The San Francisco 49ers have spent the last two and a half years working with Lawrence Okoye to develop him into an NFL caliber defensive tackle. He spent his first year on injured reserve, and last year on the practice squad. Okoye met with the media on Monday, and made it clear that he thinks he has finally reached the point where he can compete in the NFL.
When Okoye first joined the 49ers, the initial talk was just about making him a bad football player. He had never worn pads, and it was a significant learning curve for the Olympic athlete.