Chargers Sign WR Praise Olatoke, A Former Sprinter At Ohio State

The Los Angeles Chargers have signed wide receiver Praise Olatoke, who was born in Nigeria and raised in Scotland. Olatoke played club football and ran track at Ohio State, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Praise Olatoke is a member of the NFL's International Pathway Program

Furthermore, Olatoke joins defensive lineman CJ Okoye as the Chargers’ members of the NFL's International Pathway Program (IPP). The Chargers signed Okoye, a native of Nigeria, as a free agent in May 2023.

The IPP gives international athletes a chance to learn American football and attempt to make an NFL roster. He will not count toward the Chargers’ 90-player roster in training camp.

speeeed

we've signed WR praise olatoke → https://t.co/PAfyXHd40D pic.twitter.com/p9eJSdXEq1

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) June 14, 2024

As a part of the program, Olatoke trained at IMG Academy this spring and attended a pro day in March in which scouts from across the NFL evaluated him and the IPP’s other participants.

“I've sort of established to myself that this is what I want to do. So, I'm not going to let this opportunity go by me because of ignorance or attitude or character,” Olatoke told Eleven Warriors in March.

“I know physically, I can do it. I’m tall enough, fast enough, I’ve got the right makeup. So just marrying those two together gives me confidence that I can do what I say I want to do.”

Olatoka ran the 100-meter dash in 10.27 seconds in 2022

If Olatoke makes the team's practice squad, he still won’t count toward the practice squad limit.

At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Olatoka ran the 100-meter dash in just 10.27 seconds in the 2022 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. His only American football experience is at the club level.

However, he has the talent to be an NFL receiver. The Chargers are giving him that opportunity to prove it.

With the Buckeyes, Olatoke caught seven passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns in his lone season with the team.

Ohio State club football coach James Grega believes Olatoke is NFL material.

“We always told him, and I know a lot of his teammates had kind of communicated like, ‘Hey man, if you get the reps, and you figure out the X's and O's part and verbiage and learning the more intimate details of the game, you have NFL-capable qualities in terms of speed, in terms of size,'” Grega told Eleven Warriors.

“All of [the physical ability] is there. It's just a matter of honing in on the game itself. And that's what I told the IPP. It's been really cool to see him take all those steps and put his head down and keep working and get to this point.”