Bucs guarantee undrafted free agent Ben Chukwuma, a Nigerian native, $300,000 to sign
Georgia State offensive lineman Ben Chukwuma, a native of Nigeria who moved to the U.S. at 17, did not begin playing football until 2020 when he showed up for an open tryout. Chukwuma knew nothing about American football.
Five years later, Chukwuma has the most guaranteed money of any undrafted free agent as the Bucs offered him $300,000 after the draft.
'My potentiality is what makes the NFL teams excited,' Chukwuma told Greg Auman of Fox Sports on Sunday. 'They see with my little experience what am I able to do.'
He did not see any game action until 2023 before starting 11 games in 2024. He has played only 23 games in his career.
The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder is a project with potentially a big upside.
'He's just a big piece of clay that you can make however you want,' former NFL coach Hue Jackson, now Georgia State's offensive coordinator, told Auman. 'Somebody can really pour the right things into him. His growth over the next several months [should be a lot]. He'll be around NFL guys, and they'll take him under their wings and let him be what he can be. He's athletic. He's long. He's tough, and he loves football, and he's going to work hard at it.'
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