British athletics star Lawrence Okoye has revealed his dream to sign for an NFL team and strike it rich as the first sportsman from these Great Britain to play in the NFL, Ian Stafford of the Daily Mail reports. The 21-year-old, who is the British discus record holder, is in the United States being feted by as many as five leading NFL teams after an American Football trial in Georgia. Okoye has a second trial next weekend in Dallas but, having discussed potential contracts and been invited for training sessions with NFL teams, the 6ft 6in, 21st athlete is convinced his immediate future lies in gridiron. If he does make the grade, Okoye, widely tipped to be a future Olympic and world champion despite his disappointing 12th place in last summer’s final at London 2012, will not turn his back completely on athletics. But he would miss the 2013 athletics season, the Diamond League events he had been pencilled in for and, crucially, the World Athletics Championships in August in Moscow. ‘I came over to the States for warm-weather training for my discus,’ explained Okoye, a former London Irish academy winger. ‘But when I saw that there was an American Football Regional Combine taking place in Atlanta, I applied online. And when I passed, I went along. ‘At the combine, I really stood out because of my size, strength and speed. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I was good on the day — to the point that a lot of NFL clubs began talking to me immediately on the back of it. They all see me as a defensive end, which suits me just fine. ‘I’ve had some meetings since, and done some private workouts with some clubs, too, and already they are talking to me about contracts even before the Super Combine in Dallas next weekend. I’m talking about some of the best known and biggest teams." Source: The Redzone
