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Max Iheanachor was born in Nigeria. He was a soccer goalie.
He didn't play American football until he was in junior college.
He's now a first-round pick.
The Pittsburgh Steelers chose him with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday out of Arizona State.
What a journey.
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How Max Iheanachor became NFL player
The 6-foot-6, 321-pound Iheanachor always had a possible football future, but he had to make it to the sport.
"The journey for Big Max is unique," NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah told Bill Bender of The Sporting News. "When you come over to the country at age 13 — when you don't play high school football, you're a basketball player and then you go off to junior college and just embrace the sport. Just look at a short period of time for him to be positioned where he is right now."
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He's an incredible athlete. He ran a 4.91-second 40-yard dash.
He built his athleticism elsewhere. His high school didn't even have football.
Iheanachor began his college career at East Los Angeles Community College.
From all those stops, now into the NFL.
English (US)