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Samuel Okuayinonu, breakout JC DL and MCAC Defensive Player of the Year, feels Oregon Ducks commitment inevitable

Mesabi Range College defensive lineman Samuel Okuayinonu is still surprised by the attention he is getting on the recruiting trail - even after earning the Minnesota College Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year award.

"The JUCO experience... crazy man," he said. "I went from a kid who barely had 20 tackles in high school to being the defensive player of the year in my JUCO, finishing top three in sacks with 17.5, all-conference, all that stuff...it's pretty exciting. It's pretty exciting for me."

The 6-foot-2, 270-pound defensive lineman grew up in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, on the west coast of Africa and came to America at the age of 13 having played soccer as a child.