He played college football for the Temple Owls and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL draft.
[2] He attended Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland, and gained an interest in American football.
[3] He received significant attention as a recruit and his parents began supporting him: "They finally started hearing I could get a free education in college out of it and they were all for it," he said.
[3] In addition to playing football, Nkwenti was also a track and field competitor in high school, placing in the top 30 in the nation in the discus throw as a senior.
[3] However, due to academic scores and a late arrival of Nkwenti's SAT, most schools lost interest in recruiting him.
[3] Temple Owls coach Ron Dickerson remained interested in him and Nkwenti signed to play college football there as a defensive lineman.
[2][3] He later said that "My offensive line coach, Mike Schad, was an 11-year veteran in the NFL and I guess he saw something in me I didn't see.
"[3] Nkwenti was a key player that helped develop a major offensive turnaround for Temple in 2000.
[4] Nkwenti was reported to have impressed at the 2001 NFL Scouting Combine, where he measured at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 285 pounds (129 kg), running a 40-yard dash under 5.0 seconds that was viewed as "extremely fast for a tackle.
[9] The Steelers finished the season with a record of 13–3 and reached the 2001 AFC Championship Game, where they lost to the New England Patriots 24–17.
[8][11] The 2002 Steelers compiled a record of 10–5–1, reaching the divisional round of the playoffs where they lost 34–31 to the Tennessee Titans.
[8][15] However, soon after the game it was determined that he needed surgery to remove a disc fragment in his back that was pressing on a nerve.