Daniel Akinkunmi to Oklahoma; No. 1 international prospect chooses Sooners

The game of football is rapidly expanding outside of the United States.

If one is up early enough, they can catch that expansion early Sunday mornings in the fall when the NFL hosts games in London, England. 

But there's evidence that football is growing beyond just viewership, as international prospects emerge around the world and develop into true college football talents.

On Thursday, the Oklahoma Sooners landed the top international prospect in the class of 2024, as NFL Academy offensive lineman Daniel Akinkunmi announced his commitment:

He chose Oklahoma over fellow finalists Baylor, Clemson, Miami and Ole Miss.

The 6-foot-5, 310-pound versatile lineman likely projects as a guard at the collegiate level, but may also develop into a right tackle as he grows stronger.

Akinkunmi, who is listed as three-star recruit, explained his journey, and rise to true prospect status, with 247Sports.

"I was really blessed by God to develop really fast, so I was picked to go on two trips to the United States to show off my skills," he said. "The second trip was a summer camp tour, where we went to SMU, TCU, and the Houston Mega Camp. This is where I received my first division one offer and I ended that tour with eight D1 offers. A lot of coaches wanted me to come out for more camps but I just didn’t have the money. The only way I was able to do all of this was through the NFL. The NFL has really helped me a lot by paying for all of our trips. Moving into my junior year, I kept on working hard and grinding every day, which led me to impress coaches with my ability to be coachable and develop really fast. This time for the trip with the NFL, we went to the southeast. We went to Georgia, Clemson, the Mercer Mega Camp and the Georgia State Mega Camp, where I gained about another 16 offers."

All of that attention culminated with an eye-opening top five for an international prospect and a final commitment - Thursday - to Oklahoma.