A wave of foreign-developed NFL talent may actually be beginning

[BADOLBILZ]

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37668211/emmanuel-okoye-goes-nigeria-nfl-academy-vols-commit

 

There have been a lot of players coming from Africa and taking up football in the states...........but Osi Umeniyora is heavily involved in getting young players in development in Africa during their HS age years.    This kid Emmanuel Okoye is committing to an SEC school right out of the program.    This is significant, IMO.   As participation in football is declining at the youth level here in the US the NFL needs to start finding new pipelines so we don't start having drafts like the last one on the regular.    Hard to imagine an NBA without Giannis and Luka and Embiid.  

[PrimeTime101]

2 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37668211/emmanuel-okoye-goes-nigeria-nfl-academy-vols-commit

 

There have been a lot of players coming from Africa and taking up football in the states...........but Osi Umeniyora is heavily involved in getting young players in development in Africa during their HS age years.    This kid Emmanuel Okoye is committing to an SEC school right out of the program.    This is significant, IMO.   As participation in football is declining at the youth level here in the US the NFL needs to start finding new pipelines so we don't start having drafts like the last one on the regular.    Hard to imagine an NBA without Giannis and Luka and Embiid.  

They still need more "American football" programs for it to become a real thing.

[SCBills]

Would definitely be interesting.  

 

The best players in the NBA are now foreign born.. Jokic, Luka, Giannis, Embiid.  

 

San Antonio is walking on cloud nine today because they just got the best prospect since Lebron by winning the Draft Lottery.  French born Victor Wembanyama

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by SCBills

[PromoTheRobot]

Same is true of hockey. Once youth programs started in Arizona and SoCal, kids from those programs are getting drafted into the NHL.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

I don't care how much Arsch you people kiss, we're not getting Christian Wade back.

[Big Turk]

3 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37668211/emmanuel-okoye-goes-nigeria-nfl-academy-vols-commit

 

There have been a lot of players coming from Africa and taking up football in the states...........but Osi Umeniyora is heavily involved in getting young players in development in Africa during their HS age years.    This kid Emmanuel Okoye is committing to an SEC school right out of the program.    This is significant, IMO.   As participation in football is declining at the youth level here in the US the NFL needs to start finding new pipelines so we don't start having drafts like the last one on the regular.    Hard to imagine an NBA without Giannis and Luka and Embiid.  

 

Is he related to ex Chiefs RB Christian Okoye?

 

Nigerian Nightmare Part II?

Edited May 17, 2023 by Big Turk

[KDIGGZ]

If any of you have ever traveled abroad it's incredibly interesting how most people have no idea what the NFL is. It's so big here that it seems unfathomable that people don't even know what it is. They have heard of "American" football but don't know teams or players and are shocked at how much these guys make.

 

I think football is slowly dying at the youth level here in the US. A good injection of foreign talent might be needed for it to survive future generations 

[MrEpsYtown]

Football is dying because youth coaches are typically idiots trying to emulate their old HS coaches. They are usually volunteers who don't take the time to learn new techniques and teach the garbage they learned in their wing t high school systems 20 years ago...the old chicken wing and bite the ball techniques. There is so much safe, amazing training out there like Tip of the Spear and the Seahawks tacking stuff that takes the head out of the game, but it is expensive and takes time to learn. It's tricky to ask unpaid volunteers to put the time in. We have to educate our youth coaches in order for this thing to succeed, we need to hit this at the roots. 

 

The other issue is minimum play counts and parents playing their kids at positions they aren't suited for. This alienates the other kids and they quit. It's the classic "my son is fat and slow and should play guard, but I'm the coach so he's our tight end." Daddy ball.  

Edited May 17, 2023 by MrEpsYtown

[wppete]

There are dozens of Canadian players in the NFL and tons in power 5 schools. 

[BADOLBILZ]

3 hours ago, PrimeTime101 said:

They still need more "American football" programs for it to become a real thing.

