Texas OL Tope Imade shares why then says thank you
Imagine standing just a few feet away from a beast of a man who stands 6’6” weighs 361 pounds, and his first words as he walks up to his chair to start taking questions from the media, “I am nervous.” The room erupted in laughter as he set the tone for the rest of his interview.
This is Tope’s first, and likely, last time talking with the media as a Texas Longhorns football player. He is funny, confident, appreciative, respectful, transparent, and vulnerable.
Imade has been with the Longhorns program for so long his teammates joke with him saying that he used to block for Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams In the time Imade has been at Texas he has earned three degrees: Bachelors in Corporate Communications, Masters in Marketing, M.Ed. Sport Management. Imade shared that in 2020 he lost his mom (Betty Imade) to cancer.
Before the season’s final game against Kansas State, when Imade runs onto the field for the last time in a Texas uniform, he shared that he will be carrying a picture of his mom. He knows she will be there, watching. Congratulations to Imade's parents Felix and Betty Imade, and his sister Adesuwa and brother Seyi.
We asked Imade ‘why’ he stayed playing at Texas.
At the conclusion of his time with the media, Tope shared one final thought of thanks. Listen to the end.
Imade shared that his goal is to one day work for Disney in their streaming business. Wasting no time utilizing his Masters in Marketing degree from the McCombs School of Business, Imade asked everyone to check out his Youtube channel named The Heros Playbook. You'll get to hear from several players when Tope records player reactions to the House of Torment.
Thank you Tope Imade for sharing your thoughts, being transparent about your mom, and your journey that brought you to the place where it is time to go and change the world, more than you already have.
#Hookem #WhatStartsHere
