C.J. Okoye remembers his first football lesson as a then-offensive lineman at a camp in Africa.
"Don't let this guy get to this guy. This guy is the most important guy in the league. He's the quarterback," Okoye remembers being told just three years ago.
Okoye hails from Agbogugu, Nigeria, and came to America in 2023 as part of the NFL's International Pathway Program. After two seasons on the Los Angeles Chargers' practice squad, he is now a hulking 6-foot-6, 370-pound defensive tackle for the Ravens.
Even amongst very large human beings, Okoye stands out. He's massive. But now, Okoye is standing out for more reasons.
After the Ravens put a couple of defensive linemen on injured reserve, they activated Okoye from the practice squad to play in a couple of games. He played so well that last Sunday, they signed him to the 53-man roster, and he's making the most of it.
Okoye has made eight tackles in three games and was one of the Ravens' highest-graded defensive players, according to Pro Football Focus, in Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams.
"I think C.J. Okoye has come a long way," Head Coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "To see him where he is at right now compared to where he was when he got here is just unbelievable. It's night and day."
Okoye, whose birth name is Basil but goes by an abbreviation of his middle name, Chijioke, grew up mostly playing basketball. He was a center in the Nigerian big leagues when he was noticed by Ejike Ugboaja, a 2006 draft pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who was scouting one of the games.
Ugboaja and a friend of Okoye's suggested that he should try out for the Uprise football camp hosted by Osi Umenyiora, a Nigerian former NFL player and two-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowl defensive end with the New York Giants. Okoye went to the camp and bombed the drills, but when it came to actually playing the game for the first time, he was alright.
"My coach was like, 'C.J., you did [crappy] in the drills, but when it comes to playing, you went off like you've already played this,'" Okoye remembered during training camp.
Okoye got an invite to the first NFL Africa camp held in Ghana in 2022. It was his first time actually playing football. As an offensive tackle, he was named the Offensive MVP.
He was then one of 38 players from 13 countries to participate in the NFL International Combine in London, and from there was chosen as one of 13 players in the NFL International Player Pathway Program. That meant a 10-week training camp at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he was converted to defensive line and got new instructions.
"You need to go get that guy that you think was important [the quarterback]," Okoye said. "And don't let anybody from this side of the ball go to this side of the ball. Don't let anybody run past you. Now, that's your assignment."
In May of 2023, Okoye found out he was one of eight players who made the final cuts and was allocated to the Chargers. In his first-ever organized football game, a preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams, Okoye sacked quarterback Stetson Bennett, a two-time college football national champion at Georgia. Okoye didn’t even know what a sack was.
Okoye spent his first two NFL seasons on the Chargers' practice squad. The Ravens signed him to a future/reserves contract in January, and now he's developing his game playing for the other Harbaugh in Baltimore on the 53-man roster. Harbaugh gave credit to Ravens Defensive Line Coach Dennis Johnson for developing Okoye's skills.
"For him to be playing really, good, solid football in there, good run defense and getting some pocket push, too, is pretty impressive," Harbaugh said. "I think for him coming through for us the way he did has been kind of a real blessing; [it's] not something we really expected to have happen."
In Baltimore, Okoye joined a contingent of Ravens from Nigeria – defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and outside linebackers Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo. Madubuike is on injured reserve and Oweh was traded to the Chargers. Now it's Okoye and Ojabo holding it down for the Nigerians.
"That's my brother. He's come a long way," Ojabo said. "All the odds are stacked against him. He's new to the sport, kind of like how I was, but he just keeps grinding. All it is for him is confidence and knowledge. He has a 'God body' for football. He was built to play football. So, as soon as he gets that confidence up and knows the call, knows what to do, and just [gains more] knowledge of the sport, the sky's the limit, honestly."
Okoye said Johnson has taught him how to play to his size. He may not be the twitchiest guy, but he has clear advantages. Beyond that, it's just been a natural progression of learning the game. But Okoye said his biggest strides have come by simply learning what it means to play like a Raven.
"When they say the Ravens way, I think it's just the toughness," Okoye said. "You see that every day out in the field. It's hard. We're out here kicking [butt]. We don't care about the weather. We don't care about any excuses. The Ravens way is the Ravens way. It's a standard, and I think that our standard is above the league standard. When you're below that standard, you're going to be exposed. So, I feel like I learned that coming here and there's so much competition."
In training camp, Okoye said his goal was to make the 53-man roster. He called it a "far goal." The future has come fast.
