Remilekun "Remi" Ayodele (born April 22, 1983) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

defensive tackle in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

. He played college football at Oklahoma.

Early years

Ayodele attended South Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie, Texas, where he played as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

, following on the footsteps of his older brother Akin Ayodele. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman, he was asked to switch positions to defensive tackle, so he made the decision to transfer to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. In his 2 seasons with the Golden Norsemen, he contributed to the team having a 21-3 record. He posted 50 tackles, 3 sacks and one fumble recovery. As a sophomore in 2003, he helped the team win a second straight conference championship, a second place national ranking and a bowl title. He transferred after his sophomore season to the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. As a junior, he started 2 games at defensive tackle, making 11 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. As a senior, he started 6 games, posting 11 tackles (6 for loss), one sack and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Ayodele was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

after the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

on May 8. He was waived on June 16. On July 27, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

. He was released on September 2. On November 7, 2006, he was signed by the

to the practice squad. He was cut in November 27. He was signed to the

practice squad on December 5. On February 9, 2007, he was re-signed by the

and allocated to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europa on February 12. He made 15 tackles, one sack and one pass breakup. He was released by the Cowboys on September 1. On September 3, 2007, he was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Falcons. He was released before the season opener on September 7.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On September 11, 2007, he was signed by the

for depth purposes, after starting

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

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

Jay Ratliff Jeremiah Jerome Ratliff (born August 29, 1981), formerly known as Jay Ratliff, is a former American football nose tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He played college football at Auburn Tigers ...

, who was moved from

to replace Ferguson. He tallied 5 tackles and one forced fumble. Ayodele also had a chance to play on the same team with his brother

Akin Akin may refer to: People * Akin (given name), a list of people * Akin (surname), a list of people * Akın, a list of people with the Turkish given name or surname Places * Akin, Illinois, a town in the United States * Akin, Aksaray, a village ...

. On December 11, he was released and signed to the practice squad on December 14, where he spent the final four weeks of the season. He was cut on August 31, 2008.

New Orleans Saints (first stint)

On September 3, 2008, he was signed by the

to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 4. On November 11, he was cut and re-signed to the practice squad three days later. On December 20, he was promoted to the active roster for the last 2 games of the season. He appeared in 6 games, making 7 tackles (2 solo). In 2009, he became a starter (13 starts) at left defensive tackle after

Kendrick Clancy Lakendrick Tridel Clancy (born September 17, 1978) is a former professional American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2000, having also played for the New York Giants, A ...

injured his knee in the season opener. On October 4, he scored his first touchdown after defensive lineman

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

forced Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez to fumble, with Ayodele recovering the ball and returning it for a touchdown. He made 8 tackles against the

. 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 The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world ...

that led to a touchdown against the

. He was a part of the Super Bowl XLIV winning team. In 2010, he started all 16 games, posting 73 tackles (25 solo), one sack, one pass defensed and one forced fumble, helping the defense ranking improve from 25th to 4th. In his Saints career, he appeared in 37 games, with 29 starts at

, while posting 133 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 passes defensed, one forced fumble and on fumble recovery, which came in the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

for a touchdown.

Minnesota Vikings

On July 28, 2011, he signed a three-year deal as a

with the

, with the intention of replacing the veteran Pat Williams. He played in 16 games (13 starts), registering 22 tackles (11 solo) and 1½ sacks. He was released on March 21, 2012.

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

On May 7, 2012, Ayodele returned to the

with a one-year contract. He was cut on August 27.

Personal life

His older brother Akin Ayodele played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayodele, Remi 1983 births Living people People from Grand Prairie, Texas Sportspeople from Ellis County, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football defensive tackles American sportspeople of Nigerian descent American people of Yoruba descent Purdue Boilermakers football players Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norsemen football players Oklahoma Sooners football players Yoruba sportspeople Baltimore Ravens players Dallas Cowboys players Frankfurt Galaxy players Atlanta Falcons players New Orleans Saints players Minnesota Vikings players