St. Patrick senior defensive lineman David Folorunsho had no concept of football when he moved from Nigeria to the United States in fourth grade.
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Everything changed after a friend invited him to a football practice a few years later.
“I didn’t think much of it,” Folorunsho said. “I thought I was going to be a basketball player. I just went out to watch a non-padded practice and see what it was like.
“I loved the environment. Then the next practice I went to, we put on the pads and I loved the physicality of it.”
Folorunsho had found his favorite sport.
“I was up late at night trying to study the game because I didn’t know anything about it,” he said. “Just looking at a game, you’d be like, ‘What’s going on right now?’ So I was trying to study it.
“I thought I was going to be a receiver. I always wanted to be a receiver.”
The 6-foot-3, 285-pound Folorunsho, who first played for the High Ridge Chargers in Rogers Park, recalls that he was heavier in seventh grade, which essentially ruled out wide receiver.
But at St. Patrick, Folorunsho has become the state’s top-ranked prospect in the 2027 class, according to Rivals.com, and has committed to Notre Dame after receiving offers from seemingly every college football power in the country.
“He’s been good for the program,” St. Patrick coach Tom Zbikowski said. “All the kids look up to him. He’s great when we get the fourth, fifth and sixth graders out here. He’s great with my son, who’s 6.
“He’s a good person. He’s got a good heart. He’s got a bright future.”
That said, Zbikowski confirmed that Folorunsho does have a mean streak on the field as well as a relentless motor. If anything, Folorunsho had to tone it down and learn not to get caught up in individual battles.
When the Shamrocks (4-1) played Mount Carmel last week, Folorunsho had to replace an injured teammate at offensive tackle. Zbikowski, who also played at Notre Dame and in the NFL, hopes Folorunsho will be limited to defense the rest of the way but thinks playing on the other side of the ball was a good lesson.
“You understand what you’re going against,” Zbikowski said. “A lot of young D-linemen dream of sacks. It’s the most overrated stat for a D-lineman. You’re going to get paid and you’re going to play a long time when you learn how to bully and hold the line of scrimmage and take two (blockers) and keep linebackers clean.”
Folorunsho will have the opportunity to play longer at Notre Dame. When he was considering colleges, he took about 12 unofficial visits but connected well with Charlie Partridge, the Irish’s defensive line coach.
“I always wanted an offer from there,” Folorunsho said. “I went there the first time for a camp and I just loved the atmosphere. I loved how, even in a freshman camp, they were looking out for you and they were trying to teach you a lot of different things.”
Folorunsho has learned a lot already.