The Pittsburgh Steelers made a roster move to kick off the first week of the 2024 NFL regular season, signing DB Ayo Oyelola. Oyelola is a native of the United Kingdom and was previously with the Jacksonville Jaguars. But how did Oyelola go from the University of Nottingham to the NFL and eventually the Steelers? And just who is Oyelola?
Got Into Football Thanks To A Saquon Barkley YouTube Highlight Video
All players who come through the NFL’s International Pathway Program have unique stories. Oyelola is no different in that regard, but his may be more unexpected. Oyelola got his law degree from the University of Nottingham in 2020, and it was during a class there that he discovered football.
“It was toward the end of a contract law lecture, and I was getting a bit bored so I went on YoutTube[sic],” Oyelola said in an interview with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during his time with the CFL team. “The algorithm, for some reason, took me to some highlights of [running back] Saquon Barkley (then with the New York Giants) so I watched that and thought, ‘I want to try that. That looks pretty cool.'”
From there, Oyelola went to Nottingham’s football team (yes, the University of Nottingham has an American football team) and quickly proved himself. All because he accidentally stumbled across a video of Barkley’s highlights. And if Oyelola sticks with the team this season, he’ll get a chance to see Barkley in person when the Steelers head to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in December.
Started As A Running Back
So when Oyelola went to the Nottingham football team, he naturally gravitated toward the running back position. After all, it was Barkley who truly inspired him. But he quickly flipped to the defensive side of the ball to help the team.
“They felt like they needed me more on defense,” Oyelola said in an interview with the Jaguars’ YouTube channel. “I just became, I was all over the field. I played defensive end, I played outside linebacker, inside linebacker, safety, corner. I played everywhere. So that’s just a defensive player.”
Could Have Been A Professional Football (Soccer) Player
Before Oyelola went to the University of Nottingham, he had a contract offer from Ebbsfleet United in one of the lower leagues of English football (soccer). He was quite good at soccer, obviously. That speed on the soccer pitch in fact helped him transition to American football. But he turned down that contract offer to pursue a law degree because he no longer loved the sport.
“I’m someone who if I’m not enjoying something, I’m just not going to continue doing it,” Oyelola said in that interview with the Blue Bombers. “Soccer had got to the point where I was good at it, but I had lost the love for the game. I got to the point where I felt like I was doing myself a disservice, especially because I had other interests.”
Oyelola also played rugby and ran track growing up.
His Highlight Film Got Him Noticed For The IPP
Life can be funny, sometimes. Barkley’s highlight film convinced Oyelola to take up football. His highlight film from the University of Nottingham got him noticed by the NFL’s International office. According to Oyelola in the Jaguars interview, he got a call from the office during the COVID-19 pandemic with an offer to work out after he finished his exams at Nottingham. That turned into a Combine workout that September before they informed him he would be a part of the IPP for 2021. Unfortunately for Oyelola, he suffered an injury and missed out on playing with an NFL team in 2021. So he went to Winnipeg after he was drafted by the Blue Bombers.
He Misses London Weather
Most people would love living in Jacksonville with the warm weather and the beaches nearby. But Oyelola isn’t from a warm-weather area. And it’s the cooler air that he missed the most while down in Jacksonville.
“I was telling somebody the other day, it sounds weird, but what I’ve missed most is like crisp air,” Oyelola said in an interview with SkySports.com. “I’m a winter guy, I like the cold, I like crisp air, and obviously Jacksonville is the complete opposite, so that’s probably what I miss most.”
Oyelola should fit in just fine in Pittsburgh when the weather turns this fall.
