VIDEO: LFA's Ekakitie's Journey From Basketball To Top Football Recruit

He was a basketball player first. A basketball player from Ontario, Canada.

Now, he is playing on both sides of the ball for the football team. Moreover, college coaches across the country have made it their business to want Faith Ekakitie to play for their school. Just some of the schools in the running include Northwestern, Oregon, Boston College, UCLA and Stanford.

What’s the story with this athlete born in Nigeria and who lived in Canada for a good 16 years, who now has his own website and Twitter account (@faithflex)?

Simply, he is a big kid (6-foot-2, 280 pounds) who can run.

“I haven’t played football for a long time,” Ekakitie said. “But I like football. It’s an aggressive sport.”

In the meantime, head coach Ted Stewart is just glad Ekakitie is playing for his team.

“He’s still raw, but he’s getting better every game and every practice,” Stewart said. “I really think his best football is ahead of him.”

So how did this Canadian find a home playing sports in the United States anyway?

“They found me,” Ekakitie said. “I didn’t start playing sports until seventh grade. It was really at one of my basketball tournaments. They saw me as a big kid who could run well.”

A discussion broke out between Ekakitie’s family and officials.

“They talked to my parents to see if it was beneficial for me to move from Canada to America,” he said.

And so far, no complaints from the big athlete from Ontario.

“I’m taking college-level work here,” he said.

Of course as a senior at , there is plenty of thinking going on about his future.

Stewart believes that whichever college recruits Ekakitie, they will get a good citizen.

“He’s so gentle off the field,” Stewart said. “I have young children at home and he’ll come over and play with my kids. We are really lucky to have him here.”

The question arises for which will he play. After all, he’s blocking and playing on the defensive line for the Caxys.

“I like him on defense,” Stewart said. “It’s more instinctual. I think he can use his athleticism more. They are recruiting him as a defensive player.”

Now that Ekakitie has decided on football, he is putting all his resources into this sport. How about a career in the National Football League?

“That’s something that I am aspiring to,” Ekakitie said.

And just in case that career path doesn’t open up, Ekakitie has another plan.

“My favorite subject is science,” he said.

Ekakitie was a little disappointed with his team’s 14-12 loss at Antioch last Friday night.

“It was painful,” he said. “But our coach was real proud of the way we came back. Penalties and mental lapses hurt us.”