After Papa Nkemdiche settles into LP Field to watch his boys play for Ole Miss in Monday’s Music City Bowl, the cardiologist who 30 years ago moved halfway around the planet to make a new life will remain with his world still a bit askew.
It is the Nkemdiche way. So much seems out of whack for the Nigerian family from Loganville.
When his sons strap on their Rebels gear to do battle with Georgia Tech, Sunday Nkemdiche will look upon Denzel — an undersized sophomore linebacker — and Robert — a freshman defensive lineman who cameos as a Mastodon-esque running back — and perhaps ask himself not for the first time, how again did this happen?
“I tell you what … I wanted them to play baseball or basketball,” Nkemdiche recalls. “I was kind of iffy about them playing football.
“Robert, I realized when he was in elementary school … he had a gift. I told my wife, ‘This boy has a talent.’ I wanted him to play for the Atlanta Braves, be a pitcher.”
Alas, Robert would grow and grow to where by the time he was a junior at Grayson High several of the nation’s top football scouting services considered him the No. 1 college prospect in all the land.
There were legendary tales of the 6-foot-5, 295-pounder scorching earth. He had 18 sacks that season as Smaug-like defender, and rushed for 17 touchdowns as a part-time offender.
Eventually, he told Clemson coach Dabo Swinney that he would like to one day wreak havoc for the Tigers, a commitment that did not go over well with mom.
Beverly Nkemdiche was and is in Nigeria, where she is a politician. That doesn’t mean she did not know what’s going on with her three boys.
A mother’s love, as it turns out, was the crack in the door that Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and his staff needed to piece together what became one of the nation’s top recruiting classes in 2013.
Even from afar, “(Beverly) told me from the get-go that we had a chance to get them together if we could create some excitement and win some football games and show some improvement,” Freeze said on signing day.
“We were fortunate that we were able to create a lot of momentum and buzz at the end of (2012) … that momentum helped us go into recruiting.”
Robert changed his mind and opted to join his brother in Oxford, Miss., rather than try his luck in Clemson, S.C.
It helped that after Denzel redshirted in 2011 he went on to earn All-SEC honors in ’12, when the Rebels began to raise eyebrows with their play in Freeze’s first season in charge.
Really, that Robert landed at Ole Miss shouldn’t rank as an upset. His family did earnest recruiting work with the idea of keeping as many Nkemdiches in one place as possible. In fact, the oldest brother, Bryan, enrolled at Ole Miss last semester. Their father has rented an apartment in nearby Jackson, Miss, and is trying to land a job there as well.
Denzel practically expected his big, baby brother to end up at Ole Miss.
“I was not surprised … I knew we still had time (when Robert committed to Clemson). I hadn’t touched the field yet,” he said. “I told people I was going to do my recruiting on the field. That was big for him.”
For all the fuss being made about his brother back at Grayson, Denzel was lighting it up as a freshman for Ole Miss in 2012. He led the Rebels with 82 combined tackles and assists.
When Ole Miss played at No. 1 Alabama that fall in Tuscaloosa, the 5-11, 207-pound linebacker registered a season-high 11 tackles, had three tackles for lost yardage, a sack, and forced two fumbles.
The Rebels lost, but were winning with the Nkemdiches.
With parents split by many miles and a big life transition looming, the idea of having an older sibling nearby became more important for Robert.
“I knew when he signed up for the next three or four years it would go a long way to determining the rest of his life, and his ability to provide for his family,” Denzel said. “I will take that responsibility, and show him the ropes.
“Since I was about 16 my mother (has been in Africa), about four years. I can’t change it. She wanted to go there for a reason. We couldn’t be mad at her. It’s made me grow up a lot faster. I look at it as a blessing. I know a lot for a 20-year-old. It’s given me a lot of survival tips, and awareness of what’s going on around me.”
As a freshman, Robert is not allowed by Freeze to speak to media, but he made an impression in his first college season. Although he missed two games because of injury, Robert has 29 combined tackles and assists, eight tackles for lost yardage, two sacks and earned freshman All-SEC honors.
He also has fared well in spot appearances as a running back, such as the time he ripped off a 18-yarder on fourth-and-short last month against Mississippi State.
The Nkemdiches continue growing, together, as their mother returns to the United States only a few times each year.
“It is a calling … a ministry,” Sunday Nkemdiche said. “She’s making an impact, making a difference. She has two more years. She might run again (for office).
“It’s a good thing from a family standpoint (that all three brothers are at Ole Miss). Denzel can be a big brother and mentor. When my wife comes, she doesn’t have to go to different places.”
Denzel, who also strongly considered attending Miami and Georgia, suffered a knee injury in the first game of this season, and missed three games. He’s back on track, and believes his younger brother is on solid ground as well.
Mama knows best.
“He’s adjusted excellent. He’s handled it better than other people,” Denzel said of Robert. “He’s grown as a young man and as a player. This is another game, another chance to show the world how good a team we are, and to get redemption for our Mississippi State loss.
“Our older brother is with us now, too. Our mother thought it would be a good idea for him to work on his music and go to school. This is a good situation.”
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