Kenny Onatolu life and biography

Kenny Onatolu is an American football linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League.

• Spent 2007 and 2008 seasons with the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos, the team where Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon started his pro football career before moving to the NFL.
• Joins Vikings TE Jim Kleinsasser (North Dakota) as former Division II players from the North Central Conference on the Vikings roster.

OFF THE FIELD
Earned bachelor’s degree in communications at the University of Nebraska-Omaha…Has an identical twin brother Taiwo, who was his teammate at Nebraska-Omaha and now is LBs coach on the Mavericks’ staff…His full name is Olayiwola Kendae Onatolu...name is pronounced Aw-lie-wah-la On-nuh-toe-loo...Was born in Chicago, but spent 3 years as a child in his parents home country of Nigeria...Aspires to a career in broadcasting...Father is a business professor.

PRO
Made immediate impact with Vikings in 2009 when he tied for team lead with 24 special teams tackles...Recovered a Reggie Bush fumble on punt return during NFC Championship Game…Signed by the Vikings as a free agent on 12/29/08…Spent 2 seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, showing great improvement from his rookie season to becoming a starter in 2008…Was 3rd on the Eskimos in tackles (60), tied for 4th in sacks (3.0), and tied for 1st in tackles for a loss (4) in 2008 after playing mostly on special team in 2007.

2009
In NFL debut, made the most of his opportunities by seeing action in all 16 games and both playoff contests...Tied for team lead in special teams tackles with 24...Had a special teams stop in Divisional Playoff game vs. Dallas (1/17/10) and recovered a fumble in NFC Championship Game on punt coverage when Reggie Bush had the ball forced out by fellow Vikings coverage man Eric Frampton...Notched at least 1 special teams tackle in 14 regular season games...Posted season-best 3 special teams tackles in 3 games.

2008
Set career highs in all major statistical categories…Tallied 60 tackles in 14 games, good for 3rd on the team, with another 8 coming on special teams…Tied for 1st on the team with 4 TFLs, tied for 2nd with 2 FRs and tied for 4th with 3 sacks…Tied for the lead in tackles with 5 in the Eskimos East Semi-Final game vs. Winnipeg (11/8)…Led or tied for the team lead in tackles in 7 out of the 14 games he played in…Saw action in 14 of 18 regular season games with 12 starts, including the final 11 contests…Started both postseason matchups.

2007
Saw action in 10 games mainly on special teams…Recorded 8 defensive tackles and 4 special teams stops, adding 1 sack and 1 FF…Notched his 1st career sack vs. Calgary (9/7)…Tallied a season-high 3 tackles vs. Winnipeg (7/13).

COLLEGE
Earned Division II All-America honors as a junior and senior by Collegesportsreport.com…Recorded 324 career total tackles in his collegiate career, 5th in school history…Was named All-North Central Conference after each of his 4 seasons (2nd-team his sophomore year)…Captured team’s Outstanding LB award in 2005 and Defensive MVP award in 2006.

Attended Papillion North (NE) High School where he excelled in football and track…Set the school’s all-time record for rushing yards in a game with 326…Rushed for 1,500 yards and scored 16 TDs his senior year en route to 2nd team All-State honors…Played in Nebraska Shrine Bowl following his senior campaign.

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