Chargers defensive lineman CJ Okoye recorded a sack in last Saturday’s win over the Rams in the preseason opener. While this would be a tally in the stat sheet for any other player, this was a special moment for Okoye.
It marked Okoye’s first-ever organized football game. Not just an NFL game but the first organized football game. Okoye is a Nigerian athlete signed by the team as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.
“It was an amazing moment for me,” Okoye said Tuesday.
Okoye sacked Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett on the Chargers’ final defensive play. Afterward, his teammates went wild on the sideline.
First football game of his entire life. He gets a sack. You can’t make this stuff up. @chargers Sideline going crazy. Only in the @NFL @Cj_dlion12 @NFLAfrica #IPP pic.twitter.com/0vInPW1pIT
— OSI (@OsiUmenyiora) August 13, 2023
CJ Okoye had never played in an organized football game until last night.
The Nigerian native attended the @NFLAfrica Camp last year & was signed by the @chargers through the International Player Pathway program.
He got his first sack in his first game EVER. 💙 @Cj_dlion12 pic.twitter.com/SJO5oo8y1U
— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2023
“Watching it is like putting all this together in one, it was a moment for me,” Okoye said. “It was [an] amazing moment seeing my teammates, see my D-line room go crazy like that. I wish to go back there again.”
Notable players from the International Pathway Program include Raiders’ Jakob Johnson, Commanders’ Efe Obada and Eagles’ Jordan Mailata.
Even though he made a highlight play in preseason action, Okoye knows that nothing is guaranteed, and he will have to keep his head down and keep working hard.
“I don’t think I’m a celebrity yet, it’s just my story,” Okoye said. “I have never played football, just magically got a sack. I won’t lie, it’s an awesome feeling but you don’t go too high, you don’t go too low just stay in the middle and do your thing.
“For me, it’s just learning the most I can do, go out there and learn because we have the best D-line in the entire league. I want to learn more plays and learn more techniques.”
Regardless if Okoye makes even the practice squad or not, this was a moment that he will never forget.