Remilekun "Remi" Ayodele (born April 22, 1983) is a former

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 ...

defensive tackle in 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 ...

for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

. He played college football at Oklahoma.

Early years

Ayodele attended

South Grand Prairie High School South Grand Prairie High School (SGPHS) is a public high school in the city of Grand Prairie, Texas, United States. It is part of the 36-campus Grand Prairie Independent School District. History South Grand Prairie High School originally opened ...

Grand Prairie, Texas Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it ...

, where he played as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

, following on the footsteps of his older brother

Akin Ayodele Akinola James Ayodele (; born September 17, 1979) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Buffalo Bills. He was drafted by the Jacksonville J ...

. As a

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freshman, he was asked to switch positions to defensive tackle, so he made the decision to transfer to

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) is a public community college in Miami, Oklahoma. Established as the Miami School of Mines in 1919, NEO has an enrollment of approximately two thousand students. The Golden Norsemen is the school mascot. ...

. In his 2 seasons with the Golden Norsemen, he contributed to the team having a 21-3 record. He posted 50 tackles, 3 sacks and one fumble recovery. As a sophomore in 2003, he helped the team win a second straight conference championship, a second place national ranking and a bowl title. He transferred after his sophomore season to the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. As a junior, he started 2 games at defensive tackle, making 11 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. As a senior, he started 6 games, posting 11 tackles (6 for loss), one sack and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Ayodele was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the New England Patriots after the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

on May 8. He was waived on June 16. On July 27, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

. He was released on September 2. On November 7, 2006, he was signed by the

to the practice squad. He was cut in November 27. He was signed to the

practice squad on December 5. On February 9, 2007, he was re-signed by the

and allocated to the

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

of NFL Europa on February 12. He made 15 tackles, one sack and one pass breakup. He was released by the Cowboys on September 1. On September 3, 2007, he was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Falcons. He was released before the season opener on September 7.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On September 11, 2007, he was signed by the

for depth purposes, after starting

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

Jason Ferguson was lost for the year with a biceps injury. He appeared in 7 games and was declared inactive for 5 contests, as a backup to

Jay Ratliff, who was moved from

to replace Ferguson. He tallied 5 tackles and one forced fumble. Ayodele also had a chance to play on the same team with his brother Akin. On December 11, he was released and signed to the practice squad on December 14, where he spent the final four weeks of the season. He was cut on August 31, 2008.

New Orleans Saints (first stint)

On September 3, 2008, he was signed by the

to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 4. On November 11, he was cut and re-signed to the practice squad three days later. On December 20, he was promoted to the active roster for the last 2 games of the season. He appeared in 6 games, making 7 tackles (2 solo). In 2009, he became a starter (13 starts) at left defensive tackle after Kendrick Clancy injured his knee in the season opener. On October 4, he scored his first touchdown after defensive lineman

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

forced Jets quarterback

Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) and was draft ...

to fumble, with Ayodele recovering the ball and returning it for a touchdown. He made 8 tackles against the

. He registered 53 tackles (22 solo), 1.5 sacks, one pass defense and one fumble recovery during the regular season. On January 24, 2010, he had 8 tackles (4 solo) and recovered one fumble in the NFC Championship Game that led to a touchdown against the

. He was a part of the

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

winning team. In 2010, he started all 16 games, posting 73 tackles (25 solo), one sack, one pass defensed and one forced fumble, helping the defense ranking improve from 25th to 4th. In his Saints career, he appeared in 37 games, with 29 starts at

, while posting 133 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 passes defensed, one forced fumble and on fumble recovery, which came in the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

for a touchdown.

Minnesota Vikings

On July 28, 2011, he signed a three-year deal as a

with the

, with the intention of replacing the veteran Pat Williams. He played in 16 games (13 starts), registering 22 tackles (11 solo) and 1½ sacks. He was released on March 21, 2012.

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

On May 7, 2012, Ayodele returned to the

with a one-year contract. He was cut on August 27.

Personal life

His older brother

played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

in the NFL.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayodele, Remi 1983 births Living people People from Grand Prairie, Texas Sportspeople from Ellis County, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football defensive tackles American sportspeople of Nigerian descent American people of Yoruba descent Purdue Boilermakers football players Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norsemen football players Oklahoma Sooners football players Yoruba sportspeople Baltimore Ravens players Dallas Cowboys players Frankfurt Galaxy players Atlanta Falcons players New Orleans Saints players Minnesota Vikings players