Sam Acho is lucky enough to have one brother on the Texas football team. But with the tight bond the players of Nigerian descent on the team have, it’s like he has three.
Acho, his brother Emmanuel, senior running back Chris Ogbonnaya, senior defensive end Brian Orakpo and junior safety Ishie Oduegwu all share a common thread as children of Nigerian immigrants.
“We have a strong bond; it’s one of those things that happens when you have the same background as someone else,” Acho said. “It’s great that all of us can be on the same team and play together.”
The group hangs out a lot, and one of their favorite activities to do together is make fun of their parents’ accents.
“Chris is the best at it,” Orakpo said. “But we all do it.”
There’s not too much joking around, though. The common theme for the players on and off the football field is hard work.
Sam Acho came into Texas three hours shy of being classified as a sophomore and is in the prestigious Business Honors program. Ogbonnaya graduated with a history degree and is now getting a second degree in communications.
They’re not too shabby on the football field, either. Starter Orakpo has three sacks so far this season, and fellow defensive end Sam Acho has a forced fumble. Ogbonnaya won the award for this week’s play of the game after catching a 46-yard touchdown pass off the wheel route.
It’s no secret to where that work ethic came from. Just look at their parents.
Acho’s father, Sonny, is a psychologist and minister. His mother, Chrissie, is a registered nurse. Ogbonnaya’s father, Kalu, is a doctor.
Orakpo, a future NFL draft pick, said his parents came from Nigeria with nothing. They worked their way through school at Texas Southern University, and his mom now owns a rehabilitation center and his dad is a car dealer.
“I know where I come from, and I’m a harder worker and a better
person because of it,” Orakpo said. “My parents had to work for everything they have.”
The Acho brothers, Orakpo and Ogbonnaya have all made trips to Nigeria. What they saw there was astounding.
“It’s like a Third World country,” Orakpo said. “There were dirt roads, a lot of places don’t have electricity, and there are some people out there that are all on their own. It puts things into perspective”
Acho was the most recent one to go. He went in 2005 as a part of his father’s mission, Living Hope Christian Ministries. Acho helped give out medicine and supplies to impoverished Nigerians as a part of the ministry for three years in a row.
“It was a real eye-opening experience for me,” Acho said. “I was glad to make a difference and hope to do it again in the future.”
Ogbonnaya hasn’t been since 1999, but he would like to return.
“I’ve been so busy with football that I haven’t had a chance, but I’ve been talking with my father and would like to go after this year,” he said. The players have shared their culture and experiences with the rest of the team.
“I have never had as many Nigerian players on a team as I do now,” said cornerback Ryan Palmer. “It’s been nice to get exposed to their background. [Chris] will get mad and starting talking Nigerian to you like his dad does. It’s funny.”
But having so many players of Nigerian descent may have an even bigger influence on Texas football. Their presence on the team is an added bonus to recruits from a similar Nigerian upbringing.
Orakpo said he’s talked with Alex Okafor, a 2009 commitment to play football at Texas. Okafor, a 6-foot-4-inch defensive end, is similar to Orakpo in more than just stature — they both were brought up in a Nigerian family.
“We connected pretty easily because all Nigerian people are pretty much the same in their background and what they value,” Orakpo said. “He made his decision to come here on his own, but I’m sure having all of us here may have helped.”
With Okafor coming in after Ogbonnaya and Orakpo leave, it shows UT could be establishing a trend.
It will be like one more added to the family.
“They definitely have their thing together,” Brown said. “Obviously they’ve been in situations with their family where they’ve had to rely on each other more.”
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