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Northwestern offers 2023 top-100 recruit Samson Okunlola

PeterWarrenPhoto2by:Peter Warren•09/30/21•

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Samson Okunlola
(Birm/Lettermen Row)

Northwestern offered Brockton (Mass.) Thayer Academy four-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola a scholarship on Thursday.

Okunlola is the No. 75 prospect in the 2023 On3 Top 100 and the fifth-best offensive tackle in the class.

He has over 30 offers from some of the best programs in the country.

Northwestern is developing an offensive line factory

The Big Ten is known for its stellar offensive line play with Wisconsin and Iowa being the standard bearers.

But Northwestern is making a name for itself as one of the best developers of offensive line talent in the country. And Samson Okunlola could be next big star to take his talents to Evanston.

Rashawn Slater went to Evanston an unheralded consensus three-star prospect and left as the second offensive lineman selected in the 2021 NFL Draft.

On Thursday, ESPN rated Slater as the best rookie in the NFL through three games with fellow Northwestern graduate Greg Newsome II ranked No. 3 on the list.

Slater is not the only Northwestern offensive lineman to gain national notoriety.

Since taking over as offensive line coach in 2018, Kurt Anderson has taken the team’s recruiting at the position to the next level.

He recruited five-star lineman Peter Skoronski, who is the first five-star recruit to commit to Northwestern in the modern era.

Skoronski started at left tackle as a freshman after Slater opted out of the 2020 season and was one of the best freshmen in the country.

Samson Okunlola looks like a blue-chip prospect

Samson Okunlola has been on the radar of schools all across the nation since his freshman year.

His offers include Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, Texas A&M and USC.

A potential wrinkle in Samson Okunlola’s recruitment is his twin brother, consensus three-star EDGE Samuel Okunlola. However, Samson Okunlola told Lettermen Row the two are not a package deal.

On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power says Samson Okunlola has the potential to be a top-tier prospect.

“Samson Okunlola is a physically developed offensive tackle prospect,” Power said. “He’s long and has shown reactive quickness in pads and in camp settings. It’s good to see him back on the field after Massachusetts didn’t play last fall due to COVID-19. Okunlola doesn’t play great competition at his high school, but he’s showed well against other top prospects at camps. He’s also leaned up a good bit over the past year or so and has a wrestling background. At this stage, he looks like a blue-chip prospect in the 2023 cycle.”