Seppo Evwaraye (born June 1, 1982) is a Finnish former

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

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

and former general manager and interim head coach of Finnish team

Wasa Royals Wasa or WASA may refer to: Places * Wasa, Cameroon, a town in Extrême-Nord region * Wasa, British Columbia, Canada, a settlement * Wasa Lake, British Columbia, Canada * Vaasa, Finland, a town, formerly spelled Wasa * Wasa (Tanzanian ward), a ward ...

of Maple league. Seppo was first signed by

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

as a free agent in 2006, and also played for

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

as an international practice squad member.

Career

Playing career

Evwaraye started playing football in his home city of

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. During his year as an exchange student in Nebraska, Evwaraye received an offer to play for

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. He

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

ed as a freshman. Evwaraye played as a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

during his freshman and sophomore year, but turned to

right tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

as a junior. Evwaraye had been signed by the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2006, however he was unable to make the team due to problems with his

work permit A work permit or work visa is the permission to take a job within a foreign country. The foreign country where someone seeks to obtain a work permit for is also known as the "country of work", as opposed to the "country of origin" where someone ho ...

. Evwaraye played during the 2007 spring in

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally founded ...

for Cologne Centurions as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

. After the season, he joined the Vikings as an International Practice Squad Program member. Evwaraye retired in September 2010 after winning his second consecutive

Finnish Championship Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

with the

Porvoo Butchers Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the sub-region has a populati ...

Coaching career

Evwaraye has been the head coach and general manager of Finnish team Wasa Royals since 2013 season. In his first season as head coach Royals achieved promotion to Finnish first division. In his second season, Royals won the Finnish first division championship, Spaghetti Bowl. In 2015 Royals again won the Spaghetti Bowl and achieved promotion to Finland's top tier,

Vaahteraliiga The Vaahteraliiga (Maple League) founded in 1980 is the highest level of American football in Finland played under American Football Association of Finland. The winner of the Vaahteraliiga is the Finnish champion. The Vaahteraliiga season is play ...

. Royals finished fourth in the regular season with a record of 6–6 and were defeated by Seinäjoki Crocodiles in the semi-finals. At the end of 2016 season Evwaraye left his position as head coach and became a full-time general manager of the team. Evwaraye is currently the head coach and offensive line coach of Finland's under-15's national team. Evwaraye took over as interim head coach of Royals when the team fired Dan Grass after week one of 2018 Maple league.

Personal life

Evwaraye's mother is Finnish and father

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

. He has two football playing brothers, Ari and Efe, who both are Finnish champions and Finnish National Team players. All three brothers joined forces for the 2009 season and played for

championship winning team. Seppo was inducted to the Finnish American Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evwaraye, Seppo 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Vaasa American football offensive linemen Carolina Panthers players Cologne Centurions (NFL Europe) players Minnesota Vikings players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Finnish players of American football Finnish people of Nigerian descent Vaahteraliiga players Vaahteraliiga coaches