 

 

Yeah to develop skill players you need more actual football to be played.    Not a coincidence that most of the talent coming from abroad are lineman.     The league has many foreign born DL and OL.   If you are big and REALLY athletic like a Jordan Mailata.......or like this Okoye kid is with his 45" vertical........you can transition into major college with a pretty short runway.     Becoming a QB or receiver is something entirely different.    Those guys are playing flag football all year round from an early age in addition to their real ball schedule.    Might be a decade or longer away before we see a real "foreign" starting level QB.

[wppete]

Firts round draft pick George Karlaftis born and raised in Greece 🇬🇷. Is he the highest Foreign player to be drafted other than a Canadian? Great player, hate the Chiefs though. 
 

Edited May 17, 2023 by wppete

[Mr. WEO]

4 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37668211/emmanuel-okoye-goes-nigeria-nfl-academy-vols-commit

 

There have been a lot of players coming from Africa and taking up football in the states...........but Osi Umeniyora is heavily involved in getting young players in development in Africa during their HS age years.    This kid Emmanuel Okoye is committing to an SEC school right out of the program.    This is significant, IMO.   As participation in football is declining at the youth level here in the US the NFL needs to start finding new pipelines so we don't start having drafts like the last one on the regular.    Hard to imagine an NBA without Giannis and Luka and Embiid.  

 

 

The best young athletes will still play.  That will never change.

[HappyDays]

On young people not choosing football as much, two Bills draft picks from this year alone - Kincaid and Shorter - mentioned in interviews that their mothers forbid them from playing football when they were young, so they were late entrants to the sport. So that is certainly much more common these days. I don't know what the solution is.

[17islongenough]

So we should bring back Christian Wade?

[BruceVilanch]

4 hours ago, SCBills said:

Would definitely be interesting.  

 

The best players in the NBA are now foreign born.. Jokic, Luka, Giannis, Embiid.  

 

San Antonio is walking on cloud nine today because they just got the best prospect since Lebron by winning the Draft Lottery.  French born Victor Wembanyama

 

The blazers lost that lottery in the must Portland way possible.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

Could see a lot of these guys going to the USFL and XSL as well if those leagues can stay afloat. It would be a good place for them to better their skills before hopefully eventually entering the NFL.

[Dick_Cheney]

4 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Same is true of hockey. Once youth programs started in Arizona and SoCal, kids from those programs are getting drafted into the NHL.

I hope so. I'm in my 30s now, and I grew up in a warm weather area. If ice hockey had been available for me to play as a kid, I would have been all over it. Not exactly an apples to apple comparison, but it's been great to see hockey in the states growing.

 

As for this thread, I'm not so sure. I dunno what "drafts like the last one" is referring to either. It makes sense to find a rare talent overseas every now and again, if not for any reason other than it's easier than ever to scout kids. There's nothing that even begins to come close to what the NCAA provides.

 

The overhead for starting organized American football in developing nations is colossal. That's why soccer and basketball reign supreme. I don't think that's going to change within our lifetimes. On a similar note, even with the 'decline' of youth football in America, the pipeline is still absolutely loaded. We're talking millions of kids still playing and who will continue to play until the sun explodes. I recognize that the game is deeply problematic in a lot of ways, but I honestly don't think enough people care for it to make any significant impact on the quality of the game at the professional level. At least not for 50 years or so.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Dick_Cheney

[Bill from NYC]

This kid came to the USA from Finland in 2021. I'm have no idea how he will work out in Tuscaloosa but he looks mean and nasty in this and other videos. Saban seemed to recruit big, mean offensive linemen this season and i love it.

 

 

[Mikie2times]

It's hard not to wonder what the game would look like if the world took it as seriously as we did. So many exceptional athletes exist that will never touch a football.  

[The Firebaugh Kid]

People actually watch the NBA? 

[wppete]

1 minute ago, The Firebaugh Kid said:

People actually watch the NBA? 

Yea I don’t get it. NBA is the biggest joke in sports. 

[BADOLBILZ]

2 hours ago, wppete said:

Firts round draft pick George Karlaftis born and raised in Greece 🇬🇷. Is he the highest Foreign player to be drafted other than a Canadian? Great player, hate the Chiefs though. 
 

