MARTIN, Tenn. — Dolape Egunjobi remembers the first time he set foot on a football field; after all, it wasn’t that long ago.
“I remember I came to the field in Vans; I didn’t have cleats,” Egunjobi laughs. “It was surreal, to be honest.”
The year was 2020. Egunjobi was at Manitoba College in Canada for an entirely different reason: To play basketball. But his coach got one glimpse of the 6-5 frame and decided to talk with the football coaches.
“He thought I’d be a good fit, so we got out there, and it’s just been a long learning process since then, but I’ve loved it,” Egunjobi said. “I’m a competitive person. I just love the feeling of winning and beating someone in front of me, and knowing that I have to protect someone behind me.”
So how does someone like Egunjobi not only stick around the game of football, but progress to a point where he’s now starting for an FCS offensive line that has won 4 of the last 5 conference championships?
It starts in his childhood. Egunjobi was born in Nigeria. He spent the first 8 years of his life there before moving to Canada.
“It was in 2011, May 29th,” Egunjobi said. “I remember the day, because the crazy thing was like, I’m from Nigeria, right? I’ve never seen a cold day in my life. So coming into Canada… We were all bundled up with sweaters, and we thought it would be freezing. No, it was nice and sunny, so we were overdressed for no reason.”
He would see football on TV now and then, but his first real introduction to the game was in college. No cleats, no problem. The 6-5 lineman impressed the coaches enough to make the team. But it didn’t come without struggles.
“I remember we played a game against Saskatchewan in, I think it was 2021… mind you, this was one of my first plays; they finally put me in,” Egunjobi said. “I barely knew what I was doing out there, but coach told me, ‘you’re pulling, go hit somebody.’ And I whiffed, man. I whiffed so bad.”
Despite the early struggles, the raw talent plus the physique caught the eye of Division I coaches, ultimately transferring to North Dakota, where he played one season before landing in Martin.
He made his debut with the Skyhawks in the 2024 season opener, but suffered a season-ending injury.
In 2025, his first season seeing significant playing time, Egunjobi became a fixture on the offensive line, grading as the second-best guard in the Big South-OVC according to Pro Football Focus.
“Last year, being the first year I actually got to start was surreal, and the feeling after we won a game and we were all together, and we were singing the victory song, it’s unmatched,” Egunjobi said. “I keep chasing that feeling every time I play, and I keep hoping that we have more of that in the future… what’s going through my mind right now is just looking forward to playing through the season and winning some games with some boys.”
His coaches and teammates say it’s a byproduct of his character and hard work.
“He’s such a genuine person, he’s a great teammate, he’s been fun to be around, he takes coaching hard coaching well,” UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. “Dolapo’s just been a breath of fresh air. He’s just a good dude.”
“He’s here every day attacking it,” fellow offensive lineman Garrett Smith added. “He’s always in the building looking for ways to get better. And one thing I can say, he’s probably the strongest O-line we got. He’s got some big, strong hands, and he’ll use them.”
Now a graduate student entering his final season of college football, Egunjobi hopes his short football journey can be extended a little while longer.
“There’s NFL scouts in here every day to see him, and he’s got unbelievable physical tools,” Simpson said. “He’s such a man of great size. He’s 6’5″, he’s 315 pounds, and doesn’t have a lot of fat on him, so you have such high expectations. But you have to remember, he’s new to this game, so every day is still a learning curve for him.”
“What goes through my mind, to be honest, is just show up every day and do the best I can and be the best I can be,” Egunjobi added. “Try to perform every day. Try to show the coaches that I am the person that they believe that I can be.”