Okuayinonu’s hellish motor makes for a perfect 49ers D-line marriage originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA – Sam Okuayinonu had the game of his NFL career on Sunday, but when given the opportunity to step into the spotlight, the veteran defensive lineman immediately emphasized his teammates’ efforts instead of basking in the glory of his excellence individual performance.
“It feels good, man. It feels good,” Okuayinonu told NBC Sports Bay Area after the 49ers’ 30-13 win over the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium. “Not only do I feel good about myself, I feel good about the whole D-line. I love how we came out to play. I feel like we were hustling, flying around and having fun I see guys on the sidelines, just excited… it felt great.”
Okuayinonu wasted no time in making an impact after being promoted to San Francisco’s active roster this weekend. He forced a fumble on the first play of New England’s second drive to seize early momentum and set the tone for the 49ers’ dominance on the defensive front.
Okuayinonu is quickly earning goodwill among 49ers fans for his great motor, but the San Francisco squad has long been impressed with the 26-year-old’s consistent effort behind the scenes before being promoted from the practice squad to appear in his ninth NFL match to play.
For Okuayinonu, it doesn’t matter whether it’s scouting or chasing quarterbacks in front of 70,000 screaming fans: he approaches every game like it’s his last.
“Man, honestly, when I come to practice — you can ask anyone about Sam O — I come to work,” Okuayinonu said. “Even when I look at the scout team, they’re mad at me for fouls, like ‘slow down,’ but that’s just how I approach the game. I approach every game, every practice, every snap thinking that it could be like this are my last, so I’m trying to go as hard as I can, and line up and do it all over again.
Okuayinonu’s ruthless mentality is more than impressive. It’s inspiring, just like his journey to the NFL, which makes any adversity he faces on the playing field pale in comparison to the obstacles he’s overcome in life.
“My whole life has really been adversity,” Okuayinonu said earlier at his locker. “I grew up in Liberia, on the west coast of Africa. I was born during the civil war there. Me and my mother emigrated to America at the age of 12. I started playing soccer in my senior year of high school. Went to a few junior colleges because I was new to football. I’m still learning the game of football. I had to wait. But God had other plans for me.
“Then I sign with Tennessee, I get fired and I’m here. I just have to work my way through the rotation. But I love it all, man. Because at the end of the day it makes for a great story, man. I’m the guy who prides himself on facing things head-on and simply attacking adversity and coming out on the other side victorious.”
Okuayinonu’s incredible path now puts him firmly in a rotation on the 49ers’ defensive line, a selfless unit that thrives on seeing each other succeed.
San Francisco entered Week 4 with just eight sacks in three games, but it nearly matched that total Sunday, with four players combining to bring down New England quarterback Jacoby Brissett six times in Sunday’s win.
Okuayinonu explained how the 49ers defensive linemen feed off each other, and how that energy quickly spreads to the rest of the team on the sideline.
“It’s very contagious, it’s very contagious. It only takes one person,” Okuayinonu said. “One person makes a play, and then everyone says, ‘What did you do? How did you get that play?’ And then it’s like, ‘I want to get one too,’ the next one says, ‘I want to get one too!’ “
San Francisco successfully made New England one-dimensional, shutting down the running game and forcing many obvious passing situations that allowed the 49ers defensive line to turn on Brissett.
“When you’re sure they have to pass the ball, man, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to pin my ears back and fly off the ball, man,’” Okuayinonu said. “Just see if I can get this quarterback pressure or sack or whatever, man. It feels good. When you can stop a team and make them one-dimensional, it feels great.”
While Sunday’s performance was excellent by all accounts, Okuayinonu remains confident the 49ers’ defensive line is nowhere near its ceiling.
“I feel like we’ve only scratched the surface,” Okuayinonu said. “When you see some guys in our room and see what they can do, man, you’re like, ‘Woah.’ I look at these guys every day in practice and say, ‘Man, I’m playing with some legends. So to be in that room with those guys, man, you’re going to see more as the season goes on just scratches the surface.’
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