Tennessee’s football recruiting borders know no bounds.
Emmanuel Okoye, a four-star edge rusher from Lagos, Nigeria, was announced Wednesday as the 26th signee for the Volunteers in their 2023 class. The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder represented the NFL Academy in Loughborough, England, this past fall and is expected to enroll in Knoxville this summer.
Okoye (pronounced oh-KOY-ay) is a four-star prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, which list him as the nation’s No. 43 edge rusher and the No. 441 overall recruit.
“Welcome to the family!” Tennessee third-year football coach Josh Heupel posted on Twitter. “Excited to have you on Rocky Top!!”
According to a release from Tennessee, the 18-year-old Okoye was invited to attend the inaugural “The Uprise” football talent identification camp last year in Abuja, Nigeria, which led to an invitation to the NFL Africa’s talent identification camp last summer in Ghana.