2026 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Olasunkonmi Agunloye, DL, Florida International University

• Name: Olasunkonmi Agunloye
• Position: DL
• College: Florida International University
• Height: 6′ 6″
• Weight: 307 lbs
• X: @sunkonmi_james
• Instagram: @sunkonmi.agunloye

What made you decide you wanted to be a football player?

It was really one of my hometown friend’s dads who just saw that I was in sixth or seventh grade and kind of saw something in me. I was a raw athlete, big, tall, athletic, still lanky so I can use my body, but I mean he got me to try out football and it really just took off from there and ever since then I just love the sport and I really fell in love with it and I’m just blessed to be playing this sport every day at this point. And to be able to have this opportunity I mean it’s been a dream ever since I’ve really started like ever since I had an opportunity to play at a high level. I mean I excelled fast. I was able to play varsity as a freshman and get some playing time and then start getting recruited and it’s like when all those things are falling in line like you realize your dreams are really in reach so ever since I really started to be honest.

What are your favorite moments from your football life?

I think my freshman year we upset UNC and that was a huge win, the same thing my junior year and then also winning a championship with some of my guys at Marshall, that was a dope experience. And then this year to be able to change FIU’s history and be one of the first teams to make a bowl game in like half a decade. So, I would say like this past season, and I made a lot of great memories just solely off of how historic of a year we had at FIU still to kind of flip the script for what usually been talked about as one of the lower teams in the FBS and not really a winning culture. To be able to flip into this team is serious and in the coming years it’ll be able to compete and be able to start and build a foundation on that, that the future teams can build off of.

If you could hang out with any football player past or present for a day, who and why?

Aaron Donald would definitely be one of them just because of seeing the way he operates and seeing his work ethic, it’ll be dope to be able to have opportunity to work out with him for a day and see what his process is and how he was able to take over the game for a decade. He was one of the greatest to do it and his work ethic was definitely one of the most unmatched work ethics that I’ve seen during my time watching football.

What is your favorite defensive scheme and why?

I played in a three down and a four down front but I’ll say four down more just because you have a little bit more freedom, you can two gap it a little bit it depends on the rules of your defense, some defenses it’s more you just have to control your gap and stay in your gap and the linebacker will fit off of you or like some defenses will let you have a bit more freedom but if you see it, go take it you know what I mean like if you’re in your primary gap and the play is going to your secondary gap, go make that play if you have the ability to. So, I feel like this past year was probably one of the best schemes I’ve ever played in just because of the freedom and the technicalities of how technical we got with where we lined up and all the different fronts that we had to be able to line up off the bag, line up with a tight end. It gave us a lot of versatility, and we got to play a lot of different positions on the defensive line.

What stands out about your film the most?

I mean you see a guy at 6′ 6″ 310-315 on the field running you know what I mean, I’m strong. I’m explosive and I can run. I feel that it’s really just the strength that pops off the page and to be able to move the way I move at my weight and size. It’s just something that’s not common and I lean on that a lot when it comes to playing and have the natural athletic ability and natural size and you add some technique on top of that once you keep working on a technique, you start to become a real threat.

What should we know about Olasunkonmi Agunloye the person?

If I had one thing that people should know about me I would say resiliency. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs throughout my career and I’ve been resilient and persevered through all of those. I’m not someone who’s going to quit and I’m someone that works hard. I’m someone you can rely on and trust. I feel like that is one of the most important character traits that you can have is someone that’s just going to keep working no matter what the situation is and try to control what you can control and make the best out of any situation.

What do you love the most about the game of football?

Honestly to be able to just play on big stages to be able to show the world how hard you worked to get to this moment and how it’s showing out on the field. Playing this game since we were young and being able to get to a level where you’re playing in front of millions and excelling in front of millions not just playing excelling and being better than other people and you’re on the field. I think that’s the best part knowing that this dream has been planted since I was about 12 and has grown into something beautiful and just keep doing what I love I mean I’ve grown to love it just because of how hard it is by doing the hard things every day like knowing that every day that you have a practice or you know that you did something hard today and that shows when you go out onto the field.

Who is the most underrated player you’ve played with and why?

I’d say one person that I play with for sure that’s underrated is Jahmeer Carter, I played with him for a while at UVA. Very quiet, very to himself but he gets the job done quietly. He has heavy hands. He really strikes someone and really puts fear into a person across from him but he’s always technically sound. He always knows what he’s doing. He’s very smart and detailed. And I feel he goes unnoticed just because he’s not a loud guy. He’s not a guy that’s trying to get in your face. He’s a guy that just works behind the shadows silently and hard and I think that’s what makes him incredibly underrated.