As the 2024 NFL Draft approaches, a former five-star recruit, who had a tumultuous college career, is projected as a late-round selection or a possible undrafted free agent.
24-year-old Eyabi Okie, formerly known as Eyabi Anoma, was near the pinnacle of the football world when he came out of St. Francis Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, as one of the most highly touted prospects in the nation. The Baltimore Sun named him Defensive Player of the Year for the State of Maryland in 2017. The future looked bright.
Eyabi Okie Was the Top-Rated Player in Alabama’s 2018 Recruiting Class.
Okie, who changed his surname from “Anoma” to “Okie” in order to recognize his mother in Africa, was rated by ESPN as the No. 3 overall prospect in the country in the 2018 recruiting class, behind only Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields. He was rated ahead of Micah Parsons.
He led his high school team to an undefeated record in 2017 in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference. He had 98 tackles, including 22 sacks, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. He was the anchor of a dominant defense that allowed only 65 points over the course of the entire season.
. @CoachMessay sent me this pic last night of our final game coaching @TherealEyabi in 2017. Love these dudes. Always family. pic.twitter.com/at6mFW5klA
— Sam Poggi (@SD_CoachSam) September 11, 2019
After receiving offers from Georgia, Florida, Ohio State, USC, Penn State, and Tennessee, Okie chose to sign with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
2018 5-Star OLB/DE @TherealEyabi commits to The University Of Alabama #Espn300 ranks him the 4th overall prospect in the #ClassOf2018 pic.twitter.com/z88Ci6NflX
— InsideBamaRecruiting Alabama Football (@RTRnews) December 20, 2017
He was “the top-rated player in Alabama’s 2018 recruiting class….” And, he got off to a promising start. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
Congrats, to all our guys for making
All-SEC Freshman Team! #OutworkYesterday#RollTide pic.twitter.com/hTFlrtIeHc— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) December 6, 2018
However, things deteriorated for Okie thereafter.
Although he had quickly become one of the Crimson Tide’s top pass rushers, he had off-the-field issues, including irregular attendance of classes, that ultimately led to his dismissal from the university and the team. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban stated — with typical brevity:
“The guy was dismissed from school and that’s really all I can say about it.”
Per CBS, the cause of Okie’s dismissal was a “university-level issue”.
Okie then embarked on a college football odyssey that involved even more transfers than tallied by JT Daniels.
Nomadic College Career
In August 2019, Okie transferred from Alabama to Houston.
He never played a snap for the Cougars, and was also dismissed from that team, apparently for reasons similar to those which led to his dismissal from Alabama.
The Spun reported on Okie’s dismissal from the Houston Cougars football program in 2020:
“[Okie] found himself off of his second team in as many years this week. According to multiple reports, Houston dismissed former five-star linebacker Eyabi Anoma from the football program.
“The move comes after Anoma transferred to Houston from Alabama after being dismissed by the Crimson Tide.
“Initial reports suggested Houston dismissed Anoma due to a violation of team rules.
“A new report indicated Anoma did not change his behavior from what led to his dismissal from Alabama. According to Matt Zenitz of AL.com, tardiness, skipping class, clashing with teammates and insubordination led Houston to move on from the talented football player.”
Hearing it was a combination of factors that led to Eyabi Anoma being dismissed from the team at Houston — tardiness, skipping class, clashing with teammates, insubordination, etc.
“Some of the same issues he dealt with (at Alabama),” one source said.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 11, 2020
However, in 2023, Okie transferred yet again — heading from Michigan to the Charlotte 49ers team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). At Charlotte, Okie was reunited with his high school coach, Francis “Biff” Poggi, who became the 49ers head coach in 2022.
Okie had a solid season for the 49ers. He was named a team captain. He was also named second-team All-AAC, after leading his team in sacks and QB hurries.
Okie was named to the 2024 Senior Bowl watch list.
