Ayokunle Olatunji "T. J." Fatinikun (born July 28, 1991) is a Nigerian-American former 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 ...

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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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 ...

at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...

. He also played for the

Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...

and

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

Early life

Fatinikun played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Perrysburg High School in

Perrysburg, Ohio Perrysburg is a city located in Wood County, Ohio, United States, along the south side of the Maumee River. The population was 25,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Part of the Toledo metropolitan area, the city is southwest of To ...

. He was named first-team all-conference, first-team all-district and special mention all-state. He recorded 65 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and nine sacks his senior year. Fatinikun made second-team all-league, recording 55 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks his junior year. In his Junior year, he also led the Yellow Jackets to their first State Playoff berth in school history. He totaled 73 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 10 sacks as a sophomore.

College career

Fatinikun played for the Toledo Rockets from 2009 to 2012. Fatinikun was named third-team All-

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

in 2010, leading the defensive line with 51 tackles. He also led the team and was ninth in the MAC with 13 tackles for loss. He suffered a season-ending elbow injury against

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

on October 8, 2011, still making third-team All-MAC.

Professional career

Fatinikun was assigned to the

of the

on October 18, 2013. He was traded to the

on May 26, 2014. He was placed on Other League Exempt on August 12, 2014. Fatinikun was signed by the

of the

on August 12, 2014. He was released by the Buccaneers on August 29, 2014. He was signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad on September 24, 2014 and promoted to the active roster on October 21, 2014. Fatinikun was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on October 6, 2015. He was taken off injured reserve on February 8, 2016 and became a free agent on March 9, 2016.

References

External links

Stats Crew profileNFL Draft Scout
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fatinikun, T. J. Living people 1991 births Players of American football from Ohio American football defensive ends Nigerian players of American football Toledo Rockets football players Portland Thunder players Orlando Predators players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Nigerian emigrants to the United States People from Perrysburg, Ohio Sportspeople from Wood County, Ohio Players of American football from Lagos