Prince Tega Wanogho – Noteworthy
The goal was lofty, yet straightforward and single-minded, for Prince Tega Wanogho when he arrived in America nearly five years ago. “I was going to be the next LeBron James,” Wanogho said. “I can dunk the ball, though. I can’t shoot, but I can rebound and dunk the ball, for real. That was just the goal, that was just my plan.” At 6-foot-7 with a hulking frame and freakish athleticism, it’s easy to understand why the Nigeria native wanted to dream so big. That was his plan when he enrolled at Edgewood Academy in Montgomery for his senior year of high school, but with time to kill before basketball season, coach Bobby Carr enlisted Wanogho to join the football team.
That was when Wanogho played tight end and defensive end, and before he broke his leg come basketball season – effectively ending that King-sized goal of being the next LeBron James but opening a new opportunity on the gridiron. “At the end of the day, we make plans, but God has something else for us,” Wanogho said. “I feel like the whole situation from playing basketball to playing football now, I think it’s been the best thing for me. It was a road I wasn’t expecting. I wasn’t expecting to play football.” Football, as it turns out, was a pretty solid fallback option for Wanogho, who last month turned down an opportunity to turn pro early and instead decided to return for his senior season as Auburn’s starting left tackle – the cornerstone of the Tigers’ now-promising offensive line. Wanogho submitted paperwork to the NFL’s College Advisory Committee, and the feedback he heard was that he was a likely third- or fourth-rounder had he left school after last season. – Birmingham News