Emmanuel Oyebadejo didn’t start playing American football until he was 19, when he was studying to become a doctor at Exeter Medical School in England.
Now 22, Oyebadejo is making an impact in the SEC, coming off a 2.5-sack performance that helped Florida secure a significant road win over Auburn.
But the week leading up to his breakout performance was far from ordinary for the fifth-year senior.
Oyebadejo entered the week questionable after suffering an ankle injury in Florida’s Week 1 win over FAU. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to play, and it wasn’t until late in the week that he learned he would travel with the team.
“Since I’ve been playing football, I never had a week like this. Coming back from my ankle, it wasn’t a typical game week. Wednesday, I didn’t think I was going to play in this game. I didn’t know if I was going to travel or not. I found out, like, ‘we’re gonna have you warm up, see how you feeling,’” Oyebadejo said.
Oyebadejo felt good enough to play, despite not being at full health.
“Physically I wasn’t 100%, but mentally, I had to push,” Oyebadejo added. “I had the mental fortitude to go and push and play through it.”
Florida was glad that was the case. The 6-foot-6, 299-pound edge rusher came up in the clutch on multiple occasions.
Early in the game, Oyebadejo was in on back-to-back sacks after Auburn started its drive at the goal line following an interception. The sacks forced Auburn to settle for a field goal. In what would end up being only a five-point win, the defensive stand proved significant.
“It was very critical,” Oyebadejo said. “In this league, the games are so close. The games aren’t just based on skill but based on mental too. So to have that, to have those two sacks in that critical phase of the game, limiting them to a field goal and allow the offense to come back. Yeah, it put us in a good position.”
With Auburn trying to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter trailing by 17, Oyebadejo recorded another sack. This time, it came on fourth down, giving possession back to the Gators with 11:07 to play.
Oyebadejo was Florida’s highest-rated defensive player in the contest, according to Pro Football Focus. He recorded seven pressures on 24 pass-rush snaps, which ranked second on the team behind Jayden Woods’ 11.
He’s also Florida’s highest-rated defender on the season.
Sumrall was clearly proud of Oyebadejo’s performance, noting that he didn’t fully practice all week and played with a lot of toughness. After the victory, Sumrall let him lead the fight song in the locker room.
“It was great. I wasn’t really expecting it. Just for coach Sumrall to acknowledge my performance, that meant a lot,” Oyebadejo said.
Florida invested a lot in an inexperienced player from Jacksonville State. Oyebadejo recognizes the risk the Gators took in bringing him on board, and he’s grateful for the opportunity.
“I’m grateful to this coaching staff because they put a lot of faith in me,” Oyebadejo said. “Bringing me in from the G5, it’s a risky thing to do, it don’t always pan out. And there’s a bump in competition and you don’t know how much different players will adapt. I’m just happy that he recognized my performance and that I’m also able to repay the faith that they had in me, because they had a lot of faith in me.”