Okoye, Bears a good match
BOURBONNAIS — When the Houston Texans switched from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 in the off-season, it meant the end of the road for defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, who fits best as the 3-technique tackle in a 4-3.
That makes him a good match for the Bears, and Okoye considered that the best situation for him.
That was confirmed for him by friend Tommie Harris, the player he’s trying to replace.
“He said I was going to love it,” Okoye said. “Everything he told me was accurate. I see an opportunity to come and win a championship. Unfortunately things didn’t work out with the other team, so this is a new start.”
Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli knows the 6-foot-2, 292-pound Okoye has the qualities to fill the gap left by the off-season release of Harris, who played the position well enough to make three straight Pro Bowls.
“He’s played in what was close to our system, in terms of an under tackle,” Marinelli said. “He understands it. He’s got good rush ability. But now he’s just got to go out and execute.”
Okoye had 5½ sacks as a rookie after being the 10th overall pick in the 2007 draft. But he added just 5½ more in the next three seasons, including 3 in 2010.
Even though he’s just 24, Okoye is in his fifth NFL season. He was only 19 when he was drafted, but he always has been on an accelerated path.
He started high school at 12, after moving from Nigeria to Alabama, and played 13 games as a true freshman at Louisville when he was 16.
“It was a great thing for me,” he said of the early NFL start. “I had an opportunity to learn a lot of things early and grow. I wouldn’t change it.”
But Okoye has never lived up to his potential, and he admits the move to the NFL wasn’t easy at first.
“When you go to that first camp,” he said, “sometimes you get to the point where, you think, ‘I don’t know if this is for me.’”