Sunday’s clash between the Baltimore Ravens and the Jacksonville Jaguars will mark the NFL’s 10-year anniversary of playing games in London.
It will also mark the beginning of a dream 10 years in the making for rookie O-line man Jermaine Eleumunor.
When he was 12-years old he found a football game on his TV, it was the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants playing in 2007. He immediately fell in love with the game, he loved the contact and speed of the sport. The fact that he stepping into Wembley stadium as one of the first 30 English born NFL players is only half of it, its how he got here that makes the story great.
Breaking into Football
After watching the first game Jermaine started researching American Football in London. He came to find the London Blitz, which is a 5-on-5 flag football league. He had to pay 10 pounds to play and take a 10-minute bus ride from home when he couldn’t afford a jersey he wore an oversized T-shirt over his pads.
A few years later on vacation in the U.S., his father asked him would he want to move to London. Jermaine said “Definitely” without hesitation, his father wasn’t a huge fan of the idea.
“Even though I didn’t particularly like American Football my kids did, and I always supported my kids,” John Eluemunor said to NFL films earlier this year.
When he was 14, his family moved to Danville, New Jersey where Jermaine attended high school and realized how long the road to the NFL would be. As a senior he had to reach out to colleges when none noticed him, he sent out emails to every school with the same message, Take a chance on me and I’ll show you I can play.
When no schools even reapplied he had to attend Lackawanna junior college in Pennsylvania. He was noticed immediately going toe-to-toe with the best defensive lineman on the team. After 2 years developing he sent tapes out to all the major schools, Ohio State and Florida State both had interest until he chose Texas A&M.
After a red-shirt first year and two years as a backup, Jim Turner came to Texan A&M and gave him the shot he needed. Jermaine immediately began shooting up draft boards due to his versatility and potential with more time in the sport.
He was ranked the 7th best tackle in the draft and projected to go in the 3rd, even though he fell to the 5th it was a dream come true when the Ravens selected him.
Debut at home?
With all the injuries the Ravens faced Eluemunor started 2 preseason games but when the Ravens decided then wanted depth, the traded for 2 veterans and Jermaine became a backup. However, Sunday Pro-Bowl Guard Marshall Yanda suffered a season-ending injury which may create another opportunity for Eluemunor.
John Harbaugh spoke on Eleumunor a post-practice press conference “In all honesty, he was pretty raw when he first got here. The song ‘500 Miles’ — it is one of my favorites. He has come 500 miles. He has come that far. He is about ready to play football for us, so we will see what happens.”
Even with the fairy tale story for Jermaine to make his first start at the stadium which inspired his career and where he grew up in London, he isn’t dwelling in the moment for a minute.
“I still have a long way to go. This is where I wanted to get to, but it’s not where I want to finish,” Eluemunor said. “There’s a lot more I can do, and I plan on doing it.”
He also is looking even further into the future. Jermaine wants to be an inspiration and drive other English youth to American Football. “I feel like I’m meant to be a bridge,” Eluemunor said. “You don’t have to be from America or born in America to play in the NFL. You can be from any country around the world.”
With all his upside and passion, Jermaine Eluemunor has the chance to be a great NFL player for years to come. That drive is what got him where he is today, on an NFL roster, potentially approaching his first start, right where it all began, At home.
