The Minnesota Vikings recently acquired a brand new behemoth to beef up their offensive line.
CBS Sports reported that the Vikings announced on March 26, 2015 that they signed Babatunde Aiyegbusi, a 6'9" 351-pound offensive tackle from Olesnica, Poland. He is expected to crush his way on the field together with Minnesota's other giant tackle, Phil Loadholdt, who is 6'8" and 343 pounds.
Aiyegbusi participated in the pro day at the University of Texas-San Antonio on March 23. He practiced with the Vikings on March 25 and was signed by the team the next day. The 27-year-old never played football in college but played for the Polish American Football League in the past few years, where he stood out.
A YouTube video of Aiyegbusi featured him dominating opponents on the field.
Jeff Griffin, Aiyegbusi's agent, said to ESPN about him, "He took up the whole screen man. We talked. He told me his story, how he just wanted an opportunity to work out for people. I had three guys I represent down here at the University of Texas-San Antonio, and we had just gotten confirmation there would be 18 to 20 teams out for pro day. So I asked him what we needed to do about getting a visa to get him over here to the States. He said he'd find out."
Griffin added, "We secured a visa in about a week and a half. Normally, it takes a long time, like 10 days for them to sit down and meet with you to discuss you coming over here. But I think everybody in Poland got behind this kid."
Aiyegbusi was excited to come to America to play in the NFL. He said in an ESPN report, "It's just surprising to me. I'm just so grateful of the opportunity the Vikings gave me. I'm aware that this is the real deal, that I have to prove myself."
He added, "I'm ready to do it. I was dreaming [of this moment], and actually practicing back in Poland going every day to the gym, I was thinking 'If I would have been born in the States, I would have an easier opportunity to get there.' But I'm not. They told me [the NFL] would never happen, but it did. I'm very happy."
Yahoo! Sports reported that the 27-year-old Aiyegbusi will be the fifth Polish-born player to join the NFL. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski is the only other Polish-born NFL player who is still active.