NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Chinedu Oparaku, LB, Fairmont State
Chinedu Oparaku
What is your Height/Weight?
6’2 210
What is your position?
Pass Rush OLB/DE/Hybrid
Where do you play college football?
Fairmont State University
Where are you from?
Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Who is your role model, and why?
My Mother, with her being a single mom and taking on both roles of a mother and father I’ve seen her overcome all types of adversity.
Who was your favorite teacher?
Robert Weaver
Did you play any other sports growing up?
Track and Wrestling
Who was the toughest player you ever faced?
Breontae Matthews – Plays OL for Kansas State now.
Who is the most underrated player on your team?
Chinedu Oparaku
What is the one song that would fire you up before the biggest game of your life?
Migos – Too Hotty
If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be and why?
Khalil Mack – His motor and mine are very similar when pass rushing. He also plays with a certain type of finesse with him, but can get physical with a OT real quick. He’s just a player who never gives up even when he seems beat.
What was the biggest obstacle in your life you had to overcome, and how did you overcome it?
Losing my father while I was still young, after the day he passed things just got a lot harder and I just had to grow up faster than other people that were my age. So I accepted it, didn’t complain, and just kept pushing forward with the help of my brother and mother.
Do you have any pre-game rituals?
I read Psalms: 91 before every game.
What was the most memorable play of your collegiate career?
During my junior season, we was ranked nationally and we were playing another nationally ranked team, Notre Dame College at our home field. It was 23-19 and we had to stop them from scoring on the last play of the game. I was put at Defensive End for the first time since I came to Fairmont, I got the sack with the help of my MLB Marcus Porter to end the game.
What is the coolest thing you ever did off the field for someone else?
My fraternity brothers (Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.) and I went to a local middle school in WV and helped kids study and do their homework in the areas they weren’t excelling in.
Who was your favorite NFL team growing up?
Baltimore Ravens
If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would you choose?
Barack Obama, Dave Chapelle, Seth Rogen