NFL Academy athlete Daniel Akinkunmi has become the latest exciting talent to graduate from the program and set to join a Division 1 US college, committing to Big 12 Conference team, the University of Oklahoma.
Akinkumni is London-born with Nigerian heritage and has been a part of the NFL Academy since the summer of 2021. He is an offensive lineman who can play all five positions on the line.
Since joining the NFL Academy, Akinkunmi has held a starting position on the offensive line and has been on tour with the NFL Academy three times for camps in the United States, with this exposure earning him over 35 Division 1 scholarship offers.
The NFL Academy, an elite player pathway programme which opened in September 2019, is a major initiative by the NFL which aims to use football to create life-changing opportunities for young people all around the world.
The announcement highlights the ongoing success of the NFL Academy, which currently supports 62 student athletes from 13 different countries (UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, Nigeria, Ireland and Senegal). Since its inception, more than 40 students have secured college football scholarships in the US, with 15 NFL Academy alumni set to play NCAA football in the 2023–24 academic year.
"The NFL Academy and Loughborough have been life changing - from teaching me the game of football, to important lessons off the field, they have given me some of my best memories," said Akinkunmi. "During my official visit I watched the Oklahoma vs Arkansas State game, my first college football gameday experience, and it showed me how much this team has improved and how badly they want to win. I wanted to be part of a program that has a culture of winning and the University of Oklahoma is that place. Coach Brent Venables has positively impacted so many players and when we spoke, it didn't feel like a pitch, it felt like a man-to-man talk. It was the most real conversation I had during my recruiting journey. The future is very bright for me, and the goal is to be a true freshman and to have as big of an impact on the team as possible."
"This is another proud day for the NFL Academy as Daniel commits to a great program and the entire team could not be happier for him," said Steve Hagen, Head Coach of the NFL Academy. "Daniel quickly became a leader at the NFL Academy, and he will continue to be a role model and inspiration for those around him. The NFL Academy provides life changing opportunities for talented young athletes from around the world to excel both in education and elite sport performance and Daniel is an example of this program. He leaves a better athlete and a better man. We wish him well at Oklahoma and in the years to come."
The NFL Academy offers talented student athletes aged 16–19 a pathway to combine their full-time education alongside a transformative life skills programme and intensive training in the sport, under the guidance of a professional coaching team in an elite sporting set-up.
Based at Loughborough's world-renowned centre of sporting excellence in the UK, and in partnership with Loughborough College and Loughborough University, the programme promotes world class performance and the development of elite player pathways, supporting student athletes with NFL best practices and resources.
To find out more about the programme, please visit here.
