CLEVELAND — Since the Browns signed defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo in free agency this offseason, he's been working to mesh with and get to know his new teammates in Cleveland. But there's a lot for fans to get to know about the new defensive addition himself—both on and off the field.
Football was something Okoronkwo grew in love with over time; it wasn't always something he saw as his future.
"I was about 17. I was a junior in high school. My health teacher and also coach, he asked me to play. I wasn't really good at first, but I tried it out. I wasn't playing a lot; somebody got hurt, so I was sort of forced into playing, ended up doing really well, and by my sixth game, I had a scholarship to go to college," Okoronkwo said. "From then, I took it very seriously. I got really passionate about it. At first, I wanted to just be able to go to school because I didn't know if I was going to have the opportunity. But I kept playing. I really fell in love with it."
But more than a football player, Okoronkro prides himself on the things he loves off the field.
Okoronkwo calls himself a creative man of many interests. His creativity comes in many forms, from writing blogs and poetry to his longtime passion for photography.
That passion for photography stems from his father and has never ceased.
"Growing up, my dad had a bunch of film cameras laying around, and he would always have a bunch of disposables from when we would do stuff. If you go to my house now, there's pictures everywhere. There's photo albums. So I would always steal [dad's cameras] and log what me and all my friends were doing and go get them developed at like Walgreens or CVS," he said.
Okoronkwo's love of photography has grown into more than just a fun hobby. Over the years, his photos have been noticed by the eye of artists and brands, and his work has been published.
"As I got older, I kept [my dad's] film camera, and I kept taking pictures with it, and more people kept asking me to take pictures, and it sort of just like snowballed that way," Okoronkwo said.
He even got to take some photos of his new Browns teammates during media day in Berea.
Now in Cleveland, Okoronkwo has been finding guys around him with similar interests.
One of those interests is fashion—an interest shared by safety Grant Delpit. The two spent time this offseason at Paris Fashion Week. Brands at the high-profile event reached out to Okoronkwo about his photography, and the rest was an opportunity he and Delpit are not likely to forget.
"I love fashion, I'm not going to say I'm the most stylish dude, but I have my own style. So I thought it would be a cool opportunity," he said.
Okoronkwo has also been bonding with linemate Myles Garrett.
Both share a love of poetry and art and while they get to know each other through Jim Schwartz's defensive scheme, they've also gotten to know each other's creative sides.
"We've talked about it, he's told me about some cool museums in the area, so he's sort of my ear to the art streets in Cleveland," Okoronkwo said.
Okoronkwo has a lot to him—but with all of the things he has going on off the field, his focus is on what he can do on the field.
"I'm a guy with a lot of interests, but I love football, and I love Cleveland. And I'm ready to win a Super Bowl," Okoronkwo said.
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