From Nigeria to The NFL Inside Two Years

Mbaeteka, who lives in Benin City when home in Nigeria, only started playing football as an adult after being discovered at a basketball camp and pointed in Umenyiora's direction, given he's 6ft7in tall, strong, and fast.

  • The rapid rise of OT Roy Mbaeteka Nigerian OT Roy Mbaeteka grew up playing basketball, and when he was scouted for his athletic ability by former New York Giants star Osi Umenyiora, the only thing he knew about American football was the name 'Tom Brady'.
  • The tackle, who was on the Giants' preseason and practice squad till late September, told ESPN about his minimal football knowledge at the start: "I once saw the end of a game on TV, it was the Patriots.
  • Having turned a hooper into a baller in less than two years, after developing Mbaeteka at one of the Uprise camps he runs in Nigeria, Umenyiora told ESPN that he's been shocked by how quickly the outside tackle is learning the game.
  • "You can have all the physical skills in the world, but the movements that people have spent most of their lives training have become second nature to them.
  • He played the entire second half of the game.
  • I look at what I did yesterday that wasn't good and try to improve it today.