TCU football safety Michael Onyemaobi to enter the NCAA transfer portal
TCU safety Michael Onyemaobi is entering the NCAA transfer portal after five seasons with the program, he told the Star-Telegram on Saturday.
“What a blast at TCU,” Onyemaobi said. “Forever indebted to this place and I am blessed to be apart of this family forever.”
Onyemaobi said he will have two years of eligibility left with medical redshirt season and the NCAA freezing status for players in 2020 amid the pandemic. He becomes the third Horned Frog player to enter the NCAA transfer portal since the season ended. Onyemaobi joins running back Zach Evans and defensive tackle Earl Barquet as players who intend to play elsewhere in 2022.
Onyemaobi became on of the feel-good story lines for TCU this season, cracking the starting lineup for the West Virginia and Kansas State games. He finished with eight tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass breakup in eight games.
Onyemaobi played in only one game his first four seasons with the program, sustaining a potential career-ending knee injury as a redshirt freshman in the 2018 opener against Southern.
Onyemaobi had a similar injury as former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith. Onyemaobi tore his ACL, but the bigger issue was significant damage to his peroneal nerve that caused a drop foot condition. That drop foot condition took 3 1/2 years to fully recover from.
He discussed his path back to the field during the season, saying: “A ton of rehab, a lot of patience, just kind of waiting for the nerve to actually fire back.
“My knee was always doing well, but my foot just took a little more time. Now I’m there. I’m back 100%. I feel amazing, just excited to get to compete.
“It’s been a long road coming back. Getting back out there and getting my feet wet, having the opportunity to compete again, it’s been a blessing. It’s been awesome.”
Onyemaobi joined TCU as part of its 2017 recruiting class. He was a three-star prospect coming out of Chaparral High School in Temecula, California.
This story was originally published December 11, 2021 at 4:07 PM.