 

 

I really don't know who is the highest drafted foreign born and raised player but my first guess would be Ziggy Ansah #5 overall to Detroit.

 

[wppete]

3 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

I really don't know who is the highest drafted foreign born and raised player but my first guess would be Ziggy Ansah #5 overall to Detroit.

 

Wow I didn’t know he went #5 overall. Great athlete had a lot of potential but injuries hurt him. That’s too bad. I remember when we were going after him in Free Agency a few years ago. 

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

Between China and India…there are more the 2 billion people, you would think we could find a right tackle there somewhere.

[ganesh]

8 minutes ago, ControllerOfPlanetX said:

Between China and India…there are more the 2 billion people, you would think we could find a right tackle there somewhere.

more close to 3B

[Aussie Joe]

18 minutes ago, ControllerOfPlanetX said:

Between China and India…there are more the 2 billion people, you would think we could find a right tackle there somewhere.

 

There are a lot of people of Chinese and Indian descent already in the US… many of their kids playing Football? 

[BBFL]

1 hour ago, Aussie Joe said:

 

There are a lot of people of Chinese and Indian descent already in the US… many of their kids playing Football? 

 

2 hours ago, ControllerOfPlanetX said:

Between China and India…there are more the 2 billion people, you would think we could find a right tackle there somewhere.

Ed Wang… 🥴

[hondo in seattle]

Here's a business idea...  Somebody should open special teams academies in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.

 

It would be difficult to teach a kid from a third world to be a good QB, DB, etc. in a place where organized football doesn't exist or does exist but at some primitive level.  

 

But you could take the right athlete and train him to be a good enough kicker or punter (or long snapper) that he'd win a scholarship at an American university and then maybe later pursue a professional career.    

[Beast]

On 5/17/2023 at 2:49 PM, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

The best young athletes will still play.  That will never change.

Yep.

We may see more non-contact youth leagues popping up but that may not even be a bad thing for development.

[T master]

The pipeline t the NFL has been open for a long time many players like Star L. & different players from Nigeria have been coming to the NFL for years the first i remember is the Nigerian Nightmare for the Chiefs so this is nothing new .

[Mynamemike]

On 5/17/2023 at 10:31 AM, BADOLBILZ said:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37668211/emmanuel-okoye-goes-nigeria-nfl-academy-vols-commit

 

There have been a lot of players coming from Africa and taking up football in the states...........but Osi Umeniyora is heavily involved in getting young players in development in Africa during their HS age years.    This kid Emmanuel Okoye is committing to an SEC school right out of the program.    This is significant, IMO.   As participation in football is declining at the youth level here in the US the NFL needs to start finding new pipelines so we don't start having drafts like the last one on the regular.    Hard to imagine an NBA without Giannis and Luka and Embiid.  

Good article.  I saw somewhere that for the first time that youth football in the states has less than a million kids playing total.  That number used to be close to triple that.  I don’t have kids but I’d have a hard time letting them play any earlier than high school level even though I played myself.

 

 I feel the game is much safer than when I played but knowing how fragile the brain is it’s tough to justify young kids playing tackle football.  I know a lot more flag football and 7 on 7 clubs are becoming more popular but I do feel the overall quality of the game will drop especially when it comes to offensive line play and tackling. 

 

Finding new pipelines will be crucial especially with how much the league wants to expand overseas

[C.Biscuit97]

On 5/17/2023 at 10:38 AM, PromoTheRobot said:

Same is true of hockey. Once youth programs started in Arizona and SoCal, kids from those programs are getting drafted into the NHL.

Growing up playing both sports, the biggest obstacle with hockey is money. It’s really expensive. Football is such a unique sport because it takes so many different type of athletes to play it. I also think the physical part of it will be a major wake up call to non rugby countries. I love football but Oklahoma drills in hot august is a form of torture. 
 

 

Just now, Mynamemike said:

Good article.  I saw somewhere that for the first time that youth football in the states has less than a million kids playing total.  That number used to be close to triple that.  I don’t have kids but I’d have a hard time letting them play any earlier than high school level even though I played myself.