Congrats to @TherealEyabi and @JuliusWelschof for making the @seniorbowl watch list!#GoldStandard⛏️ | #AmericanPower pic.twitter.com/19jg92cokk
— Charlotte Football (@CharlotteFTBL) August 23, 2023
Okie’s Prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft
What are Okie’s prospects as the 2024 NFL Draft approaches?
Per the Draft Network:
“Eyabi Okie-Anoma brings legitimate NFL-level talent to the edge rusher position. He has enough first-step explosiveness needed to attack the outside shoulder of offensive tackles, opening room for his power moves. He possesses an effective speed-to-power bull rush to drive blockers deep into the backfield and disrupt the quarterback’s comfort zone. He has a nice pop in his hands when converting speed-to-power. This can be troublesome for IOL on twists and stunts where Okie-Anoma can run through their chest into the face of the QB.
“Okie-Anoma has the power to take advantage of technically poor blockers. He will get his hands underneath their pads and forklift/uproot them from the turf in both run and pass games. He has the quickness to slice and slip through lanes and across blockers’ faces as a backside run defender. On run actions like split flow/zone and stretch/wide zones, he will slip reach blocks and chase plays down from behind.
“As physically gifted and talented as Okie-Anoma is, the lack of maturity plagued him as a collegiate player. He transferred to a handful of different schools during his career. This has limited his developmental growth as a pure pass rusher.”
In a recent ESPN mock draft, Okie is selected by the Los Angeles Rams with the 213rd overall pick in the sixth round.
According to NFL Draft Buzz, Okie is the No. 284 rated prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. There are only a total of 257 selections available in the draft. Hence, it is unclear whether Okie will actually be drafted.
On March 26, 2024, Justin Melo (JM) of The Draft Network conducted an interesting interview of Okie, excerpts of which are reproduced below:
JM: What a journey it’s been, Eyabi. From Alabama to UT-Martin to Michigan to Charlotte, you played at four different programs. What are the biggest lessons you learned on your road well traveled?
Eyabi Okie: I learned about persistence. I learned that the job is never done. I’m extremely hungry. I learned what a gift and a curse the game of football can be if you’re not prepared for the trials and tribulations.
I learned to keep your head down. I’m more appreciative of what I have in front of me nowadays. I learned not to dwell on the things I don’t have. I’ll never look at what another man has.
JM: Playing at four different programs isn’t exactly the norm. How do you respond to those questions?
Eyabi Okie: I tell the truth straight up. The Eyabi Okie-Anoma who made those decisions in the portal isn’t the same person I am today. I was young and immature.
I pride myself on learning from my mistakes. I’m so much more mature nowadays. Teams know I can play football at a high level. I have the ability and talent. I’ve never been in trouble with the law. It was never about that.
It was just maturity stuff. Maturity comes with age. I’ve learned my lesson. I can honestly say that if you look at the beginning of my college football career versus the ending—if you listened to me talk—even my tone sounded a little different. I changed for the better as the years went by. It’s like two different people.
…
I could have been in the league by now. I could have been working toward my second contract already. Things didn’t play out for me like that. I’m hungry with a mentality to make up for past mistakes. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get where I know I’m supposed to be.
JM: Have you met with any NFL teams throughout this process?
Eyabi Okie: Everybody wants to feel wanted. There will be a reckoning for any team that passes on me. My actions will speak louder than words. I have something with the Vikings coming up. We’re sorting through the rest of the schedule. I can only get picked by one team.
JM: We’ve appreciated your time today. What kind of impact is Eyabi Okie-Anoma going to make at the next level?
Eyabi Okie: They’re going to get a warrior. Any team that doesn’t draft me will eventually have to answer for why they passed on me. You’re getting a great football player.
In the words of NFL Draft Diamonds, “It will be interesting to see how NFL scouts evaluate [Okie’s] character and past.”
Gridiron Heorics will monitor and continue reporting on Okie, the 2024 NFL Draft, and Okie’s potential future in the NFL.
For more related sports news, focused primarily on the USC Trojans, SMU Mustangs, and Los Angeles Rams, please follow me at @vshjah_Victor.