From the trip with NFL Africa to his hopes to build a community center in Houston.
The NFL draft process has come and gone, and football clubs are heading back into a relative swing of things at their respective facilities. Including behind-the-scenes folks, such as podcasters on the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network, like “The Fish Tank.”
Co-hosts, Seth Levit and O.J. McDuffie welcomed a rare, currently-rostered Dolphin into their studio, as the staple podcast specializes in bringing former Dolphin legends into “The Tank.”
With action brewing again in Miami Gardens, Levit opened the show by saying, “There is a buzz in the building.”
Diving in on Tuesday was defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah. Signing with the Dolphins in 2020 after a year with the Kansas City Chiefs, Ogbah had a productive season with nine sacks and repeated the feat in 2021.
Following those seasons, Ogbah earned a new, rich contract in last year’s offseason, as he inked a four-year deal with Miami worth $65.4 million. Unfortunately, the pass-rusher was bit by the injury bug midway into the 2022 season, suffering a torn tricep in the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns in Week 10.
As he describes in the show with Levit and McDuffie, Ogbah compared the injury, in a starting over sense, much like his family started from scratch as immigrants, arriving in the United States from Nigeria when Ogbah was nine years old.
Ogbah cited the hard work and dedication of his father, driving a total of four hours a day to and from work to provide for his family in a new country. So, as a football player, it’s something the veteran defender is handling with relative ease.
The guys and Ogbah went on to discuss the “NFL Africa” program, in which Ogbah and other stars traveled across the Atlantic to Kenya to be football ambassadors to young athletes, teaching fundamentals of football and running drills.
Joining Ogbah were, Brian Asamoah of the Minnesota Vikings (Ghana), Arnold Ebiketie from the Atlanta Falcons (Cameroon), Paulson Adebo of the New Orleans Saints (Benin) and Ikem Ekwonu of the Carolina Panthers (Nigeria).
Ogbah mentioned the ages of the players were 16-21, and when asked if there were any potential future Dolphins, he described at least one prospect in detail. For those specifics, you simply have to listen yourself, but Ogbah did say that the answer was, “1000%.”
Ogbah went on to discuss the program, the joy it was being able to be back to his home continent and his own charitable endeavor, the “Rise Above Foundation.” The defensive end says that the mission of the organization is to create ways for youth to have a “sustainable program to help their long-term achievement.”
Ogbah’s philanthropic goals go beyond this program and his football camps, with hopes of creating a community center in his hometown back in Houston.
Dive into “The Fish Tank” to hear about his efforts and thoughts on and off of the field.
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