A major talking point heading into the 2026 draft for USA’s National Football League (NFL) has turned out to be a Nigerian-born battler named Maxwell Iheanachor (Max), who shot to limelight as a college star with Arizona State University.
Sports247 gathered that the 22-year-old former Arizona State Sun Devils’ offensive tackle has crisscrossed the NFL circuit since the start of April, with a total of 12 teams stumbling over one another in the hunt for his signature.
He was born in Nigeria and moved to United States at the age of 13, following which he attended King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science, where he played soccer and basketball.
Without previous experience, he enrolled at East Los Angeles College to play American Football in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) from 2021 to 2022 and was rated as the 7th overall JUCO prospect in the class of 2023.
He then switched to Arizona State Sun Devils and made his first collegiate start in week three of the 2023 season, then appeared in six games with five starts, after which he became a full-time starter in 2024, making 14 starts on the offensive line.
The youngster, who ranked 27th in the NFL’s draft on Thursday, has drawn attention from a series of top teams that include The Patriots, Bears, Ravens, Panthers, Dolphins, Raiders, Packers, Bengals, Niners, Cardinals and Eagles.
Iheanachor told USA TODAY Sports: “It’s a business, with teams bringing the guys they are interested in. You just kind of talk to them eye-to-eye. They want to learn about your character as a player. It’s definitely been an awesome experience.
“I’m just taking it day by day. Right now, I’m just finishing out this process with the meetings and stuff. I’m not trying to get too far ahead. When that day comes, there’s going to be a lot of emotions.”
Sports247 reports that Iheanachor will be joined by Abuja-born Uar Bernard in carrying the Nigerian flag high for the upcoming NFL Draft, where stars of the future in the elite American Football league are expected to emerge.
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