A native of Nigeria who grew up speaking English before his family trekked to Washington, D.C., Jeremiah Attaochu was a soccer star before he even picked up a pigskin.
In fact, it was mostly by accident he ended up on the Archbishop Carroll High School football team.
He was in line for “athletic team physicals” hoping to make the soccer team. The freshman football coach was sitting behind a desk and asked Attaochu how big he was.
“6-foot-1, 185 pounds.”
The coach told him he was playing football, not soccer.
A shy kid, Attaochu knew to do what an adult told him.