Obinna Eze

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Position:
OL
Ht./Wt.:
6-8 / 283
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Nashville, Tenn.
Prev School:
Davidson Academy

Honors

• AAC All-Academic Team 2019, 2017)
• Dean’s List for the 2019 fall semester
• Tiger 3.0 Club (2019, 2018, 2017)

2020 (Redshirt Junior)

• Member of the 8-3 Tigers who won the 2020 Montgomery Bowl
• Appeared in all 11 games on the season, earning 11 starts at left tackle
• Helped Memphis rank 22nd in the nation in total offense (453.1) and finish 17th in the country in both passing offense (307.9) and first down offense (260)

2019 (Redshirt Sophomore)

• Served as the Tigers' starting left tackle for all 14 games, protecting the blind side of quarterback Brady White, who went on to pass for more than 4,000 yards
• Part of an o-line unit that rolled up 6,791 total yards of offense and blocked for FWAA Freshman of the Year and AAC Rookie of the Year Kenneth Gainwell
• The line also helped Damonte Coxie become the second Tiger in program history to post back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons
• Helped Memphis to its first outright American Athletic Conference Championship and a Goodyear Cotton Bowl berth

2018 (Redshirt Freshman)

• Played in six games, seeing action exclusively at left tackles
• Totaled 67 snaps • Made collegiate debut in the season opener vs Mercer
• Played a career-high 34 snaps vs the Bears
• Saw action in his first American Athletic Conference game in a home win over Connecticut (9 snaps)
• Played 10 snaps in a home victory over Tulsa

2017 (Freshman)

• Redshirted
• Member of 2017 squad that went 10-3, won The American West Division title (7-1 league record) and played in The American Championship Game
• Squad earned the program’s first Liberty Bowl bid and played in the hometown’s postseason classic

Prior to Memphis/Personal

• First season of varsity football in 2016
• A junior varsity player his junior season in 2015 due to Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA eligibility) rules pertaining to exchange students
• A native of Nigeria, originally came to the United States to play basketball
• Played for head coach Jonathan Quinn at Davidson Academy
• Consensus top-30 OT nationally by Scout.com (No. 19), 247Sports.com (No. 21), Rivals.com (No. 24) and ESPN.com (No. 27)
• Scout.com rated him the No. 2 OT in the state of Tennessee and No. 8 OT in the South
• Consensus top-10 player in the state of Tennessee by Scout.com (No. 8), Rivals.com (No. 9), 247Sports.com (No. 9) and ESPN.com (No. 9)
• In his one season, blocked for an offense that accounted for 2,743 passing yards and 2,095 rushing yards
• Helped pave the way for the Bears offensive unit that averaged 439.9 total yards of offense and 35.9 points per game
• Led the Bears to a 7-4 record and a TSSAA Division II Class A playoffs berth
• Named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Division II-A All-State team
• Represented the West team in the 2016 Toyota East-West All-Star Classic (West won 45-21)
• Participated in Nike’s The Opening, a four-day event for the nation’s top high school prospects held at Nike Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon
• Son of Chuma and Ifeoma Eze, both of whom live in Nigeria
• His guardians in the United States are Maurice and Jennifer Fitzgerald
• Has four siblings in Nigeria: Tuvia, Sandra, Stephanie and Precious
• Also has two foster siblings in Nigel and Emerson Fitzgerald