Born in the Republic of Gambia, Ali Gaye’s journey to the NFL Draft has been anything but ordinary. 🇬🇲
(THREAD 🧵⬇️)
LSU edge prospect Ali Gaye grew up in The Gambia, Africa’s smallest mainland country, and immigrated to the United States when he was 12. Gaye, along with his parents and two siblings, settled in Lynwood, Washington.
As a kid, Ali Gaye’s favorite sport was soccer. When he adjusted to American culture, Gaye turned to football in 8th grade at the age of 14. He had the footwork with his soccer background and developed as a three-star recruit coming out of Edmonds Woodway High School.
Gaye made not one, but two stops at the junior college level to start his collegiate career. He first relocated to Yuma, Arizona to play for Arizona Western College. His time there only lasted one season, as Arizona Western discontinued its football program after the 2018 season.
With one JuCo season under his belt, Ali Gaye moved from Arizona to Kansas at Garden City Community College where he earned a spot on the 2019 All-Jayhawk League First Team.
247Sports.com had him ranked as the No. 2 strong side DE in Junior College in his class.
Gaye had offers from Iowa State, Kansas State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and West Virginia, but ultimately decided to head to Baton Rouge to become an LSU Tiger 🐅
The jersey number he wore at LSU? #11.
He chose #11 to honor his late friend Bryce Beekman, a teammate of whom he played with at Arizona Western.
“I wear #11 because it reminds me of him… I hope he’s watching.” ❤️ (via @LSUfootball)
In three seasons at LSU, Gaye started 26 games tallying 87 tackles with 18 tackles for loss and 10 passes defensed.
He was named a Team Captain his senior year in 2022 🙌
Most importantly, he earned his college degree as an LSU Graduate 🎓.
Not bad for a kid from The Gambia 🇬🇲 (via @LSUfootball)
He made sure to represent his nation along the way 🇬🇲
(via @LSUfootball)
What’s next for @unos1_? The opportunity to play football at the highest level. He’s only played the sport for 10 years, and his remarkable journey continues when he waits for his name to be called.
📺: 2023 #NFLDraft starts Thursday 8pm ET on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+
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