 

 I feel the game is much safer than when I played but knowing how fragile the brain is it’s tough to justify young kids playing tackle football.  I know a lot more flag football and 7 on 7 clubs are becoming more popular but I do feel the overall quality of the game will drop especially when it comes to offensive line play and tackling. 

 

Finding new pipelines will be crucial especially with how much the league wants to expand overseas

Let’s be honest. We have a generation (I’m becoming a grumpy old man!) of soft, entitled wussies (wanted to use another word).  To become great at football, it is an absolute grind. More than any other sport, the mindset of a football is so different. You can’t fake it as much as you can in other sports.

[Mynamemike]

2 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Growing up playing both sports, the biggest obstacle with hockey is money. It’s really expensive. Football is such a unique sport because it takes so many different type of athletes to play it. I also think the physical part of it will be a major wake up call to non rugby countries. I love football but Oklahoma drills in hot august is a form of torture. 
 

 

Let’s be honest. We have a generation (I’m becoming a grumpy old man!) of soft, entitled wussies (wanted to use another word).  To become great at football, it is an absolute grind. More than any other sport, the mindset of a football is so different. You can’t fake it as much as you can in other sports.

I agree the kids are softer these days but honestly I put a lot of that on parents more so than the kids.  I think young boys in particular don’t have much concern for their own physical well-being growing up.
 

Again I don’t have kids of my own so it’s just my opinion from the outside looking in.  I know my friends coddle their kids so much so the kids are a reflection of that imo.   

[C.Biscuit97]

1 minute ago, Mynamemike said:

I agree the kids are softer these days but honestly I put a lot of that on parents more so than the kids.  I think young boys in particular don’t have much concern for their own physical well-being growing up.
 

Again I don’t have kids of my own so it’s just my opinion from the outside looking in.  I know my friends coddle their kids so much so the kids are a reflection of that imo.   

Good point. And I agree with you. Football has never been safer. I remember seeing stars and my coach being like, you just got your bell rung, you’re fine haha. 

[Mynamemike]

4 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Good point. And I agree with you. Football has never been safer. I remember seeing stars and my coach being like, you just got your bell rung, you’re fine haha. 

Lol ain’t that the truth.  It’s kinda wild looking back at those days.  Good times but I’m sure there was some damage done.

[Dan Darragh]

Need some big sumo guy weighing around 500lbs to come play defensive line for the Bills.

 

Come to think of it, put him on skates and let him play goalie.

[John from Riverside]

We’ve got some talents sitting right on our team that is being highly underutilized
 

Kingsley Jonathan give him more burn

[Rocky Landing]

On 5/17/2023 at 12:00 PM, HappyDays said:

On young people not choosing football as much, two Bills draft picks from this year alone - Kincaid and Shorter - mentioned in interviews that their mothers forbid them from playing football when they were young, so they were late entrants to the sport. So that is certainly much more common these days. I don't know what the solution is.

Youth flag football (pre-high school) has actually exploded in the last couple years. The NFL (along with their Play 60 program) has actually been doing a great job with this. Hopefully it translated to high school football programs.

[Poleshifter]

On 5/17/2023 at 12:03 PM, 17islongenough said:

So we should bring back Christian Wade?

Somewhere in all the Christian Wade analysis way back when, it was revealed that he needed to have all of his blockers behind him. They could not be in front of him, according to rugby rules.

 

That makes for a very difficult transition from rugby to football, at least for an offense player.

 

[JerseyBills]

On 5/17/2023 at 10:35 AM, SCBills said:

Would definitely be interesting.  

 

The best players in the NBA are now foreign born.. Jokic, Luka, Giannis, Embiid.  

 

San Antonio is walking on cloud nine today because they just got the best prospect since Lebron by winning the Draft Lottery.  French born Victor Wembanyama

 

Only concern I have with him is injuries.  The last big time hype player was Zion and look where he's at 4 years later

 

Thank God Allen and Diggs have avoided major injuries 

Edited May 21, 2023 by JerseyBills