David Onyemata

David Onyemata

No. 93 New Orleans Saints
Position:	Defensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth:	1993
Place of birth:	Lagos, Nigeria
Height:
Weight:
Career information
High school:	Ikeja (NGA) Chrisland Schools
University:	Manitoba
NFL draft:	2016 / Round: 4 / Pick: 120
CFL draft:	2016 / Round: 4 / Pick: 35
Career history
New Orleans Saints (2016–present)
Roster status:	Active

David Onyemata (born c. 1993) is a defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Manitoba.

Early years

Onyemata is a native of Lagos, Nigeria, where he attended the Chrisland Schools. He immigrated, on his own, to Winnipeg in 2011 to attend college.

College career

Onyemata had never seen a gridiron football game until he came to Winnipeg, but he became a standout player for the Bisons. In 2011, he approached the Manitoba Bisons football coach Brian Dobie and advised him of his interest to play football. Dobie was intrigued by his frame and thought he could turn Onyemata into a football player. Dobie invited Onyemata to join the team practice and requested that he attend every practice session thereafter and advised Onyemata that missing any practice session will result in his elimination from the team. Onyemata obliged the conditions of coach Dobie and attended every practice. He did not play a game for the Manitoba Bisons for a year and instead worked on his fundamentals with the defensive coaches having never played the game before. Onyemata steadily progressed as a football player and eventually became a starter in 2013. In 2015, Onyemata won the J. P. Metras Trophy as the top down lineman in CIS football, and was invited to play in the East–West Shrine Game. The CFL Scouting bureau place Onyemata as the top prospect in their final rankings for the 2016 CFL draft.

Professional career

On April 30, 2016, Onyemata was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft as the 120th overall pick. He was the first player from the University of Manitoba ever selected for the NFL draft, and the twelfth NFL draft pick from the CIS. The Saints traded their fifth round picks for 2016 and 2017 to Washington in order to draft Onyemata.

External links

• Manitoba Bisons bio Archive copy at the Wayback Machine