Former International College of Manitoba (ICM) student stars in NFL

A former International College of Manitoba (ICM) student continues to make waves in the National Football League (NFL) after securing a three-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons in March this year.

David Onyemata began his journey towards the NFL at International College of Manitoba before progressing to the University of Manitoba, where he learned the game of football as part of the Manitoba Bisons.

Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, David immigrated to Winnipeg, Canada in 2011 with plans to study at the University of Manitoba where he was to major in Environmental Science. At this stage, he had never experienced gridiron football, having only played soccer in his younger years. However, standing at 6 foot 4 inches (193 centimetres) and tipping the scales at 300 pounds (136 kilograms), David was quickly identified by the Bisons coach as a young man built for the power and brutality of College football.

In 2016 he became the 12th – and most recent – player in history to be drafted from Canadian University Football to the NFL when he was acquired by the New Orleans Saints as a defensive linesman. With his 2023 move to the Falcons set to take his career through until at least 2025, David is staring at 10 years in the NFL and around USD$65 million in earnings. This is even more meritorious when you consider the average career length for a pro-footballer is just 3.3 years.

You can learn more about David’s incredible journey in the video below. Much of the footage used in this short documentary was captured at the University of Manitoba.

At the time of writing, the Atlanta Falcons were sitting second in the NFC South division of the NFL with a record of three wins and two losses, with David coming off a two tackle game in a 21-19 win against the Houston Texans on 9 October.