The Oklahoman’s Super 30: How Tulsa NOAH's Danny Okoye sifts through array of D-I offers
TULSA — Danny Okoye was looking for consistency.
With a smorgasbord of Division I football offers, the Tulsa NOAH edge rusher needed several ways to differentiate some schools from the rest.
Athletic facilities mattered. An appealing campus environment helped, too.
But as Okoye narrowed his options to 10, one factor guided him more than anything else.
Peeling away the glitz and glam, he noticed the coaches who continually reached out to form genuine bonds.
“Really, whoever I feel is interested in me not just as an athlete, but also as a person,” Okoye said, “I feel like that’s gonna weigh pretty heavily.”
As the No. 1 recruit on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list of the state’s best prospects in the 2024 class, Okoye has generated tremendous hype on the football field. Taking an unconventional route to the next level – NOAH stands for Northeast Oklahoma Association of Homeschools – Okoye enjoyed a standout junior season with 43 tackles, including 16 for loss, and six sacks.
Anyone with access to Hudl can see his highlights and know him as a player, but who is Danny Okoye, the person?
Let him tell you.
“I’m a very independent person, a thinker,” Okoye said. “I think a lot. So, thoughtful, independent, charismatic, energetic.”
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As Okoye spoke, he shared a fascinating picture of paradoxes. He loves to partake in high-energy combat sports, yet he can be laid-back. From his NOAH team to his 7-on-7 club, Okoye thrives within social groups. But he has a highly introspective side and chooses to take most college visits alone.
These qualities guide Okoye as he navigates the exciting yet all-encompassing world of college football recruitment as a soon-to-be high school senior.
“He’s extremely mature,” said Derek Rasmussen, Okoye’s 7-on-7 coach. “He’s thorough in his thought process.”
For Okoye, it’s a little more complicated than a choice among a few offers.
He has 30.
Each school’s logo appears in a story bubble at the top of his Instagram profile, and with so many offers, it takes several seconds to scroll through them.
In May, Okoye announced his top 10: Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana State, Nebraska, Oregon, OU, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M. Throughout the summer, he has visited several schools, trying to separate giants from giants.
“They’re all great schools, thankfully,” Okoye said. “Getting to see what one school has that another school might not have, it’s been a nice thing to see what everybody has to offer.”
Every visit leaves a unique impression. At Texas, he loved the energy of the fan base, he said. The Tennessee visit was “informative.” LSU? “Inspiring.”
With rivals competing for his attention and airplanes flying him across the nation, Okoye is balancing a constantly changing schedule. Social media is a whole different monster, but Okoye isn’t letting all the tweets from keyboard-loquacious fans influence him too much.
More: A look at The Oklahoman's 2024 Super 30 high school football recruiting series
He even bought a second phone because of too many messages on his old one, he said. Okoye, who takes online classes and plans to study kinesiology and business in college, wanted to focus on school. He said he is typically a straight-A student, and when social media became a tempting distraction, he knew what to do.
“I was like, ‘Nah, I got to take a little step back,’” Okoye said. “Sometimes, it’s overwhelming. Being pulled in 30 different directions, everybody has expectations for you to meet and things that they want you to do.”
Tulsa NOAH coach James Ballinger praised Okoye’s abilities to balance everything.
“He just focuses on the communications and the connections that he knows he needs to prioritize,” Ballinger said. “Then he just will let the rest of it go by the wayside if needed, so he does a pretty good job of doing that.”
At the same time, Okoye is preparing for his final season with NOAH. Although he already has offers from the NCAA’s top football powerhouses and won a homeschool national championship last season, he isn’t done growing his game.
At 6-foot-5 and about 255 pounds, he has bulked up since last season, and his capabilities extend beyond defense. Ballinger said the Jaguars are involving Okoye in the offense more, planning to rotate him in at wide receiver.
During his time with the Sooner7 club 7-on-7 organization, Okoye took reps at tight end, and Rasmussen said some coaches have even mentioned recruiting Okoye at that position.
On both sides of the ball, Okoye – nicknamed “Danny Phantom” because he “takes people’s souls” when he tackles them – is fine-tuning his talents.
“I’ve definitely been working on turning it into an art form,” Okoye said.
More: The Oklahoman’s Super 30: Josh Aisosa grows from novice to D-I recruit at Edmond Santa Fe
Okoye loves to study the game, and he stays dedicated to his training regimen. On a recent July Wednesday when the heat index soared into the 100s, Okoye spent his evening doing field drills at Tulsa Victory Christian.
“I sweated a lot,” Okoye said, “but gotta get the work in.”
He continues to challenge himself in the weight room, too. Audra and Sully Leggett, NOAH's strength and conditioning coaches, witnessed Okoye's tremendous progress during the Jaguars' recent Lift-a-Thon. Sully said Okoye set a personal best of 750 pounds on the trap bar deadlift, a massive leap from last year's max of 685.
"With Danny, he makes great gains and great improvements," Audra said. "Never really anything small."
Combined with his skills, the many layers of Okoye's personality make him an explosive edge rusher.
And they bring him a little closer to his college decision, which he said he plans to announce in September or October. His social nature helps him bond with the potential teammates he meets on each campus. His analytical, philosophical side allows him to reflect on every visit.
If a coach takes the time to know these traits, then that’s what Okoye wants to see.
“I’m just a chill dude, I guess,” Okoye said. “I just hang out, play football.”
Where will that take him next? With myriad choices, the answer is up to one person.
Danny Okoye.
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The Oklahoman's 2024 Super 30
Name: Danny Okoye
School: Tulsa NOAH
Super 30 ranking: No. 1
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 255 pounds
Position: DE
Recruited by: Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Colorado, Duke, Georgia, Kansas, Kansas State, Lousiana State, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, SMU, Southern California, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Tulsa, UTSA, Vanderbilt
About the series
The Oklahoman’s Super 30 feature series spotlights each high school football player on the Super 30 recruit rankings for the 2024 class. The series concluded Tuesday with No. 1, Danny Okoye of Tulsa NOAH. Here are the last five players we featured:
No. 2: Xadavien Sims, DE, Durant
No. 1: Danny Okoye, DE, Tulsa NOAH
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS football: Danny Okoye, Tulsa NOAH recruiting profile
