BYU football: Cougars receive commitment from Chinonso Opara
BYU football just added a massive tackle/defensive end to its 2018 recruiting class, with Chinonso Opara committing Thursday afternoon.
Chinonso Opara is a big addition for BYU football. Quite literally.
Standing 6-foot-9, Opara’s wingspan is a jaw-dropping 7-foot-2. He’s listed at 270-pounds.
Opara hails from Nigeria, but plays for Juan Diego High School in Draper, Utah, and despite only playing football for one year, has generated a lot of buzz.
He also held an offer from the University of Utah, but chose BYU football due to proximity to family.
“I just want to play close to family,” Opara told the Deseret News. “I have the chance to play at the next level, and I’ve been working hard to get at that level.”
The Cougars offered Opara on June 13. On June 22, Utah offered.
One of Opara’s coaches, Tana Vea, told Scout.com that BYU’s atmosphere played a big role in the decision as well.
“It’s just him looking at BYU as a great school with a great academic tradition… there’s a family environment at BYU and he knows it’s a great place for him to succeed,” Vea said.
Vea also told Scout that BYU football will be adding Opara to the roster as a defensive lineman first, but neither side would remove the possibility of him lining up on offense.
Opara’s size and raw upside is certainly enticing. But as with most players this raw, it may take awhile before he’s ready to make an impact on the field.
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At the same time, a lot of things are going his way. Besides having great size, he’s also a member of Juan Diego’s varsity basketball team. Playing in the post (we’re pretty sure he’s not a point guard) means he’s likely got good footwork – which should translate nicely to the football field.
At the very least, you can see from his highlight film that he’s got some tenacity to him – always a good thing when you’re in the trenches.
Opara becomes the 20th member of BYU football’s 2018 class and the eighth recruit from the Beehive state.