do at the end.’ But if I do what I am supposed to do and I play at the level I’m supposed to, the sky’s the limit for what I can do. Until then, I’m just focused on the process.”
