Okpara Made a Decision for His Future

Three-star cornerback Junior Okpara took a step back when it was time to decide which college he would be attending and thought about his future after football, something that made a great impact on where he ended up choosing to commit to. The Sugar Land, Texas product talked with us about that tonight and also filled us in on how his senior season went.

When Junior Okpara made the decision to commit to Boston College a month ago it wasn’t about National Championships or playing time, but about making a decision that would affect him for the rest of his life. When the 6-foot-1, 180-pound cornerback out of Dulles High School sat down and thought about things he decided life after football was most important to him, one of the driving forces in him ending up in Chestnut Hill.

“Thinking about things I realized that I needed to look at the big picture and go to a school that I knew would put me in a good position for my future after football,” Okpara explained. “When I looked at Boston College, I saw the best of both worlds between academics and athletics and knew that I would want to go there even if there was no football involved. When I looked at Arkansas I couldn’t see myself going there if I wasn’t going to be playing football, so the decision was an easy one from there.”

“Living in Texas I didn’t get a chance to grow up watching Boston College, but I always knew they had a great academic reputation,” Okpara added. “Their graduation rates are among the best in the country and it is a very difficult school to get into. When I visited the school they were all about being classy and making sure you leave the school with a degree and make something of yourself. I just know I’ll be in good hands there.”

The coaching staff also played a large part in Okpara’s decision.

“I had always had a very good relationship with my recruiting coordinator Coach (Don) Yanowsky, but when I got up there and met my position coach (Mike) Siravo I was also very impressed,” Okpara stated. “Then I got to meet Coach Jags and the other assistants and just saw that they love what they do and do a great job at it.”

Okpara broke his finger and missed half of his senior year due to that injury, but upon his return he played both safety and cornerback. He told Scout.com that they simply could not get all three phases of the game working together this season, hence the disappointing 3-7 record.