He won’t have the easiest name for reporters or fans to pronounce, but the newest member of the Minnesota Vikings didn’t have the easiest journey to the NFL either.
The Vikings announced the signing of Polish-born offensive lineman Babatunde Aiyegbusi, Thursday.
The #Vikings say that his name is pronounced Babatunde (bah-BUH-tune-day) Aiyegbusi (ah-YEG-boo-see). But you probably knew that already.
— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) March 26, 2015
The 27-year-old has never appeared with another NFL team, he never went through the NFL Draft, he never even played a down of college football.
Still, he found his way onto the roster of the Dresden Monarchs of the German Football League, and helped them to the semifinals of the playoffs in 2014.
The first thing that jumps out at scouts about Aiyegbusi is his size. At 6-feet, 9-inches and 351 pounds he is now the biggest member of the Vikings – slightly edging out 6-foot-8, 343-pound right tackle Phil Loadholt.
Babs: 6-9 351 pounds. pic.twitter.com/MUU2zdMlSt
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 26, 2015
Despite his mammoth size, Aiyegbusi is incredibly athletic. According to ESPN, he ran a 5.28 40-yard dash at the University of Texas-San Antonio pro day on Monday and recorded a 26 1/2 -inch vertical jump.
If you’d rather see what he does in pads, here are some of his highlights.
This embed is invalid
ESPN notes that he received his visa on Thursday after about a week of going back and forth with Polish officials to secure it.
“We secured a visa in about a week and a half,” Aiyegbusi’s agent Jeff Griffin. “Normally, it takes a long time, like 10 days for them to sit down and meet you to discuss you coming over here. But I think everybody in Poland got behind this kid.”
Aiyegbusi boarded a plane to the United States on Saturday and arrived in San Antonio around 3:50 a.m. on Sunday. By that afternoon, he was on the practice field preparing for his workout in front of NFL scouts during the University of Texas-San Antonio’s pro day.
By Wednesday, he was in Minnesota for a tryout at Winter Park, just two days after he participated in pro day activities.
Aiyegbusi becomes the fifth Polish-born player in NFL history – Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski is the only other current one.
