With David Ojabo stuck in Scotland, his teammates, coaches have his back

The foreign-born Nigerian is stuck in his original home of Scotland, trying to return to the U.S. His thoughts and his teammates’ support.

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Many of the policies enacted in regards to containing COVID-19 have real world, wide-ranging implications, some beyond what one may initially anticipate.

One recent policy that was nearly enacted was that students who were in the United States on student visas would have to leave the country if their respective institutions doesn’t hold in-person classes. While that sounds harmless enough on its face, the truth is, it would have forced people who have potentially been in this country for years — established with a home, job, pets — to depart. The football team in Ann Arbor wouldn’t have been immune. A player like Luiji Vilain would have been forced to go back to his native Canada, despite entering his fourth-year at Michigan; Julius Welschof would have to return to Germany; David Ojabo would have to return to Scotland.

The Trump administration and Department of Homeland Security recently withdrew on the matter, after schools like Harvard, MIT and Michigan got litigious. But the latter player mentioned, Ojabo — who hails originally from Nigeria and played high school ball in New Jersey — did return to Scotland to visit his family at the outset of the pandemic. However, that’s where he remains.

While Michigan welcomed student-athletes back to campus in mid-June, Ojabo was unable to return, given the current international travel ban.

He took to Twitter on Tuesday night to express his frustration on the matter.

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Ojabo spoke at length to The Detroit News’ Angelique Chengelis (in a must-read column) on Wednesday morning, and shared more about his inability to get back to Ann Arbor:

In an early morning phone interviewĀ with The Detroit News on Wednesday, Ojabo said to keep himself focused on returning to Ann Arbor to prepare for the football season ā€“ the Big Ten last week announced its member teams will play a league-only schedule ā€“ he has not allowed himself to get too comfortable all this time in Scotland.

ā€œYou would think Iā€™m lying, but Iā€™m living out of my suitcase,ā€ Ojabo said, laughing. ā€œIf they say, ā€˜Come on,ā€™ I wash whatever I need and literally just zip it up. I havenā€™t unpacked to this day. Thatā€™s how weā€™ve really been waiting. Itā€™s no joke.

ā€œI thought I was only going to be home for two or three weeks. Then quickly weeks turned into a month, turned to two months, turned to three months. This whole time, Iā€™m thinking, ā€˜Maybe I could catch a break, catch a flight.ā€™ Nothing. Iā€™ve done it this way for my mental state. The second I unpack and get comfortable ā€“Ā this is me trying to not get too attached to being home.ā€

He shared with Chengelis that he’s been seeking options to return, which may even include flying to Australia, then to Canada and then entering the United States, but he’s still working out his options.

Meanwhile, his teammates also took to social media to share their support for the emerging pass rusher.

His teammates aren’t the only ones who have had his back throughout this ordeal. Again, from Chengelis:

Ojabo has managed to stay engaged with his teammates and coaches, although heā€™s nearly 4,000 miles away and five hours ahead. He said defensive line coach Shaun Nua has been in constant contact.

ā€œCoach Nua has been my biggest supporter,ā€ Ojabo said. ā€œI really donā€™t know where Iā€™d be without him, because heā€™s constantly checking on me. You know coaches are busy and have their own lives, but the way he looks after me and checks up on me, itā€™s almost like Iā€™m one of his, and I really appreciate that.ā€

TheĀ #FreeJabo hashtag has gotten a number of mentions on Twitter, propagated by Ojabo himself, who is seeming to take the situation as in-stride as he possibly can, given the circumstances.

Meanwhile, with or without Ojabo, Michigan will move from voluntary workouts to that of the organized variety on July 24.