He's the hottest football recruit in the nation — and he's never played in a game

Neff Giwa has never played a single football game in his life. He grew up in Ireland playing rugby and soccer. But in just two weeks, the 6-foot-7, 295-pound 20-year-old became one of the most wanted college football recruits in the country — all because of a three-second video posted on social media.

Giwa was born in Cashel, a small town in Ireland about two hours from Dublin. His parents came from Nigeria — his father works as a physiotherapist and his mother is a nurse. Giwa started playing soccer at age 4, but as he grew much bigger than his peers, friends introduced him to rugby. At age 14, he also took up track and field and basketball, which helped him build coordination and speed.

Brandon Collier runs a company called Premier Prospects International, or PPI, based in Germany. He searches for talented athletes from other countries and helps place them on college football teams in the United States. A friend tipped him off about Giwa in January. Collier was skeptical at first, but one look at a photo of Giwa changed his mind instantly.

Collier invited Giwa to travel to Germany for a workout. Giwa flew to Frankfurt and then rode a bus for two hours to meet Collier at a gym in Wiesbaden. Collier measured Giwa at 6 feet 7.5 inches tall and 295 pounds, with arm length of 37 inches — anything over 35 inches is considered outstanding for an NFL offensive tackle. Collier also recorded a 40-yard dash time of 4.88 seconds and a broad jump of 9 feet 10 inches, both excellent numbers for his position.

During the workout, Collier physically charged at Giwa to test how he would react under pressure. Giwa was knocked back but kept fighting, which impressed Collier greatly. 'He's so tall, but he actually had good leverage,' Collier said. 'He's got something inside him that I haven't seen from many kids.' Collier believed Giwa's toughness came from years of rugby and from growing up play-fighting with two older brothers.

The technical side of offensive line play has been Giwa's biggest learning curve. He has spent hours on YouTube studying the moves of Trent Williams, a star tackle for the San Francisco 49ers. His biggest inspiration is Jordan Mailata, the Philadelphia Eagles' left tackle who also came from rugby in Australia and went on to win a Super Bowl. 'His parents were against moving to the U.S., but he did it anyway to chase his dream,' Giwa said.

In March, Collier took Giwa and nine other European players on a campus tour across the United States. They visited Ohio State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Clemson, South Carolina, and Tennessee, traveling in a sprinter van for hours at a time. At one point they drove 12 hours into Canada for a workout in Toronto, which completely surprised Giwa. 'I said, "But we just got to America,"' he laughed.

Before a workout in Toronto, Collier had Giwa set up an account on X, the social media platform. Giwa typed in his stats and put his phone away to go train. About three hours later, a three-second clip Collier posted of Giwa blocking a defensive end had gone viral. Coaches from Miami, SMU, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Texas Tech all sent messages within minutes asking about him.

Miami coach Mario Cristobal was among the most eager, messaging Collier repeatedly and pushing to get Giwa on campus right away. Collier arranged a last-minute flight for Giwa to visit Miami, and both South Carolina and Tennessee offered full scholarships during the tour. Collier always carries Giwa's passport on visits to prove to coaches that this brand-new recruit is really only 20 years old.

Giwa's parents are still getting used to all the attention their son is receiving. They care most about education, but they also see the doors that college football could open for him. When Giwa compared college football to England's Premier League, his father immediately started looking up every team. 'I'm just trying to find the right fit,' Giwa said. 'A month ago, I didn't exist in the world of American football, and now I do.'