Ayodeji Olatoye (born July 20, 1991) 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 with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. 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 ...

North Carolina A&T North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

. He was originally 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 ...

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 ...

in 2014.

Early years

Olatoye attended

Dublin Scioto High School Dublin Scioto High School is a public high school located in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb northwest of Columbus, Ohio. Dublin Scioto High School was constructed in 1995 at 4000 Hard Road between Sawmill Road and Riverside Drive. Academics Faculty Sci ...

in Dublin, Ohio. While there he was a three-year letterman. He also earned All-Central District Division II honors. As a senior, he played in seven games and recorded 49 tackles and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

which was returned for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

. In addition to football, Olatoye lettered in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

three times and was the team's starting power forward as a senior. He also lettered in

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. In track, he set the school record in the high jump with a mark of 6-foot, 4-inches and also ran the third leg in the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...

College career

Olatoye accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

, where he graduated from with a degree in

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

s. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his first season in 2009. As a freshman in 2010, he recorded six

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles and one forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

. As a sophomore in 2011, he posted 10 tackles and one pass defensed in four games. As a junior in 2012, Olatoye transferred to

.He started 10 games, tallying 30 tackles, seven passes defensed, three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. As a senior in 2013, he played in 11 games making 39 tackles, two interceptions and 11 passes defensed. He was a member of a defense that allowed 277.9 total yards-per-game, including 187.6 passing, and just 16.8 points-per-game.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Olatoye was signed as an

by the

after the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

on May 12. He was waived on August 25 and signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was released on September 3.

Kansas City Chiefs

On October 8,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

signed him to the

after

Phillip Gaines Phillip Gaines (born April 4, 1991) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rice Owls football, Rice. High school c ...

and Chris Owens suffered injuries. On December 30, he was re-signed by the Chiefs to a reserve/futures contract. On September 5, 2015, he was waived by the Chiefs and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was cut from the practice squad on September 8,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Dallas Cowboys

On September 9,

, Olatoye was signed to the

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 divisi ...

' practice squad. After releasing

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

Corey White Corey White (born May 9, 1990) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football for Samford University. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Early years White was born in Dunwoo ...

, the Cowboys promoted him to the active roster on November 18. His first start came in the fifteenth game of the season against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in place of an injured

Morris Claiborne Morris Lee Claiborne (born February 7, 1990) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU), where he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the country and was unanimous ...

. He registered five tackles, one pass defensed and an

. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Olatoye was used at

and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

during training camp. He was having a solid preseason until the last game against 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 ...

, when he struggled after being targeted by the opposing quarterbacks. On September 3, he was released after being passed on the depth chart by

Dax Swanson Daxton "Dax" Swanson (born March 21, 1991) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Sam Houston State. Swanson signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2013. College ...

Atlanta Falcons

On September 5,

, the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

signed Olatoye to their practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 23, 2016. Olatoye and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, where they faced the

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 ...

. In the final, he had two total tackles as the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat. On September 21,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, Olatoye was waived by the Falcons.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On October 25,

, Olatoye signed with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. He was waived on November 7. He was re-signed on November 29. He was waived again on December 12,

Atlanta Falcons (second stint)

On December 14,

, he was signed by the

to replace

C. J. Goodwin and provide depth. He was waived on December 29.

Orlando Apollos

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, Olatoye joined the Orlando Apollos of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

. He was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

before the start of the season and later was activated on March 5. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Houston Roughnecks

Olatoye was drafted in the 1st round during phase four in the 2020 XFL Draft by the Houston Roughnecks. In March, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season. Playing in all 5 games, he registered 4 tackles and no interceptions. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Personal life

Olatoye was born to

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

immigrants. His younger sister, Oyesade, was a three-time state champion thrower at

Dublin Coffman High School Dublin Coffman High School is a public high school located in Dublin, Ohio, United States, a suburb northwest of Columbus, Ohio. The school was formerly known as Dublin High School. It is the oldest of three high schools in the Dublin City School ...

. She is also the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

record holder in the indoor weight throw and represented the United States at the Junior World Championships in 2016 in Poland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olatoye, Deji Living people 1991 births People from Dublin, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio American football cornerbacks American football safeties Colorado Buffaloes football players North Carolina A&T Aggies football players Baltimore Ravens players Kansas City Chiefs players Dallas Cowboys players Atlanta Falcons players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Orlando Apollos players Houston Roughnecks players American people of Yoruba descent American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Yoruba sportspeople