Defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu flourished at Mesabi Range CC before signing with Maryland to close the 2018 cycle, the first under head coach Mike Locksley. Fast forward to today and the redshirt senior is on the cusp of extending his playing career with the 2022 NFL Draft set to begin on Thursday.
“I'm excited to start a new chapter in my life,” Okuayinonu said on GCR this week. “I'm excited to see where I end up that what team I'm gonna be a part of, what new city I'm gonna have to adjust to so it’s exciting times.” Okuayinonu started in all twelve games last fall and registered at least one sack in four games before being named third-team All-Big Ten. The redshirt senior led theTerps with six tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss, but the veteran knew what he was most proud of as he reflected back on his three-year career in College Park.
“Being at Maryland, just being a part of the culture change here, man. Like when I first came here, I felt like guys weren’t as motivated as they needed to be you. Guys weren’t really excited about practice. But now like last season, you see guys amped up before practice, like very excited trying to get better like after losses. Guys take it very seriously guys watching film calling me out and asking me like what adjustments should I make? What should I have done here? What should I do here? But like in 2019 when I came in, it wasn't like that. So just being a part of that and then winning a bowl game, that was a big thing, like, wow, you know. Being a part of that whole culture change and being a leader in the [defensive] line room, like trying to lead by example.”
Okuayinonu currently projects as a day selection candidate and as an interior lineman in a 4-3, but his positional versatility in college gives him confidence in becoming a versatile edge rusher in a 3-4. “I can definitely play multiple positions. I can even play outside linebacker thing. I'm great coming off the edge, I can set the edge.” Okuayinonu credits the multiple fronts that Maryland’s defense played as the reason why he’s confident. “I'm definitely working on my pass rush, but I can be a very productive person coming out the edge. I can also play like the strongside spot or three-tech because you know at Maryland, we actually played multiple fronts. We played a 3-4 and a 4-3 but we mostly played a 3-4. So I had to play on the inside too, playing defensive end and defensive tackle, but also outside linebacker.” Houston, Green Bay and Baltimore were among the 23 teams that Okuayinonu met with ahead of Maryland’s Pro Day back on March 30, but the intriguing NFL prospect also drew praise for his Pro Day performance which included 31 reps on bench, ran a 4.77 40-yard dash, posted a 35.5 inch vertical and a 10-foot-3 broad jump. His performances on both bench and vertical would have ranked top among defensive tackles at the 2022 NFL Combine with his 40-time tied with fringe first-round prospect Devonte Wyatt and broad jump tied with first-round prospect Jordan Davis. “I feel like one thing a lot of people don't know about me is you know, I'm very new to the game of football. This is like my fifth ever football season and I'm learning each and every season. I'm learning I'm improving and s, my ceiling is very high.” He admitted a big part of his gradual love for football came as he spent more time in the film room, which is how he looks to continue to ascend through his playing career. “Football is really all about knowledge. The more you know, like the better you can make your reads. The game is gonna slow down with knowledge and knowledge is going to come with time and the more I play this game, everything is gonna slow down.”