1. Alex Okafor was born on February 8,1991 and is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League.
35 Facts About Alex Okafor
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Alex Okafor played college football for the Texas Longhorns, earning All-American honors.
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Alex Okafor was born in Dallas, Texas to a Nigerian father and an African-American mother.
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Alex Okafor's parents met in college at Grambling State University, a historically black university, before settling down in Texas.
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Alex Okafor attended Pflugerville High School in Pflugerville, Texas, and played for the Pflugerville Panthers high school football team, helping them to the 5A Div.
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Alex Okafor played soccer and basketball and was a stand out in both, as well as being academic all-district twice.
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Alex Okafor attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he played for coach Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns football team from 2009 to 2012.
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Alex Okafor finished his 2011 junior season with 46 tackles and seven quarterback sacks, and was named a first-team All-American as a defensive end by the American Football Coaches Association.
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Alex Okafor was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2011 and again in 2012 and made the UT Athletic Director's Honor Roll three times.
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Alex Okafor was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award, and CFPA Defensive Lineman Trophy watch lists to start the 2012 season.
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Alex Okafor was ranked as one of the middle tier pass rushers in the 2013 NFL draft.
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Alex Okafor was projected as either a defensive end or linebacker in the NFL.
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Alex Okafor was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round, with the 103rd overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft.
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Alex Okafor played in his first game in 2013, recording a special teams tackle before a bicep injury ended his season.
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Alex Okafor recorded his first two career sacks in Week 6 of the 2014 season against the Washington Redskins on quarterback Kirk Cousins.
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Alex Okafor had his first interception in Week 14 on Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback Alex Smith.
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Alex Okafor ended the season playing in 13 games with 12 starts, recording 30 tackles, 8 sacks, three passes defensed and one interception.
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On March 14,2017, Alex Okafor signed with the New Orleans Saints.
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Alex Okafor started the first 10 games of the season, recording a career-high 43 tackles, 4.5 sacks and four passes defended.
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Alex Okafor suffered a torn Achilles in the team's Week 11 win over the Redskins and was ruled out for the rest of the season.
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On March 16,2018, Alex Okafor re-signed with the Saints on a two-year contract.
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Alex Okafor started all 16 games in 2018, recording 36 tackles and four sacks.
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On February 14,2019, the Saints voided the final year of Alex Okafor's contract, making him a free agent at the start of the new league year.
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On March 14,2019, Alex Okafor signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Alex Okafor played in 10 games before suffering a torn pectoral in Week 15.
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Alex Okafor was placed on injured reserve on December 16,2019.
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Alex Okafor finished the season with 22 tackles and five sacks.
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On October 24,2020, Alex Okafor was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 6 and was activated on November 21,2020.
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Alex Okafor played in 11 games and all 3 playoff games, recording 21 combined tackles and a forced fumble.
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Alex Okafor played in all 17 games and all 3 playoff games, recording 27 combined tackles, 7 quarterback hits, 2 pass deflections and a forced fumble.
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Alex Okafor became a free agent at the end of the season but was left unsigned.
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In 2020 during his time with the Chiefs, Alex Okafor sponsored the NFL youth education program Kingdom United at Pflugerville Independent School District.
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In 2024, Alex Okafor ran to be on the PfISD Board of Trustees unopposed, and was elected on May 4.
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Alex Okafor traveled to Kenya during the 2016 offseason with former Texas and Saints teammate Kenny Vaccaro and is involved in community and fundraising efforts to construct a school in the region.
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On March 9,2015, Alex Okafor was arrested for evading arrest on foot and for a misdemeanor warrant for jaywalking in Austin, Texas after he knocked over a pedestrian.