ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Everyone loves a good redemption story. And perhaps there will be none greater than the story of Eyabi Okie.
The former five-star prospect initially chose Alabama over Michigan in the 2018 recruiting cycle and was expected to be the next big thing in Tuscaloosa. He earned All-SEC freshman honors, but before you knew it, he was gone, off the team, and looking for a new home.
He ended up at Houston, where he had to sit out a year due to the previous transfer rules. But he never played a down for the Cougars, getting kicked off that team, as well.
Finally, he landed at UT-Martin, where he managed to right the ship. He was productive, perhaps not as much as a normal five-star, but given his lack of playing time, he was just getting started. Once he graduated, he started looking for a new opportunity and chose to come to Ann Arbor, as Michigan was his second choice in his recruitment.
While the Wolverines finally got what they wanted, albeit several years later, why did Okie choose Alabama in the first place?
“It was really close,” Okie said. “Honestly, at the time of when I chose Bama over Michigan, I was really young in my career. Really just, ‘OK, woo! Roll Tide!’ Like it was a whole new wave going on. I had some guys from the DMV up there, like Terrell Lewis, he’s now in the NFL. He was a big, big part of my recruitment and Trevon Diggs. Those were my hosts and I knew them previously from being from the DMV. So it was like we kind of clicked immediately when I went on the visits and stuff like that. And it kind of made me feel comfortable.
“But since I left there, I still keep in contact with them. And they’re one of the people that like after I made this move, they’re like, ‘Hey, bro, that was a great move, that was a real smart move.’ They still call me and mentor me and tell me when I’m doing things right when I’m doing things wrong, where I got to improve on, things like that.”
Given the opportunity that the Crimson Tide present, it was something of a shock to see the five-star wash out so quickly. If you can make it in Tuscaloosa, you’re all but assured to be a high-round NFL draft pick. It’s even more unusual for a player with so much blue-chip talent to find themselves on the market with few suitors.
So, what happened for Okie at his previous stops? Why didn’t it work out? He places the blame on himself, noting that he had elevated to five-star status so quickly, that it was something of a whirlwind — and he didn’t know how to handle it.
“I mean, maturity, I’m gonna be real,” Okie said. “Me, personally, it was just a hard time adjusting to not being able to play immediately. Certain things were said, that didn’t go immediately (well). But, you live and learn, everything happens for a reason. It happened and I grew from it. I don’t let it harness me. I’m here today.”
Okie wised up after several moves to new schools, but really learned about accountability from his grandmother, who was like a mother to him. Now passed, she reminded him of his priorities and how incumbent it was upon him to get serious. He wears a bracelet with her picture in it to remind him of his pledge to her.
Also, when at UT-Martin, Robert Hicks, who transferred there from Louisville, told Okie that he was too good to be playing at an FCS program. The two had a relationship dating back to the Under Armour All-American Bowl, so Hicks had Okie’s respect.
Now, he has another chance, and he’s determined to make the most of it. Michigan isn’t generally seen as ‘last chance U,’ but given his previous trajectory, Okie knows that the opportunity he squandered at Alabama has come anew in Ann Arbor. It’s up to him whether or not he makes good on it.
“Life’s all about adversity. It’s not about you start the race, but how you finish it,” Okie said. “Everyone’s gonna be held accountable for their actions. It’s also going to show that, OK, within the time period, what have I accomplished? Did I stop, did I give up, did I take the easy route? Or did I stick it through, did I graduate? Did I redirect my narrative? And that’s exactly what I did.”
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