Jeffrey Chidera Okudah, also known as Jeff Okudah, achieved success in football at an early age. The Ohio State alumni knocked everyone out of the college list and earned a unanimous All-American title. And the very next year, the current Houston Texans cornerback got selected in the 2020 NFL drafts by the Detroit Lions with a contract of $33,528,544.

Though his first big contract was for four years, the Lions traded Okudah for the Atlanta Falcons in 2023. And after spending one year at Atlanta, the Houston Texans signed the cornerback for $4,750,000 as a free agent. What a journey Okudah has been on! But you know who was with him throughout this journey? His parents.

Who is Jeff Okudah’s dad?

Jeff Okudah’s dad’s name is Sam Okudah. Because of limited information, Sam Okudah’s current status is not available. But we can certainly say that he has always been with Jeff to teach him sports, as he himself was a sports-lover. It looks interesting now that Jeff’s father has signed him to play soccer. Sam Okudah used to work at an IT company to feed the family before they all left for Dallas. Currently, Jeff’s legal guardians are his uncle and aunt.

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Talking about how Dallas blessed him and his family, Jeff’s father said, “I always tell people here in Texas that Texas did not make Jeff a star. It was like God designed us to move to Dallas, or Texas, for Jeffrey’s football to take off.” Actually, Jeff was so good at football in college day that he was also named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. The cornerback’s dad never misses a chance to deliver gratitude for his son and praise him for pulling them up from bad days.

Who was Jeff Okudah’s mom?

Jeff dedicates his whole career to his mom, Marie Okudah. Even this reflects how much he respects his late mother. The lymphoma disease she had was incurable even after undergoing chemotherapy. She died in 2017 after a long battle with lymphoma, which was the same year when Jeff played his first year as a freshman at Ohio State. Three years after Marie passed away, the cornerback wrote a heartfelt letter to his late mom, which went viral on social media. But you know what, she left the world with the happiness of Jeff’s selection in the NFL.

The Okudah family, originally belonging to Nigeria, was happier than anybody when Jeff was picked up by the Detroit Lions as a No. 3 pick. Recalling his mom’s happiness, Jeff once said, “She would’ve been in tears. Honestly, she didn’t really understand football like that, just being born in Nigeria, but she knew what made me happy. So I think just her seeing me smile, me being really excited, I think that it would just bring her to tears.”

If Marie Okudah was still alive, she would be so happy to see her son playing in the playoffs this year. Afterall, the Texans have topped the AFC South division and will play against the Los Angeles Chargers in a wild-card round.