Hakeem Adeniji
Hakeem Adeniji (born December 8, 1997) is an American football tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played in college at the University of Kansas. At Kansas, he was a two-time All-Big 12 selection, making the 1st team in 2019[1] and 2nd team in 2018.[2]
No. 77 – Cincinnati Bengals | |||||||
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Position: | Tackle | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Garland, Texas | December 8, 1997||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 302 lb (137 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Garland (Garland, Texas) | ||||||
College: | Kansas | ||||||
NFL Draft: | 2020 / Round: 6 / Pick: 180 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020 | |||||||
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High school
Adeniji attended high school at Garland High School in Texas. In high school, he had initially committed to play at the United States Air Force Academy. However, he failed to receive a medical waiver to attend due to an allergy to cashews. After failing to receive the waiver, he committed to the University of Kansas.[3]
College career
As a freshman, Adeniji became a starter at tackle immediately, starting all twelve games. Throughout his college career, Adeniji showed durability, not missing a single game in his career due to injury. By the final game of his senior year, he had been on the roster for 48 games and started in all of them. In his junior and senior years, he helped pave the way for running back Pooka Williams Jr. to rush for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. For his efforts, he was named 2nd team All-Big 12 as a junior[2] and 1st team as a senior.[1]
Professional career
Adeniji received an invite to the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine. He played tackle at Kansas, although NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein said he believed Adeniji may have to move to guard in the NFL.[4]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||||
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6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
302 lb (137 kg) |
33 3⁄4 in (0.86 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) | 5.17 s | 34 in (0.86 m) | 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) | 26 reps | |||||
All values from NFL Combine[4] |
Adeniji was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 180th overall selection in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.[5] In week 8 of the 2020 season, Adeniji recorded his first career start at tackle. He helped the Bengals, who had allowed 28 sacks through 7 games, allow zero sacks in the game for the first time all season.[6] He finished his rookie season with five starts and played in fifteen games.
Personal life
His mother, Semia, was a television anchor in Nigeria before the family moved to the Dallas area. His brother, Moshood, played offensive line at Air Force.[7]
References
- "2019 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced". Big12Sports.com.
- "2018 All-Big 12 football awards announced". 247Sports.com.
- "How an allergy led Hakeem Adeniji to the Kansas football team". Kansas.com.
- "Hakeem Adeniji draft profile". NFL.com.
- Chasen, Scott. "KU football's Hakeem Adeniji selected in 2020 NFL Draft". 247Sports.com.
- "Bengals vs Titans gamebook" (PDF). NFL.com.
- Hobson, Geoff (April 25, 2020). "Sixth Round: Bengals Opt for Versatile Tackle". Cincinnati Bengals. Retrieved December 23, 2020.