Ufomba Kamalu (born November 2, 1992) is a Nigerian-American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

and signed with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He won a Super Bowl ring with the 2018

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Early life

After being born in California, Kamalu spent the first 13 years of his life in Aba, Nigeria with his siblings, while his parents stayed back home. He returned to the United States for high school, but many concepts in America were completely foreign to him. It has been reported that by his father's request he began playing

his freshman year of high school.

College career

Kamalu went to

Butler Community College Butler Community College (BCC) is a public community college in El Dorado, Kansas. Campus There are a number of branch campuses throughout the area, in Andover, Council Grove, Marion, McConnell, Rose Hill, and a number of distance-learning ...

El Dorado, Kansas El Dorado ( ) is city and county seat of Butler County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Walnut River in the central part of Butler County and located in south-central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city ...

for junior college. He then attended college at

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, playing

, where he totaled 48 tackles (11.5 for a loss of yardage), 8.0 sacks, one forced fumble and fumble recovery, and an interception which he returned for 46 yards over his 3-year collegiate career. Kamalu was voted Miami's defensive player of the year during his senior year in 2015 After 4 years of college with Butler CC and Miami combined, he declared for the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

where he went undrafted.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Kamalu signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2016. He was waived by the Texans on September 3, 2016 and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 26, 2016. He made his professional debut in Week 13 in a start against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, where he recorded his first career tackle in a 21-13 loss. Kamalu recorded his first career sack on Matt Cassel in a Week 17 loss to the Tennessee Titans. On September 1, 2018, Kamalu was waived by the Texans.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 25, 2018, Kamalu was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

' practice squad. He was released on October 30, 2018.

New England Patriots

On November 5, 2018, Kamalu was signed to the

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 21, 2018. Kamalu appeared in 2 games for the Patriots recording 1 tackle. With Kamalu the Patriots reached

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

and defeated the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

13-3. On August 31, 2019, Kamalu was released during final roster cuts. He was signed onto the Patriots practice squad a day later.

Baltimore Ravens

On October 24, 2019, Kamalu was signed 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 its ...

off the Patriots' practice squad. He was waived on November 12 and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Ravens on January 13, 2020. He was released by the Ravens on April 8, 2020. The next day Kamalu was arrested on a warrant for domestic violence. The woman showed visible signs of injury. The young lady tried to get justice but Ufomba Kamalu, along with his attorney Benjamin Herbst (of The Herbst Firm in Baltimore) allegedly silenced her. Benjamin Herbst allegedly called the young lady in question to bail Ufomba Kamalu out of jail, but she was afraid and did not want to do so. So attorney Benjamin Herbst found another person to allegedly sign for his bail. The young lady reported Benjamin Herbst to the Maryland Bar. He was suspended by the NFL for the remainder of the 2020 NFL regular season and postseason on December 11, 2020, and reinstated from suspension on February 8, 2021.

BC Lions

Despite his alleged history with domestic violence, Kamalu managed to signed with the BC Lions of the CFL on December 30, 2020. He played in six games for the Lions during the 2021 season before being placed on the reserve/suspended list on October 21, 2021. He was released on February 14, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamalu, Ufomba Living people 1992 births American football defensive ends American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Arizona Cardinals players Baltimore Ravens players BC Lions players Butler Grizzlies football players Houston Texans players Miami Hurricanes football players New England Patriots players Nigerian players of American football People from Aba, Nigeria Players of American football from Fayetteville, Georgia Sportspeople from Abia State Nigerian players of Canadian football Canadian football defensive linemen Players of Canadian football from Georgia (U.S. state)