Going from Ohio State University to the NFL is nothing out of the ordinary, but for former Buckeyes track athlete Praise Olatoke -- whose initial introduction to football came through club football in college -- being allocated to the Los Angeles Chargers via the NFL International Player Pathway Program (IPPP) was the stuff of wildest dreams.
Olatoke was born in Lagos, Nigeria, but spent most of his formative years in Scotland, moving at the age of 5. He immersed himself in rugby and sprinting, earning a scholarship at Canada's Trinity Western then moving to Ohio State in 2021, spending two seasons on the Buckeyes track team -- albeit a torn achilles tendon ruined one.