Ahanotu was born in Modesto, California to Nigerian father and a mother from Alaska, and was the middle son of three boys.
After his redshirt freshman year, Ahanotu began to play during his second season, following which he earned a full athletic scholarship and became the Golden Bears' starting left defensive end.
Ahanotu majored in Integrative Biology and originally intended to go to medical school to become a doctor before joining the NFL.
[8] While playing for the Bills in 2002, Ahanotu made the unusual decision to live in Toronto and commute two hours to Buffalo.
After retiring, he became the founder of Magellan Entertainment Inc., a talent management firm whose clients included Usain Bolt, Lennox Lewis, Lil Wayne, and Venus and Serena Williams.