Chigoziem Charlton "Chig" Okonkwo (born September 8, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Early years

Okonkwo grew up in Powder Springs, Georgia, and attended

Hillgrove High School Hillgrove High School is a public high school in Powder Springs, Georgia, United States, and is the fifteenth high school of the Cobb County School District. The school's mascot is the Hawk. History Established in 2006, Hillgrove High School was ...

. He was born to a Nigerian family. As a junior, he caught 48 passes for 907 yards and 12 touchdowns. Okonkwo was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Maryland over offers from Georgia Tech and Wisconsin.

College career

Okonkwo caught six passes for 69 yards and a touchdown and also rushed three times for 72 yards and a touchdown during his freshman season. As a sophomore, he had 19 receptions for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Okonkwo missed the 2020 season after he developed myocarditis. As a senior, Okonkwo caught 52 passes for 447 yards and five touchdowns.

Professional career

Okonkwo was selected in the fourth round of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and ...

with the 143rd overall pick by the

. He made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the New York Giants. In Week 4, against the Indianapolis Colts, he scored his first NFL touchdown on an eight-yard reception from

Ryan Tannehill Ryan Timothy Tannehill III (born July 27, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M, where he was a wide receiver until his junior year, an ...

. As a rookie, he appeared in all 17 games and started eight. He finished with 32 receptions for 450 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

References

External links

Tennessee Titans bioMaryland Terrapins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okonkwo, Chigoziem Living people American football tight ends American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Maryland Terrapins football players Players of American football from Cobb County, Georgia People from Powder Springs, Georgia Tennessee Titans players 1999 births