By: Justin Boone
jboone@ticats.ca
Q: How did last month’s draft evaluation camp turn out?
Okpro: The E-camp went tremendously. I felt really good, and throughout that weekend I just tried to stay at ease and be calm. Some tests didn’t go as well as others, but you can’t look back and hold back, you just move forward. Overall, I thought the weekend went well, I thought my interviews went very well and I felt it was a very productive weekend.
Q: What kind of preparation goes into a camp like that?
Okpro: I had expectations, and I had been on the CFL website, looking at all the film from last year, what happened and what they went through. I just tried to get myself familiarized with all the events. Doing that really helped me coming into the events because I had seen the place and seen the interviews and stuff, so that really put me at ease coming in.
Q: You mention the interviews each team does, what kind of questions are they asking you?
Okpro: They ask a couple tricky questions. One team asked me what was the low point of my career. I didn’t think they were going to ask me that, and I said it was when I got suspended my rookie year and it was very embarrassing for me to get ejected from the field, but I learned from that and I learned from that mistake pretty much.
Q: If that was the low point, what’s been the highlight of your football career?
Okpro: The best moment of my football career is being named a three-time All-Canadian. That’s been a tremendous honour and being named MVP of my team this year because it’s voted on by the players, so it feels great to know that my teammates feel that way about me.
Q: How about the best single moment on the field?
Okpro: If you’re talking in terms of big play, my biggest play was against St. Mary’s at home, it was very cold, six overtimes and I came up with the game winning interception. That was the biggest point in my career.
Q: What are you going to miss most about your time at Concordia?
Okpro: Just the friends. You build a camaraderie over the years and a lot of the players at Concordia I played in high school with, so I’ve played with them for about seven or eight years. I haven’t been in the professional level, but those are life long friends that you build there, and that’s what I’m going to miss the most.
Q: How did you get into football in the first place?
Okpro: My father. At the time I was playing hockey, soccer, basketball, everything but football. I was a momma’s boy when I was younger, and my mom didn’t really want any physical sports, but one of my father’s old friends asked me if I wanted to play football and I agreed. From there it kind of took off and I loved it, and throughout my years I just continued to drop each and every sport because as I got older it demanded more time. I was left between hockey and football and I chose football.
Q: It seems to be working out for you so far. Looking forward to when your name is called on draft day, is there anyone you would compare yourself to, who is already getting it done in the CFL?
Okpro: I heard a comparison to Etienne Boulay. I trained with him this off-season and he helped me out with my footwork and stuff, so I’ve been compared to him at times. I still have big shoes to fill though, and I’m just trying to get better.
Q: When it comes to gameday, how do get ready to take the field? Do you think that will change at all as a pro?
Okpro:I listen to old school music, I go back to Nas and Biggy and Tupac. From there, I try to just stay lose. I have a good time, I notice when I get uptight I don’t play well. I got really psyched up for a big playoff game and I just played terrible, so I just try to stay lose and have a good time and keep the game fun, because if you’re not having fun, you’re not making plays.
Q: When the sun sets on your CFL career, what else is on tap for you?
Okpro: My aspiration is to coach. I’d really like to give back what I’ve learned when I was young. I had a lot of dedicated coaches that passed on their knowledge to me, so I would like to give back to my community especially Montreal. At the younger level the game is just so fun for the kids and they are just so wide-eyed and ready to learn. At that age it’s just a tremendous experience to be a coach and give back to them.
