Sewo Olonilua (born November 27, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

Early life

Olonilua attended

Kingwood High School Kingwood High School is a Humble Independent School District secondary school located in the Kingwood community of Houston, Texas, United States and serves Portions of Kingwood and Atascocita. Kingwood was designated a National Blue Ribbon Sc ...

. He played as a running back in his four seasons and also started two-ways as an

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

beginning as a junior. As a senior, he registered 1,073 rushing yards (11.4-yard avg.) and 14 touchdowns. He played in the

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl (currently branded as the Navy All-American Bowl for sponsorship reasons) is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is p ...

and received the Glenn Davis Army Award. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and committed to play football at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

, turning down offers from

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

College career

Olonilua accepted a football scholarship from

(TCU). As a true freshman, he appeared in all 13 games, with his only start coming in the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...

. During the season he had 15 carries for 122 rushing yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore, he appeared in all 14 games, making 64 carries for 330 yards, 7 touchdowns, 19 receptions for 166 yards and 5

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. As a junior, he appeared in all 13 games, leading the team with 135 carries for 635 yards (4.7-yard avg.). He was named the Cheez-It Bowl Offensive Most Valuable Player after rushing for a TCU bowl record 194 yards. As a senior, he was third on the team with 537 yards (4.0-yard avg.) and had 8 rushing touchdowns (led the team). He tallied 18 carries for 106 yards and one touchdown against

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Olonilua was signed as an

undrafted 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 ...

by the

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

after the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

on April 27. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on November 7 and December 19 for the team's weeks 9 and 15 games against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on December 26, 2020. On August 17, 2021, Olonilua was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a neck injury. On May 4, 2022, he was released after the Cowboys signed fullback Ryan Nall.

Houston Roughnecks

The Houston Roughnecks selected Olonilua in the sixth round of the 2023 XFL Supplemental Draft on January 1, 2023. He was released on June 21, 2023.

Orlando Guardians

Olonilua signed with the

Orlando Guardians The Orlando Guardians were a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The Guardians competed in the XFL (2020), XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment as the New York Guardians and were owned-and-o ...

on June 26, 2023. The Guardians folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

Edmonton Elks

On January 29, 2024, Olonilua signed with the

of the

(CFL).

References

External links

Edmonton Elks bio

TCU Horned Frogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olonilua, Sewo 1997 births Living people People from Kingwood, Texas Players of American football from Houston American football running backs American football fullbacks TCU Horned Frogs football players Dallas Cowboys players Houston Roughnecks players Orlando Guardians players Players of American football from Montgomery County, Texas Edmonton Elks players Canadian football running backs Players of Canadian football from Texas