Despite Olu Oluwatimi’s 6ft 3 in stature, the former Michigan Wolverines center was picked 154th overall by the Seahawks last season. However, it wasn’t the first time he had faced a setback in his life. Coming out of the Virginia Cavaliers, Oluwatimi was disappointed with his day 3 draft pick tag. So determined to prove himself, Olu decided to join Michigan, which emphasized using NFL-style blocking schemes.

And it did work as Oluwatimi went on to win the Rimington Trophy after finishing as runners-up a year prior. Well, it wouldn’t have been possible without the never to give up attitude he learned from his parents.

Who Are Olu Oluwatimi’s parents?

Brought into the family as the youngest of six siblings, Olu Oluwatimi had parents of Nigerian descent. His father, Yetunde and mother, Olufemi, emigrated individually from Africa. But came across each other in the United States, thereby going on to settle in the capital. As the man of the Oluwatimi household, Yetunde earned money as a taxi driver. While his mother worked with the children who had autism.

Although Oluwatimi plays in the NFL right now, he wasn’t exposed to football at a young age. Instead, he watched his parents work day and night to support the family, “I saw my dad, my mom, how much they worked on how they struggled financially. They were always out working. I had five older siblings kind of helping me to mature, taking care of me, teaching me the ways. It forced me to mature because I couldn’t be an extra burden.”

Well, growing up, Oluwatimi didn’t only witness his family fight poverty. They had to constantly keep themselves safe in a neighbourhood like Upper Marlboro, MD, “It was a struggle. But at the end of the day, we grew up out of it. They kept pressing on, and they kept trying to put us in good neighbourhoods so we wouldn’t be susceptible to violence or things of that nature.” Amid all those struggles, it was a small nudge that led to Oluwatimi falling in love with football.

Where is the Seahawks center from?

Although Seattle is his home right now, Oluwatimi started his journey from Maryland. There, he used to play as a defensive end while staying close to his home. But that happiness didn’t last long, as Oluwatimi had to move to attend the United States Air Force Academy in 2017. Well, moving to Colorado turned out to be eye-opening for Oluwatimi as he started to realise his destiny lay elsewhere.

Banking on a hard decision, Olusegun said, “F— it. I’m walking on. I understand the player that I am and I understand that being at the Air Force Academy is not something that I want to do.” As we all say, better late than ever, Oluwatimi was on the move again, this time to Virginia. Kickstarting his college football journey in 2018, Oluwatimi now finds himself in the NFL.

Seeing him follow his passion for playing at the highest level possible, Oluwatimi’s parents would surely be proud of their son. And we hope he continues to surprise them by building a lasting legacy that stems from Nigeria, Africa.