David Onyemata is on the cusp of a professional football career

By Jamie Thomas

Let’s get something out of the way here.

What David Onyemata has accomplished in five years is nothing short of incredible.

He had never seen or heard of the game of football when he walked into the office of Manitoba Bisons head coach Brian Dobie in 2011.

“He wanted to join the football club, quote unquote,” Dobie said. “Not knowing what CIS football is, he had no idea.”

Since that first meeting, Onyemata officially made the team a year later and became a starter on the defensive line in 2013. He capped what should be his final season of CIS football in 2015 with the J.P. Metras Trophy for Most Outstanding Down Lineman and earned an invite to the East-West Shrine Game. He impressed NFL scouts and NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock with his performance in the showcase game.

"He looks the part. He's a big (6-foot-4, 300  pounds) good-looking kid. He moves well.” said Mayock on his annual NFL Draft conference call. "He has no idea what he's doing, but in the one week of the East-West game, he improved immeasurably, which gives coaches hope that he could translate that at the next level.”

While Onyemata did not receive an invite to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis at the end of February, he put on a show in front of members from 17 NFL teams and one CFL team at his pro day in Winnipeg on March 14 at the University of Manitoba.

“I wasn’t thinking numbers and i just wanted to do the best I could,” Onyemata told GoBisons.ca. “I felt I did really good and was pumped throughout the day. It would be really great if I got picked and happy to get the opportunity.”

That showing in Winnipeg was enough to make Onyemata the No. 1 guy in the CFL Scouting Bureau's final rankings.

Following his pro day Onyemata has visited more than half the teams in the NFL and his agent Carter Chow says things have been going well.

“The neat thing about David is he’s a very quick learner. I mean that’s evident by what he was able to accomplish in a short time there at Manitoba.” said Chow. “The consistent feedback I’ve received from (NFL) teams is that he has a very high football IQ and he picks things up quickly. I think that’s very important for a guy who hasn’t played a lot of football.”

Therein lies the problem right? He lacks experience and has to go from CIS competition to the NFL. So what do NFL GM’s think about Onyemata and the lack of tape they have of him.

“Everybody when I got into this business thought if you don’t go to a D-1 (division 1 in the NCAA) school, you can’t be drafted, but that’s not the case.” said Bills GM Doug Whaley. “If you have talent, that’s what we get paid to do is find talent. Now, there’s some challenges and he (Onyemata) presents some unique challenges but again, that’s what we get paid to do.”

The consensus for Onyemata is anywhere from as high as a fifth-round pick to a high priority free agent. The website nfldraftscout.com has him listed as the 26th ranked defensive tackle in what is being described as a deep crop of talent at the position.

Only one Canadian was taken in the NFL draft in 2015, that was Vancouver’s Christian Covington who was selected in the sixth round by the Houston Texans.  This week Onyemata finds out where his very short football journey will take him next.