LB Justin Okoronkwo first played football in Germany. How’d he end up at South Carolina?
Ever the environmentalists, the German soccer club Bayern Munich devised a plan a few years ago to cut down waste inside its stadium. The idea was to reuse cups — which seems reasonable in restaurants but sounds gross in stadiums.
Anyway, fans would put down a small deposit to get the cup and then receive a refund once they returned it after the game. Those cups would then be cleaned, dried and available for the next match.
Which is where new South Carolina linebacker signee Justin Okoronkwo comes in. The kid was desperate for cash. He was taking every odd job around to scrounge up enough money to fund the trip that would change his life.
A Munich, Germany native, Okoronkwo spent most of his early life playing soccer and doing gymnastics — which even he admits now was a bit odd. The same height that made Okoronkwo a soccer goalkeeper made it nearly impossible to be any good at high-level gymnastics.
“My body probably wasn’t made for gymnastics,” he said with a chuckle.
But dang if that body wasn’t perfect for football.
One of Okoronkwo’s good friends had been playing for years and trying to convince Okoronkwo to give it a shot. For a while, his mom had told him he needed to pick one: football or futbol. He always stuck with the latter.
Then came the spark that created the change — his soccer team disbanded and he first began playing for München Rangers in 2020 and, after COVID-19 hit, the Fursty Razorbacks.
“When I went to the other team, they started playing real physical and I fell in love with the sport even more,” Okoronkwo said. “I started as a safety and then in the third game of the season, our starting linebacker got ejected so our coach moved me to linebacker.”
Okoronkwo makes it quite clear: This was low-level football in a country that doesn’t care much about football. There was no high school football team to play on. These were clubs he had to seek out. But, like in America, there is a hierarchy. Bigger clubs. Smaller clubs. Everything in between.
And because Okoronkwo — now 6-foot-3, 215 pounds — was quick to understand the playbook and had no trouble being physical, he ascended.
Which led Okoronkwo the Nuremberg Rams, a College Preparatory Academy now run by American Josh Alaeze, a Baltimore native who played linebacker at Central Connecticut State before continuing his career overseas.
Still, Okoronkwo knew the only way for exposure was traveling to where they actually care about football. Which meant he had to go on a PPI tour.
PPI Recruits, led by former UMass defender Brandon Collier, finds great football players around the globe and helps them get recruited by colleges in the United State. It has now helped over 150 kids from over 25 countries land scholarships.
Before Okoronkwo could be one of them, he needed about $3,000 to go on a week-long PPI tour in America that would include five camps and include appearances by who knows how many of the top colleges.
He took a job delivering food for a local burger restaurant. Another gig with a pharmacy delivering medications. During COVID-19, he was working inside the pharmacy giving tests. And, of course, the dreaded cup cleaning job.
Even administering COVID-19 tests, he said, wasn’t as bad as cleaning the cups.
“Some people probably don’t even realize they’re being reused,” Okoronkwo said. “They also go the cups from concerts from big events, concerts.”
Coming to America
Okoronkwo eventually cleaned enough plastic cups to go on the PPI Tour in 2022, which has to feel like the most up-in-the-air thing ever. Think about it: Okoronkwo was great at a sport few in his country played. Sure he had folks telling him he was good, but how was he to know if he was actually good? Like USA-level good?
Imagine you’re a stud ping-pong player in America. Folks are raving about your skills. Then you travel to China and get dog-walked by a 10-year-old who’s been training half his life. That would be pretty depressing, right?
Well, Okoronkwo never felt that pain. After a week in America, he had offers from Michigan, Penn State and Maryland — where he was temporarily committed.
During the lead-up to the 2022 tour, in addition to familiarizing himself with the big schools, Okoronkwo ramped up his training. He was doing individual training with Alaeze three times a week and then team practice two more days. (“In Germany, you don’t practice that often with your team because it’s just a club sport,” Okoronkwo said.)
“That first offer, that was all I wanted,” Okoronkwo said. “I didn’t know how good I’d be compared to the U.S. prospects but after the Ohio State camp — that was the first camp I did — I looked pretty good.”
He went back on the tour the next year, staying in the US for three weeks but only going to five major camps. More attention, more offers rolled through. That summer, he flipped his commitment to Alabama and its six-time national-championship coach.
“I really liked Nick Saban,” Okoronkwo said. “He was the coach I wanted to play for. He’s like the greatest coach to ever coach college football.”
Okoronkwo signed with the Crimson Tide in December 2023 — just 21 days before Saban announced his retirement.
Even with coach Kalen Deboer leading Alabama, Okoronkwo still played as a freshman, recording 14 tackles in seven games. Problem was, his path to a starting job was filled with obstacles.
Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson announced he was returning in 2025 — as was linebacker Justin Jefferson, who received extra eligibility thanks to the Pavia rule. And the Crimson Tide brought in Colorado transfer Nikhai Hill-Green.
“I felt like the starting spots were already gone,” Okoronkwo said, “and, I mean, it’s hard to compete — especially at a place like Bama — with guys who are more experienced than you.”
Becoming a Gamecock
That led him to South Carolina, which was the first SEC to offer Okoronkwo years earlier. Defensive coordinator Clayton White — who already had a good relationship with Okoronkwo — reached out and the linebacker came on a visit last Wednesday.
What really caught his eye? South Carolina’s strength staff.
“(It’s) very impressive, especially compared to Bama,” Okoronkwo said. “What they are doing there, I really like because it’s way more related to the game. Like what drills they do and what lifts they do. That really stood out to me.”
Also helping: South Carolina lost its two starting linebackers (Debo Williams and Demetrius Knight), meaning Okoronkwo will be able to compete for a starting spot right away.
“Coach White told me there’s a need at linebacker and I feel like I’m ready to play,” he said. “Didn’t get a lot of opportunities at Bama, but when I got on the field I had production. So I feel like I can play on that SEC level.”
So the 21-year-old who hasn’t yet been playing football for five years made the decision to commit to South Carolina last week, loading up everything in his dorm, making the six-hour drive to Columbia and staying in a hotel until he gets into an apartment.
Things will be hectic for a bit. But every once in a while when life slows down, Okoronkwo thinks about how insane it all still feels.
“I feel like I still don’t realize where I’m at right now,” he said. “I’m just living my dream for real. (This) is everything I wanted when I was playing in Germany.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 8:20 AM.
