All Sooners

How Oklahoma OL Commit Daniel Akinkunmi Forged his Journey to American Football

On Thursday, the Sooners picked up their first ever commitment from an English-born prospect, bolstering the 2024 recruiting class.

Randall Sweet

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Daniel Akinkunmi took a unique path to becoming a Division I football prospect.

Originally a basketball player, the 6-foot-5, 320-pound mauler realized that his specific athletic abilities were not accentuated on the court, and that his career would not last as long as he hoped. 

That's when Akinkunmi found American football, a sport which seems to align perfectly with his skills and mentality. 

The road to becoming a highly coveted prospect was not easy for the 3-star offensive lineman from Loughborough, England, however, as American football is not offered at every high school in England the same way it is in the United States. 

After playing 9-on-9 recreational football, Akinkunmi decided to enroll in the NFL Academy, which opened in London in 2019. 

While the NFL Academy gave the physically gifted prospect a space to train and learn the game, it still took plenty of dedication to develop into the player he has become. 

Akinkunmi told AllSooners that he took a three-hour train ride to London from Loughborough and back every day of the week to ensure that he was able to get all the proper workouts and training. 

"I had to actually travel three hours there and back just to make the trip," Akinkunmi said Friday in a video interview from the UK. "Waking up at 4 a.m., getting there roughly, just about 9 a.m., and then coming back having gym after training, because obviously I couldn't make it to the morning sessions. And then to getting home around probably 11:30ish and then packing up and getting ready. I would have to go to bed around midnight. ... My path was definitely hard, but I feel like it really helped me to show my passion and my drive for the sport."

The NFL Academy star said that he eventually began to meal prep his meals for the entire week and even bought a portable microwave to give himself an opportunity to eat something other than cold pasta. 

While the road to becoming a Division I prospect wasn't easy for Akinkunmi, it paid off quickly. He told AllSooners that after attending a camp in Baltimore, the NFL Academy came to do a summer football camp circuit in Texas his sophomore year. That's where he received his first eight D1 scholarship offers despite only having played football for around 6-7 months.

When the NFL Academy returned to the US with another camp circuit in the Southeast the following summer, Akinkunmi said he received about 25 more offers. 

Despite hearing from other big-time programs like Clemson, Miami, Penn State and plenty of others, the 3-star recruit only took two official visits: one to Baylor in June, and another to Norman in early September.

During his time on OU's campus, Akinkunmi was able to see the Sooners take down Arkansas State 73-0, which left a very good impression on the athletic trench player. 

"You can see the drive and the passion for the team this year," Akinkunmi said. "I feel like with this team, they're trying to live in the moment. Taking every single day, every single play as it's their last, and I feel that's something that makes a special culture, and I really felt like I needed to be a part of it. ... Seeing that crowd, seeing that environment, hearing them yell and shout, just changed my mentality even more. I can't be letting any plays go, I can't be taking a rep off. ... To see that many people watching you and supporting you, that's incredible."

Akinkunmi told AllSooners that, after the game, he was able to break down film from the contest with Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. The two seemingly have a great relationship, and Akinkunmi said that his future coach appreciates the versatile offensive lineman's hunger and drive. 

"Watching him analyze that film was amazing," Akinkunmi said. "We were just watching normally and the most tiniest details he would see and analyze. ... You can see how much passion he has for the game. I feel like in that moment right there, I realized why he's (so) good of a coach."

Akinkunmi is a physical, mauling offensive lineman, which fits with what Bedenbaugh seems to value from his players. Akinkunmi told AllSooners that his biggest strength is his mentality, adding that he loves to hit people and play with a nasty streak.

"You don't understand how much hunger I have for this game," Akinkunmi said. "I feel like that's something that coaches don't realize until they see me in person. ... I love to hit people. It's plain and simple. My favorite drills in training are like inside run and chute. ... I'm like, let's go, let's get hitting, like, let's get our pads hot and warm." 

At the end of the day, however, the Loughborough native said that the genuineness of OU's coaching staff and the way in which the team pours into its players are what sold him. He specifically said the the trust that Oklahoma's staff and their families have in coach Brent Venables led to him commit to the Sooners.

Akinkunmi also added that he and fellow 2024 pledge Danny Okoye both told the OU coaching staff that they were committing on the final day of their official visit. Both players stayed quiet about their decision initially, but both have since announced their intentions to play for the Sooners next season.

"The last day of my visit, when we were at Coach (Brent) Venables' house, we had a conversation with Coach Venables and Coach (Miguel) Chavis," Akinkunmi said. "This is what actually made me and Danny Okoye both commit on the spot on the last day of our visit. ... To hear that (Coach Chavis' wife) was completely fine with the transition to going (from Clemson) to Oklahoma just because of Coach Venables, was amazing to hear. I've never heard that before from any program. ... It didn't feel like a pitch, it felt like a man-to-man conversation."

At the NFL Academy, Akinkunmi has practiced playing all five positions on the offensive line, but said that he will likely play tackle once he arrives in Norman. He'll join Josh Aisosa, Eugene Brooks and Isaiah Autry in Oklahoma's 2024 offensive line class. 

OU fans won't have to wait much longer to learn more about the intriguing prospect, as Akinkunmi told AllSooners that he plans to arrive on campus in January as an early enrollee.

With a great physical skill set, a strong work ethic and one of the best offensive line coaches in all of college football, Akinkunmi will have the chance during his time in Norman to achieve his dreams of going from the UK's NFL Academy to the NFL itself.

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail. Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state. A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder. Randall holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. 

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