From Nigerian soccer fields to an NFL first-round pick, Max Iheanachor's improbable journey to the Pittsburgh Steelers defies all expectations.
Kids growing up in Nigeria playing soccer never envision eventually becoming an offensive lineman in the NFL.
However, that is where life has taken Max Iheanachor. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him on Thursday night with the 21st overall selection in the NFL Draft from Arizona State.
Iheanachor’s family moved to Compton, Calif., when he was 13, and basketball became his favorite sport. Iheanachor never played football until enrolling at East Los Angeles College in 2021, and was so raw that he appeared in one game in his freshman season.
Yet five years later, Iheanachor is a professional football player. That became real for the 6-foot-6, 321-pounder Friday when he arrived in Pittsburgh to tour the Steelers’ training facilities and meet with the media.
"I'll be lying if I told you I did expect it," Iheanachor said. "It's really just God. Shout out to Him. Without Him, none of this is possible. Shout-out to my parents for bringing me out here to the States. I fell in love with sports and played basketball in high school. And after high school, I knew I wanted to play football, went to JUCO, started chasing the dream from there, and just worried about every day, just trying to get better and take care of myself for sure."
The last thing Iheanachor’s parents expected was for their son to become a football player. Despite his size, they worried when he said he wanted to play the sport. Yet Iheanachor had faith that everything would work out.
"I knew I could handle it,” Iheanachor said. “At that point, after high school, I'm kind of growing. I know what I can do. So just making them understand my decisions, respectfully. And it played out really well. So, I'm really just grateful. But it's really God. God is No. 1.”
The Iheanachors moved to the U.S. in search of a better life. Max has certainly fulfilled his family’s wishes.
"My parents did it for us kids, for all of us," Iheanachor said. "Just putting us in a better position to get the best education out there. They like lawyers and doctors; I'm not a lawyer or doctor, but close to it. They were excited. I am excited. Everyone was excited.”
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