As a proud Nigerian American and Michigan alum who is hoping for Aramide Olanyian to choose Michigan, I thought I would fill the rest of you in on some of the great current NFL and college players of Nigerian descent.  It is interesting that most have ended up on the defensive side of the ball and many are great pass rushers.

I will start with Nigerians on the current UM roster:

1) Obi Ezeh - LB - RS Junior - Undeclared LS&A
2.) Patrick Omameh - OL - RS Freshman - Engineering
3.) Ohene Opong-Owusu - OL - RS Senior - Economics

Nigerians in current ESPN 150 High School Recruiting Rankings:

1.) Owamagbe Odighizuwa - #37 - DE
2.) Aramide Olaniyan - #124 - OLB
3.) George Uko - #131 - DT

Nigerians on Big Ten Rosters:
1.) WISCONSIN (2)
   -Chukwuma Offor-DB
   -Louis Nzegwu-DE
2.) MINNESOTA (2)
   -Damola Ogundipe-RB
   -Derrick Onwuachi-DE
3.) OHIO STATE (1)
   -Chimdi Chekwa-CB
4.) PENN STATE (1)
   -Ollie Ogbu-DT
5.) ILLINOIS (1)
   -Wisdom Onyegbule-DL
6.) NORTHWESTERN (1)
   -David Nwabuisi-LB
7.) PURDUE (1)
   -Nnamdi Ezenwa-LB
8.) INDIANA (NONE)
9.) IOWA (NONE)
10.) MICHIGAN STATE (NONE)

Notable NFL Nigerians (Alma Mater in Parentheses)*:
1.) Osi Umenyiora - DL - New York Giants (Troy)
2.) Nnamdi Asomugha - DB - Oakland Raiders (Cal)
3.) Adewale Ogunleye - DL - Chicago Bears (Indiana)
4.) Amobi Okoye - DL - Houston Texans (Louisville)
5.) Akin Ayodele - ILB - Miami Dolphins (Purdue)
6.) James Ihedigbo - FS - New York Jets (UMASS)
7.) Brendon Ayanbadejo - ILB - Baltimore Ravens (UCLA)
8.) Chinedum Ndukwe - SS - Cincinnati Bengals (Notre Dame)
9.) Frank Okam - DL - Houston Texans (Texas)
10.) Brian Orakpo - DE - Washington Redskins (Texas)
10.) Victor Abiamiri - DE - Philadelphia Eagles (Notre Dame)
11.) Victor Adeyanju - DE - St. Louis Rams (Indiana)
12.) Devin Aromashodu - WR - Chicago Bears (Auburn)
13.) Oshiomogho Atogwe - FS - St. Louis Rams (Stanford)
14.) Remi Ayodele - DT - New Orleans Saints (Oklahoma)
15.) Isaiah Ekejiuba - LB - Oakland Raiders (Virginia)
16.) Israel Idonije - DL - Chicago Bears (Manitoba, Canada)
17.) Ovie Mughelli - FB - Baltimore Ravens (Wake Forest)
18.) Ikechukwu Ndukwe - OT - Kansas City Chiefs (Northwestern)
19.) Chike Okeafor - OLB - Arizona Cardinals (Purdue)
20.) Tony Ugoh - OT - Indianapolis Colts (Arkansas)
21.) Uche Nwaneri - G - Jacksonville Jaguars (Purdue)
22.) Ogemdi Nwagbuo - DT - San Diego Chargers (Michigan State)
23.) Frank Omiyale - G - Chicago Bears (Tennessee Tech)
24.) BJ Raji - DT - Green Bay Packers (Boston College)
25.) Kenny Onatolu - LB - Minnesota Vikings (Nebraska-Omaha)
26.) Kenny Iwebema - DE - Arizona Cardinals (Iowa)
27.) Samkon Gado - RB - St. Louis Rams (Liberty)
28.) Chris Ogbonnaya - RB - St. Louis Rams (Texas)
29.) Ben Obomanu - WR - Seattle Seahawks (Auburn)

*I apologize for the somewhat random order but it was tough to confirm all of these guys although most of the names were pretty obvious for me.

This probably fits under what Peter King from SI calls "Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me" in his weekly Monday Morning QB columns but I was looking it up and thought I would share it with the group.

Start Waving the Nigerian flag for Obi Ezeh in the student section, maybe it will fire him up to improve his play!

GO BLUE!!!!