From Gophers to Vikings, Esezi Otomewo is grateful: ‘I feel at home’
Not long after the Vikings announced their 53-man roster, and defensive lineman Esezi Otomewo realized he had in fact made the team, he hit up his good friend Boye Mafe.
The dynamic duo used to wreak havoc off the edge as college teammates with the Gophers, which led to Otomewo getting picked up by the Vikings and Mafe getting selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2022 NFL Draft.
After impressing in training camp this summer, both Otomewo and Mafe officially can say they are on an NFL active roster with Week 1 right around the corner.
“You should’ve seen the reaction when he called me,” Otomewo said of his conversation with Mafe. “I love that guy.”
It didn’t take Otomewo very long to start to feel comfortable in the NFL. Because he played for the the Gophers, he didn’t even have to pick up and move away to start his professional career when the Vikings drafted him. He made note of that this spring during organized team activities.
“I feel at home,” he said. “I know where everything is at. It’s not a culture shock. That stuff can help a lot.”
That has been evident this summer during training camp at TCO Performance Center in Eagan. After battling through a knee injury, Otomewo has steadily improved his stock with maximum effort in practices and solid play in preseason games.
He’s also learned a lot from veteran defensive linemen Harrison Phillips and Dalvin Tomlinson. They have helped Otomewo with various aspects of being a professional, from showing him how to watch film properly to teaching him certain techniques before and after practice.
After making the 53-man roster this week, the rookie defensive lineman wants to make an impact with the Vikings this season.
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Go Gophers!!