Brian Asamoah returned to his high school home last month to host a football clinic that he hoped would inspire young people to work hard in school and sports, keep the faith and pursue their dreams.
The first annual Brian Asamoah football camp was held Saturday, June 24 at Alumni Stadium on the campus of his alma mater, Columbus St. Francis DeSales High School. A morning session was open to any youngster in elementary school, and the afternoon group included junior high to high school players.
The main attraction for the campers was Asamoah, a linebacker entering his second season with the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League. He was joined by several other NFL players and DeSales alumnus Patrick Omameh, a 10-year NFL veteran who last played in 2021 with the Carolina Panthers.
“I want to give these kids an opportunity to see people in this community that made it and let them see that there’s hope for whatever you want to do in your life,” said Asamoah, a 2018 DeSales graduate. “I want the kids to know that whatever they’re trying to do, as long as you apply hard work, everything is going to be OK.”
He encouraged his audience members to take it one day at a time, listen to their parents, pay attention to grades, stay in school, keep the faith and “let God do the rest.”
Asamoah was inspired to offer a camp in his hometown after traveling this spring with other pro football players to Kenya as part of the NFL Africa initiative to promote and coach football players on that continent.
He’s one of a growing number of NFL players with African roots. Asamoah’s family is from Accra, the capital of Ghana, in west Africa.
“It was fun there , and I was like, ‘I’ve got to do a camp in Columbus, Ohio, my hometown,’” Asamoah said. “It’s the first one here , and I’m excited. It’s going to be an annual thing. I’m just happy to give back to the community.”
Asamoah, 23, is the 13th DeSales graduate to play professional football since the 1990s. The Stallions maintain one of the most successful programs in the state, having won three Ohio high school football championships and finishing as runner-up six times.
Crediting his former coaches and teachers for helping him get where he’s at today, Asamoah said that DeSales “is a good institution that shaped my mindset and understanding that faith is important.”
The list of DeSales alumni who have gone on to play college football is a long one. Some of them were recruited to big-time programs such as Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Oklahoma, where Asamoah spent four years before being selected in the third round (66th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft.
The odds of any player reaching the NFL are astronomical, but Asamoah never let that bother him. He dreamed of being a professional football player from his early years and had no doubts he’d make it.
Asamoah saw in himself something that others might have missed.
“I knew I was going to be an NFL player, and I would always tell my parents that when I was young,” he recalled. “I told them that I was going to do it.
“I know that everything is a process, and that I’d just have to stay humble. I waited my turn sometimes, but when I got my opportunity, I shined, and it’s because I was prepared for the moment.”
Asamoah’s success doesn’t surprise his mother, Agnes Osei. She has five children, and Brian is the youngest of four boys.
She recalled her son’s love for athletics, particularly football and basketball, as a child. His talent was evident early on, but she leaned toward basketball because she thought it was the safer sport.
“When he was 6 years old, Brian told me he was going to be a football player when he grew up,” Agnes said. “I always interview my kids and ask them what they want to be when they grow up.
“You know, kids at that age will say something like a dream that will die. Brian said, ‘I will be a football player.’ And I said, ‘Brian, people always get injured.’ But he said, ‘Mom, I love football, and that’s what I want to be when I grow up – to go to the NFL.
“I said, ‘Whatever you want to be, I know it will be possible with God.’”
At DeSales, Asamoah was a standout player on offense and defense but never made an all-state team and didn’t attract interest from hometown Ohio State and some other major college programs.
But Oklahoma, coached at the time by Youngstown native Bob Stoops, liked Asamoah and signed him to a scholarship. With the Sooners, Asamoah played in 37 games, starting 19 of those, and led the team in tackles during the 2020 and 2021 seasons while being named second-team All-Big 12 Conference in 2021 and Academic All-Big 12 in 2020 and 2021.
His mother said Oklahoma was the place he wanted to be. “He said, ‘I will do anything to go to this place,’” she recalled, and he charted a course toward a goal that he reached through dedication on the field and in the classroom.
Oklahoma was just one of his goals, though.
“In high school, he took a calendar and marked down when he would graduate and calculated four years in college and said, ‘I will be drafted in the NFL on this date,’” Agnes said. “It’s something he always believed.”
The NFL scouts obviously saw something in him, too, and the Vikings drafted him in the third round in 2022.
In his rookie season last fall, the 6-foot, 226-pound linebacker played in all 16 regular-season games and finished with 17 tackles. His best games came near the end of the season when he totaled eight tackles against the Indianapolis Colts, forced a fumble and made the recovery against the New York Giants and compiled five tackles against the Green Bay Packers.
The Vikings saw enough good things last year that Asamoah is projected to be a starting inside linebacker this year alongside veteran Jordan Hicks after longtime Minnesota linebacker Eric Kendricks signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers during the offseason.
Training camp starts next month for the 2023 season, and Asamoah said he’ll be ready.
“I’m going to put my best foot forward and take advantage of every opportunity I get,” he said. “I know that’s how I got to where I am is obviously by God, and so I just keep the faith and know that He’s the reason for everything.”
Faith has always played a major role in his life. His mother recalled family Bible studies on Saturday mornings when her children were younger, and that Brian sounded like a preacher when he read the Word of God.
She said Brian, who attended Columbus St. Matthias School before enrolling at DeSales, was engaged in his faith as a member of The Church of Pentecost (Columbus North).
“Even in the NFL, Brian will text me every morning before a game,” Agnes said. “I always give him the Word of God, and I say, ‘God will use you to do whatever He wants you to do in Jesus’ name.’ And Brian will say, ‘Amen.’”
On one occasion, she forgot to text him when she was busy working in patient care at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital in Westerville. When she could check her phone, there was a message from Brian saying, “Mom, I’m waiting.”
Maintaining faith in God can be a challenged in a secularized culture, particularly in professional sports where players are idolized, and fame and fortune can inflate egos.
“My family sacrificed a lot for me to be where I am right now, and I give them all the praise for raising me,” Brian said.
“Most importantly, I’m a creation of God, and they instilled that in me every day, so I continue to apply His methods, His preaching, His works to people around me and go from there.”