Sinkala commits to Boston College after dozen NCAA offers

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/06/2024 (784 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Njita Sinkala won’t forget May 13 any time soon.

It’s the day that the skilled defensive back went from an unknown talent to being coveted by a dozen college football programs across the U.S.

“That day just changed my life forever really,” said Sinkala.

Days earlier, the Winnipeg product had transferred from Clearwater Academy International (Florida) to St. Thomas More School, a prep program in Connecticut where he will play his Grade 12 season this fall, with no offers to play at the next level but eager to prove his worth.

Sinkala, 18, would have an opportunity to do just that at the St. Thomas More showcase during a 15-minute training period that took place in front of 50 talent evaluators from NCAA programs.

Safe to say he made an impression.

Over the next few weeks, the 5-11, 172-pound cornerback held offers from a dozen NCAA Division 1 programs, the most impactful being Boston College, which plays in the high-profile Atlantic Coast Conference.

Sinkala was diligent during the selection process but didn’t take long to make his decision. This week, he committed to Boston College, where he will lace up for the Eagles beginning in the fall of 2025.

“The decision was mainly based on the people that were at Boston College,” said Sinkala, who weighed his offers based on the character of staff, quality of the football program, education and location.

“It came down to the people because ultimately, for me, what’s more important than all of that is who am I going to be when I graduate and who I’m going to be while I’m there. I felt like the people there could develop my character more than anything else, and that’s something that I think is more important far past football because, eventually, you have to be someone who can lead a family, whenever that happens to be.”

Sinkala, who played soccer from a young age, transitioned to football during his Grade 10 year at St. Paul’s after seeing his older brother, Kundanji, play for the University of Manitoba Bisons. Over the last couple of years, he’s become a technician at the position, possessing quick feet, along with adequate speed and athleticism.

At Clearwater Academy International, Sinkala racked up 51 tackles, three for a loss, in nine games for the Knights last season.

At Boston, he will be led by former National Football League head coach Bill O’Brien, whose 30-year career has led him to work under the likes of Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, who many regard as two of the greatest coaches to grace the gridiron.

“For me, that’s huge, because even though he’s not my specific position coach, he’s a quarterbacks coach, he’s coaching the offence, so every day I’ll be playing against NFL-calibre coaching. I feel like when I go practise, I’m going to be playing against a top offence and that’s going to translate directly to the game,” Sinkala said.

“The amount of knowledge you could just tell he has — one conversation doesn’t do it and I’m glad I have the next four years to pick his brain and learn from him.”

Sinkala is one in what has been a fruitful commitment cycle for Winnipeg talents.

Dolapo Egunjobi (University of Tennessee Martin), Brandon Kubay (University of South Florida), Dillano Glaud (Liberty University), Dallas Sims (Old Dominion University) and David Amaliri (University of Minnesota) all committed to Division 1 programs this week.

Like Sinkala, Amaliri joins a program in a Power Five conference (Big Ten) where he will have plenty of eyes on him from the professional ranks.

The 6-4, 205-pound linebacker was set to play one more season at St. Thomas More before going to college but rebuffed six other offers to join the Gophers this fall.

Amaliri was drawn to Minnesota’s education and the program’s competitiveness but his decision came down to his interaction with defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman.

“I want to be around a loving coach that believes in me, that has a vision for my future and I feel like coach Hetherman really saw something in me in camp and he really took a shot on me when a lot of big schools wouldn’t,” he said. “It just meant a lot to get that.”

Amaliri, who emigrated to the Manitoba capital from Nigeria with his family when he was 12, attended Kildonan East Collegiate before reclassifying and heading down to Clearwater to play with a host of other Winnipeggers last year. In his lone season with the Knights, he recorded nine tackles in four contests.

“I have to make myself believe that I’m supposed to be here, like I have something to prove to myself and I have something to prove to the coaches, so it’s just going to make me more motivated to push myself the hardest I’ve ever pushed myself,” Amaliri said.

“My goal is to go to the NFL, that’s always been the goal, and right now with the resources I have, the talent I possess, I feel like I can do it. I just have to put my head to it.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam