Rees Odhiambo ( ; born September 23, 1992) is a former Kenyan professional

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 ...

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. He played college football at Boise State. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of 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 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

. Odhiambo also previously played for the Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, and Arizona Cardinals.

Early years

Born in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, to parents George and Evelyn Odhiambo, he moved to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

at the age of seven, shortly after his father's death. Odhiambo's mother died ten years later when he was 17, and he lived with an uncle and rode to school every day with an assistant coach. He has one sibling, a younger sister named Evette. Odhiambo attended Legacy High School in Mansfield, a suburb southwest of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. He began playing football as a sophomore, after being asked to turn out by an assistant coach who had him in a P.E. class. Odhiambo earned two

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in football (and another in

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) and graduated in 2011. Boise State was his sole

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offer, then led by head coach

Chris Petersen Christopher Scott Petersen (born October 13, 1964) is a former American football coach who was most recently the head coach at the University of Washington. Previously the head coach for eight seasons at Boise State University, Petersen guided ...

College career

Odhiambo committed to Boise State prior to his senior year in July 2010 and signed his letter of intent on February 2, 2011. As a true freshman, 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 ...

in 2011, and was awarded the Ultimate Goon Award by Tim Socha, BSU's head strength coach. Odhiambo played the next four seasons for the Broncos and appeared in 32 games. His final two seasons were played under head coach

Bryan Harsin Bryan Dale Harsin (born November 1, 1976) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach at Auburn University. Prior to leading the Auburn Tigers, he coached the Boise State University Broncos from the 2014 ...

, who arrived in

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 ...

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Odhiambo was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the

, the 97th overall pick. A week later on May 6, he signed a four-year deal worth $2.9 million overall with a $645,416 bonus. Backed up against their own end-zone during the divisional round of the 2016-17 NFL playoffs, Odhiambo accidentally stepped on the foot of Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, causing a safety. Odhiambo entered the 2017 season as the Seahawks' starting left tackle. He started the first seven games before suffering multiple dislocated fingers in both hands. His injuries required surgery on both hands, and he was placed on injured reserve on November 8, 2017. On September 2, 2018, Odhiambo was waived by the Seahawks.

Indianapolis Colts

On September 24, 2018, Odhiambo was signed to the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad.

Atlanta Falcons

On October 24, 2018, Odhiambo was signed by the Atlanta Falcons off the Colts' practice squad. He was waived on November 12, 2018.

Indianapolis Colts (second stint)

On November 14, 2018, Odhiambo was signed to the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad.

Arizona Cardinals

On December 3, 2018, Odhiambo was signed by the Arizona Cardinals off the Colts' practice squad. Odhiambo was waived/injured during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019, and reverted to injured reserve the next day. He was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 5.

Personal life

Odhiambo graduated from Boise State in December 2015, with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. On July 31, 2018, Odhiambo became a U.S. citizen after taking his oath at the Tukwila U.S. immigration center.

References

External links

Seattle Seahawks bio

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odhiambo, Rees 1992 births Living people American football offensive linemen Arizona Cardinals players Atlanta Falcons players Boise State Broncos football players Indianapolis Colts players Kenyan emigrants to the United States Kenyan players of American football People from Mansfield, Texas Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Sportspeople from Nairobi