Amegadjie will tackle his pro football dreams close to home for the Chicago Bears
Kiran Amegadjie contributed to Hinsdale Central's gridiron success. The offensive lineman will now block for the Chicago Bears after the team selected him in the third round of this year's NFL draft. A Bears fan as a kid, Amegadjie didn't start playing football until age 13. (Jim Slonoff photos/photo courtesy of the Chicago Bears)
Amegadjie's size, power and quickness captured scouts' attention during his tenure playing for Yale University. He's the second former Red Devil drafted by the Bears following the team's sixth-round selection of Doug Kramer in 2022.
A signature of Amegadjie's touchdown celebrations during Hinsdale Central games was hoisting his score-making teammate high above his 6-foot-5-inch frame. Chicago Bears fans hope his powerful performances will give the team a lift this year as the rookie hits the field with his ballyhooed fellow Bears draftees, namely top pick quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze.
Kiran Amegadjie didn't start playing football until age 13 when he joined the Hinsdale Falcons youth program.
"I remember getting hit, and I remember my first headache after a long practice and all the soreness I felt," Amegadjie recounted. "I was like, 'What did I just get myself into?' "
The Hinsdale native had no idea he'd gotten himself onto a path that less than 10 years later would lead to the National Football League as the 75th pick in the 2024 Draft by his hometown Chicago Bears.
Speaking to The Hinsdalean a couple weeks before the start of his first Bears training camp in Lake Forest, the offensive lineman reflected on his journey as the son of immigrant parents: his mother, Gislaine, from Cameroon, and father, Boris, from Togo. They made sure he and his twin sister, Maiwen, were exposed to a range of activities from basketball and tennis to horseback riding and hip-hop dance.
"I did so many different activities growing up," Amegadjie said.
Football, at least the American variety, was not among them, however.
"For them it was too violent," remarked the 22-year-old, who nonetheless persisted in his pursuit to put the pads on. "I finally got them to let me start playing."
Amegadjie said he was the only newcomer his first Falcons season, as most of the kids had been in the program for several years. He found his footing quickly.
"I think I just kind of picked it up naturally," he commented.
Soon the goal became suiting up for the Hinsdale Central Red Devils.
"I alway used to go to the games on Friday nights, and I was looking forward to putting the horns on my helmet," Amegadjie said, fondly remembering the hard-fought contests against conference rivals like Glenbard West.
A self-described "calm, collected" person with an inner confidence, Amegadjie acknowledged his competitive spirit can erupt in big moments.
In a video produced by the Bears, Central head coach Brian Griffin recalled one game when the normally quiet giant erupted in celebration.
"There was one game as a senior when I remember him coming off the field after a touchdown and going nuts and screaming and getting his teammates excited," Griffin said, not surprised by Amegadjie. "He knows his goals and works toward those goals and is willing to put in the time and effort to get where he wants to go."
April 26 certainly now ranks among them, a day of building anticipation as he waited with loved ones in hopes of hearing his name called on the draft's second day. Waiting was nothing new for Amegadjie, who committed to Yale University from a slew of college scholarship offers only to have his freshman season wiped out by the pandemic.
"The way I look at it, it was an opportunity for me to grow and learn and use it as a redshirt year. It was a blessing in disguise," he said.
Amegadjie would go on to rack up numerous accolades with the Bulldogs while also helping the team win a pair of Ivy League championships.
Al Netter, Amegadjie's former offensive line coach at Yale, said in the video that Amegadjie impressed from the start .
"I really just saw in him, from a length and athleticism standpoint ... there was no denying that he was built like an NFL offensive tackle," Netter said.
Even battling injury his senior year, his stock kept rising with pro scouts taken with both his measurements - 6'5", 326 pounds - and a quickness that belied his size, perhaps a benefit of that hip-hop class. And a degree from a top-flight institution never hurts.
"It was great to get an education," said the political science major. "My goal was to one day play the NFL and that's what I was working toward. I grew a ton as a person, a football player, a son, a brother. I had a great experience there."
As the draft unfolded, Amegadjie had gotten signals that the Bears would select him in the third round.
"The pick was coming up and my agent pretty much told me, 'If they're going to call, they'll call you within the next two three minutes,' " he said. "Thirty seconds after that my phone rang."
It was Ryan Poles, general manager of the Bears, informing Amegadjie that he would wear the hallowed navy and orange. He turned his attention to the broadcast as one of his boyhood idols - former Bears star cornerback Charles Tillman - approached the dais and proceeded to announce the pick.
"It was all very surreal," Amegadjie said. "One of the best memories of my life was hearing (Tillman) call my name. I had the opportunity to meet him two or three weeks after the draft.
He felt he was where he belonged.
"It didn't come as a shock to me because I worked for it," Amegadjie remarked. "I knew it was the possible."
Yale head coach Tony Reno agreed in a statement about his star lineman's ascendancy.
"Kiran has worked relentlessly in the weight room, meeting room and on the field to achieve this amazing accomplishment. The sky is the limit for him as a player, and we are so excited for what's ahead for him as a Chicago Bear."
Underscoring the significance of the occasion, the king of the Cameroonian village Amegadjie's mom hailed from was in attendance at the Hinsdale draft party.
"He was gracious enough to attend the party and be there for the celebration and kind of represent my heritage," Amegadjie said.
Recovery from quad surgery last October has kept him on the sideline for offseason practice thus far, but he expects to be ready for training camp, which starts July 26.
"I feel like I'm in good shape," he said,
Being in familiar environs helps the healing process, suggested Amegadjie, identifying Hinsdale's Giuliano's Pizza as a favorite spot.
"I know the city. I can get around, I have family here, friends here, so I can really just focus on football, and I'm not trying to learn a million other things," he said. "I keep in contact with a couple of my teammates from Central and lot of people in the community."
He's eager to continue the growth individually and collectively that's he's experienced with the Bears organization.
"The progress we've made as a team is exciting. There's definitely a lot to learn, but everybody in the building is helping us as rookies," he said while confessing that he still doesn't know the players' ticket protocol to meet people's increasing requests.
Amegadjie senses the heightened anticipation for the 2024 season fueled largely by the arrival of draft classmates quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze.
"There's a strong reputation and image to uphold. I think we all understand what we were brought in here to do," he said. "The real work starts now."
