He accepted a football scholarship from Purdue University, following on the footsteps of his older brother Akin Ayodele.

As a redshirt freshman, he was asked to switch positions to defensive tackle, so he made the decision to transfer to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.

As a sophomore in 2003, he helped the team win a second straight conference championship, a second place national ranking and a bowl title.

On September 11, 2007, he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys for depth purposes, after starting nose tackle Jason Ferguson was lost for the year with a biceps injury.

He appeared in 7 games and was declared inactive for 5 contests, as a backup to nose tackle Jay Ratliff, who was moved from defensive end to replace Ferguson.

In 2009, he became a starter (13 starts) at left defensive tackle after Kendrick Clancy injured his knee in the season opener.

He registered 53 tackles (22 solo), 1.5 sacks, one pass defense and one fumble recovery during the regular season.

On January 24, 2010, he had 8 tackles (4 solo) and recovered one fumble in the NFC Championship Game that led to a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings.

On July 28, 2011, he signed a three-year deal as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings, with the intention of replacing the veteran Pat Williams.