Choir boy. Eagle scout. Giants middle linebacker. Meet Bobby Okereke
New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke at minicamp at the Quest Diagnostics Center on Tuesday. Credit: Corey Sipkin
Bobby Okereke’s first performance in New York had nothing at all to do with football.
He was a 10th-grader from California and a bass singer in the high school choir that made the journey across the country and performed at Carnegie Hall.
“It was an incredible experience,” he told Newsday. “It was beautiful. Getting to sing there, the acoustics, the history of everything that had gone on there, and being in New York City for the first time, it was amazing.”
And now he’s back.
Almost a decade later, Okereke is again ready to step onto one of the biggest and most legendary stages New York has to offer. This time, though, it will be as the new inside linebacker for the Giants. In his mind, there are parallels between his teenage introduction to the Big Apple and this return engagement.
That was especially true this week at his first minicamp with his new team when Hall of Famers Bill Parcells and Michael Strahan stopped by to watch from the sideline. Ring of Honor linebacker Carl Banks (who wore Okereke’s number 58 long before he did) also was on hand as was former Giants running back Brandon Jacobs.
“The New York Giants bring out all the stars, for sure,” he said. “It’s pretty full circle.”
Singing is just part of Okereke’s eclectic background. He also became an Eagle Scout, something he called “one of my most prized achievements.” He’s a graduate of Stanford who majored in management, science and engineering as an undergrad and put in work toward a Masters in communications before the NFL called.
And the Giants love all of it.
“It’s fun to watch him play because of his size, his strength, but most of all, he’s a good guy,” defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said.
Added inside linebackers coach John Egorugwu: “A lot of the things we want from the linebacker position he has. We’re excited. He’s a pro’s pro. And just a good human being, which I think is also really important.”
Okereke has been on Egorugwu’s radar since the player came out of college for the draft in 2019. Then an assistant linebackers coach with the Bills, Egorugwu was impressed by Okereke’s skills, but what really stuck out was their similar lineage. Both are the sons of Nigerian immigrants. Buffalo didn’t draft Okereke, but Egorugwu followed his career with the Colts even while his own took him to Vanderbilt in 2021 before a return to the NFL and the Giants’ staff last season.
“My parents, what they had to do when they came over to this country, that work ethic to get where they are at, it’s part of our heritage and background,” Egorugwu said. “You see those same things with Bobby. Just from our background, that’s instilled in us.”
Okereke does credit his parents with his many successes.
"My parents always pushed me to really give everything my best effort and anything I was passionate about, really just throw myself into it and develop myself as much as I can,” he said. “Whether it was singing or Boy Scouts or school or football, they always taught me the Three Ps: Preparation, Perseverance and Persistence. I carry that with me through every endeavor I have had in my life.”
He doesn’t sing much now (“Only in the shower,” he said), but Okereke is still passionate about music and would like to go back to that pursuit at some point. “I have a good voice,” he admitted shyly. He hasn’t abandoned his scouting doctrines of being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, etc., but has added the Giants’ desired characteristics of smart, tough and dependable to his creed.
Okereke signed a four-year, $40 million contract this offseason to fill a hole in the Giants' defense that has been gaping since the days of Antonio Pierce. The team has tried to plug it over the years with big names (Jon Beason, who was broken down when the Giants got him; Blake Martinez, who quickly broke down after arriving) and small (Tae “Mr. Irrelevant” Crowder; the infamously overmatched Uani Unga).
The rugged, violent position that requires physicality and leadership, the role that once belonged to the likes of Sam Huff and Harry Carson, has been vacant for a while.
It could be a choir boy and a Boy Scout who becomes their heir.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
