Foye Oluokun credits his chemical engineer father for his love for math. | Facebook
Foye Oluokun credits his chemical engineer father for his love for math. | Facebook
It’s often said that football is 90% mental and 10% physical.
In the case of Atlanta Falcons linebacker Foye Oluokun, the mantra is absolute truth.
According to a Falcons-issued press release, Oluokun, a Yale graduate, heavily relies on his mathematics background to help guide the defense.
Football is an extension of what’s taught in elementary school, the fourth-year Falcon said.
"Kids who like math, everything they see is a puzzle," Oluokun told NFL.com. "We learn puzzles. We learn patterns in math. That's why I applied it to football. Every pattern you see out there, it's the same application of patterns that you see in math."
The son of a chemical engineer, Oluokun attributes the elder for his love of math.
Steve Oluokun, who emigrated from Nigeria with his wife, uses a mathematics-driven approach to chemical engineering, inspiring the younger Oluokun to apply it on the gridiron.
"He taught me early on that the world is math," the Falcons leader in combine tackles, who adheres to the theory that "intelligence is knowledge in action,” said in the release.
Oluokun and the Falcons will head to New Orleans tomorrow, where they face a Saints team that just lost quarterback Jameis Winston during a hard-fought win against the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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