When the Chicago Bears signed Larry Ogunjobi to a three-year extension it was a bit of a surprise for a player that plenty of fans did not know about. To be fair, Ogunjobi was flying under the radar for most of his life and has worked tirelessly to get to the point where he is. Whether you love the signing or not, you have to respect how Ogunjobi was able to get to this point.
Larry Ogunjobi beat obesity
Ogunjobi’s parents were of Nigerian descent, and his family moved to the United States in 1993, just a year before he was born. Ogunjobi had trouble finding friends growing up, and grew addicted to video games. This caused him to be obese as a young teenager.
As a 16-year old, Ogunjobi weighed 350 pounds. His parents feared for his life as his breathing started to pick up. His father took him to a park to work out, where he found football. The rest is history. Football got him into the gym, and the gym quickly got him benching, squatting, and turning fat into muscle.
Football got Ogunjobi into the gym, and he was under 300 pounds by the NFL combine he weighed a lean 305 pounds, over 45 pounds less than his high school weight.
Larry Ogunjobi is the pride of Charlotte
Beating obesity to become a star football player at your high school is impressive, but coming out of nowhere caused him to be underrecruited. That meant that he would wind up at Charlotte, a school that he had to redshirt his first season because get this, they did not have a football program yet.
Ogunjobi was there for the first season of Charlotte, and against the odds, became the first player from Charlotte’s football program to get drafted into the NFL. Since Ogunjobi, two more players have been drafted from Charlotte.
You can say what you want about the signing, but the journey that Ogunjobi took to get his big contract is inspiring. From an obese youth to a player on a program that has never played football, Ogunjobi turned into a third-round pick, bet on himself with a one-year deal, then finally found his big payday with the Chicago Bears.
Ogunjonbi mentions how football has saved his life, and his work ethic made him. This is the type of player you want to pay, knowing that he is not going to let the team that gives him money down.