Chijioke Obinna "Chukie" Nwokorie (pronounced CHOO-key Wha-KOR-ee) (born July 10, 1975) is a former American football defensive end.
Nworkorie played college football at Purdue University before earning a position in 1999 with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 1999.
Chukie Nwokorie was born July 10, 1975, in Tuskegee, Alabama, to parents who had immigrated to the United States from Nigeria, making him an American citizen by virtue of birth.
"[2] Nwokorie was not selected during the 1999 NFL draft, forcing him to enter the National Football League as an undrafted free agent.
He signed a deal with the Indianapolis Colts in April 1999 as part of the post-draft frenzy of teams to add undrafted players to their preseason rosters.
[3] In addition to the Colts, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Chicago Bears expressed interest in bringing Nwokorie to training camp on a free agent deal.
He was hampered by his late exposure to the sport, not even watching football until his senior year of high school, and sometimes having difficulty with the complexity of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's zone blitz scheme.
His first NFL game action came on November 7, 1999, when he was inserted for a few plays on special teams in the Colts' victory against the Kansas City Chiefs.
[6] He started at left defensive end six times, owing to injuries to teammates Chad Bratzke and Brad Scioli.
This led to a rumbling, stumbling 95-yard touchdown return swerving down the sideline abreast of Jets quarterback Vinnie Testaverde, who was unable to put the massive Colt on the ground.
Late in the offseason ahead of the 2002 NFL campaign, Nwokorie injured a disc in his lower back that left him unable to play football.
[6] Nwokorie became an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2002 season and explored his options, visiting the facilities of the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers, with the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos also reportedly expressing an interest.
[9] According to his agent, Frank Murtha, the Packers had pursued Nwokorie for two years and the big defensive end had liked the idea of playing there.
[11] Nwokorie played two seasons in the Arena Football League with the Las Vegas Gladiators (2006) and the Grand Rapids Rampage (2007).
[13] Cost of the procedure topped $95,000, leading his friend and former Colts teammate Rick DeMulling to start a Go Fund Me campaign on Nworkorie's behalf.