Former Maryland tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo has been drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the last pick in the fourth round.
Okonkwo signed with Maryland in 2018 and got better each season he played. The Georgia native signed with Maryland under then-offensive coordinator Wal Bell and played under Matt Canada, Scottie Montgomery and Dan Enos in College Park. After missing all of 2020 with myocarditis, Okonkwo was one of the best tight ends in the Big Ten last year.
Okonkwo’s 52 catches in 2021 are the second-most receptions by a tight end in Terp history, behind only Frank Wycheck. His 447 yards were the most by a Terp tight end since Vernon Davis had 871 in 2005. Okonkwo recorded 41 catches in conference play, the most by a Big Ten tight end. He had a combined 20 catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns in back-to-back games against Penn State and Michigan State.
"It is rewarding because when we sit on couches as coaches, we talked about developing them as academically, athletically and then socially," Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said on Saturday. "When you're able to see the players like Nick [Cross] and Chig [Okonkwo] create value for themselves because of the time they spent in our program, it's kind of a culmination of a lot of hard work. But it shows the other people coming up through this program that if you do things the right way, you put the work in, you take care of business on the field, in the classroom, and as a person, you go anywhere in the country, but here in Maryland, you'll have a chance to reach every goal you set for yourself academically, athletically, socially. So very, very rewarding as a head coach to see those guys create the value they've been able to create and possibly change the lineage of their family because of the game of football.”
Okonkwo was a standout in the East-West Strine game practices, however, didn’t participate in the game. At the combine, he had the fastest 40 by a tight end with a 4.52. He was the only one in his position group to run a sub-4.6. Okonkwo also had the second-highest vertical.
The Titans lost Anthony Fisker to the Falcons to free agency this year and Jonnu Smith to the Patriots last year. He joins a tight end room with last year’s starter Geoff Swaim and Austin Hooper, who signed with them during the offseason.
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Did I miss a post? Nick Cross went in the 3rd round to the Colts. Does that warrant a shout out? Congratulations to Nick and Chig. Terp fans wish you success with your new teams and are grateful for your contributions to the football program!
Big congrats to Chig, so glad to see him on the road to success especially considering his heart issues during 2020.