‘My money is on me.’ TCU’s Obinna Eze betting on himself as he preps for NFL Draft
Obinna Eze isn’t overly concerned about where he stacks up in this year’s NFL Draft class. Most experts project the former TCU left tackle as a mid- to late-round prospect, a player viewed as a project with upside down the road.
But Eze doesn’t view himself as that much of a gamble for an organization at the next level. He’s started the last 37 games at left tackle — the 2019-20 seasons at Memphis and the 2021 season at TCU — and feels he’ll acclimate to the professional game as well as anyone else in this year’s class.
“My money is on me,” Eze said last week at TCU’s Pro Day, which had 28 of 32 NFL teams in attendance.
“I don’t know who’s out there, but my money is on me. I bet all my money on myself. I bet everything on myself. I’ve been through a lot in my life.
“I’ve had less time to learn this game. I’ve had less time to get where they are, you know what I’m saying? So I’m very proud of who I am and what I’ve done. My money is on me.”
Eze (whose name is pronounced Oh-BEAN-uh Ezz-ay) came to the United States from Nigeria in the summer of 2015 to pursue his dreams of being a professional athlete. He initially thought he’d become a basketball star, playing in March Madness and the NBA one day, but he quickly realized his best opportunity was as a football player.
At 6-foot-6 1/2 inches, 321 pounds and with 36 1/8-inch long arms, Eze has the build and rare arm length that teams covet in an offensive tackle. And he has enough film to intrigue teams of his potential.
The question is simply if Eze’s technique can improve enough to play at the NFL level. One positive is that there shouldn’t be any questions about his passion for the game.
“Football wasn’t the original plan coming to America, but I found something beautiful that I really loved,” Eze said. “Every day that I’m here and doing this, it’s just knowing that the decision I made in high school that I loved football and football was going to be it for me. It’s just good to know that I chose right.”
Eze is coming off a 2021 season in which he started all 12 games at left tackle for the Horned Frogs. TCU, despite a disappointing season, had a solid offensive season, ranking third in the Big 12 in total offense. The Frogs had the third-best rushing attack and the fifth-best passing attack in the league.
Eze played a significant role in that success, of course, as the team’s left tackle. He has no regrets about his decision to join TCU, recalling fond memories of playing for former coach Gary Patterson and former offensive line coach Jarrett Anderson.
“TCU was rich in culture with coach Patterson,” Eze said. “I just wanted to be a part of that community. And Jarrett Anderson was one of the best O-line coaches in the country. He really, really helped me. Absolutely my development went to a whole other level when I came here.”
Now it’s on to developing at the NFL level.
Eze was TCU’s lone representative at the NFL Scouting Combine last month. He clocked a 5.17-second 40-yard dash, bench pressed the 225-pound bar 18 times and had a 27.5-inch vertical jump.
At TCU’s Pro Day, Eze sat on his Combine testing numbers but went through some positional drills for teams on the field.
“Football is a production-based industry,” Eze said. “You just want to stamp it as many times as possible that this is what you can do and this is how good you can play football. That’s what I did at the Combine and I’m building off of it here at the Pro Day.”
The 2022 NFL Draft is set for April 28-30 in Las Vegas.
