Robert Nkemdiche is an American professional football player who plays in the defensive tackle position for the NFL Cardinals in Arizona. Before turning professional, he enjoyed a three-year college football career at the University of Mississippi. The talented player was a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Age, early childhood and rise to fame
Robert Nkemdiche was born on September 19, 1994, in Beverly and Sunday Nkemdiche in Loganville, Georgia. He was educated in high school at Grayson High School where, as a tri-sport athlete, he competed in football, basketball, and track and field. In his first year as a junior, the all-round talent finished as the first runner-up in the shot put and discus events of the 2011 Gwinnett County T&F Championship.
For the school football team, the Grayson Rams, Robert Nkemdiche played defensively and on the run. He had 59 tackles and 18 sacks on defense, in addition to 528 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on offense in his first year. Along with receiving USA first-team honours, his impressive performance helped the Grayson Rams go 15–0 unbeaten throughout the season as they captured the GHSA 6A title.
In high school, Robert Nkemdiche finished with 59 tackles, 12 shots for the loss and 7 sacks on defense, while totaling 235 yards and 10 touchdowns on offense. For his senior year performance, he was selected to the second team All-American and also received the County Defensive Player of the Year award from the Gwinnett Daily Post.
By the end of his high school career, Robert Nkemdiche was the toast among college recruiters as he was widely considered a five-star recruit. In addition to being ranked the No. 1 defensive line prospect, the youngster was also unanimously ranked the number one player in his class. He originally committed to Clemson University in June 2012, but backtracked before the end of the year. He eventually committed to the University of Mississippi on National Signing Day 2013.
Nkemdiche made 11 appearances including 10 starts in his freshman season. While splitting time between defensive end and defensive tackle, the talented player recorded 34 tackles (25 solos), two sacks, two pass deflections and three quarterbacks. His outstanding performances earned him Freshman All-SEC and Firstman All-American honors. In his sophomore season, he amassed 35 tackles with 4.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and one pass breakup, a performance that earned him All-SEC First-Team and Second-team selections. All America.
Robert Nkemdiche recorded 29 tackles (13solos), 3.0 sacks, 2 rushing touchdowns and one touchdown in his junior season. In addition to his selection to the United States Second Team All-Star, the talented player was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award, the first defensive lineman to achieve the feat. He was also a semi-finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award. Unfortunately, he did not participate in the team’s victorious 2016 Sugar Bowl exit after facing drug possession charges.
NFL Career
Dropping his senior year of college football, Robert Nkemdiche announced his decision to enter the 2016 NFL Draft in December 2015. He was selected in the first round by the Arizona Cardinals as the 29th overall pick.
Contrary to expectations, Nkemdiche had a fairly slow start to his NFL career. Marked by an ankle injury, he was limited to 5 games as a rookie and he ended the season with a tackle. During the 2017 season, the talented player made 12 appearances during which he recorded 11 tackles and one forced fumble.
Robert Nkemdiche Brothers and Family
Both parents of Robert Nkemdiche are of Nigerian origin. Her father Sunday Nkemdiche is a consultant physician in cardiology, while her mother Beverly Nkemdiche is active in the Nigerian political scene. She was once a member of the legislative chamber of their home country, Anambra.
Robert Nkemdiche was brought up alongside two older brothers – Denzel and Bryan. Turns out, the NFL star isn’t the only family member with notable athletic talents. Although he couldn’t make it to the NFL, his brother Denzel Nkemdiche played as a linebacker for the University of Mississippi from 2011 to 2015. His older brother, Bryan Chukwuma Nkemdiche, took an altogether different path. as a musical artist.
Height, weight and body measurements
Robert Nkemdiche is 193cm (6ft 4in) tall and weighs 134kg (296lb). It has an arm length of 33 7/8 ” ( 0.86m ) and a hand size of 10 3/4 ” (0.27m) .