The Gentle Giant
By, Danielle Jaculewicz
Standing at 6’3” and weighing 240 pounds, Daniel Imatorbhebhe looked like an intimidating football player when he entered the classroom. Once he began talking to the class, it did not take long to realize he is really a gentle giant. Imatorbhebhe has an extremely big heart, both is in his volunteer work and playing with his teammates on the football field.
From the time Daniel was 17 he was forced to mature more quickly than the average teenage boy. He graduated high school a semester early by choice due to starting his college football career at the University of Florida. Imatorbhebhe missed out on prom and graduation, but Imatorbhebhe has never been the average teenager. A year later, at 18 years old, Daniel made the decision to transfer to his dream school, USC to further his football career.
Daniel shared the challenges of balancing an athletic career at USC while being a student. He is not just any normal USC student, everyday for Imatorbhebhe is packed from start to finish. He explained his typical day to us, “Workout starts at 6:00, I need to be there at about 5:20 so I can stretch, prepare, and get ready. Workout 6:00 to 8:00, first class at 8:30, after you finish the workout at 8:00, get some food, get some water. You got class class from 8:00 to 1:50. Football block starts at 2:00, from 2:00 to 6:30 it’s meetings and practice. After 6:30 you have mandatory study hall, tutoring all that, so that lasts till about 9:00 or 10:00 depending on how much work you have. Then you go to sleep and do it all over again.” After that rundown Daniel jokingly shared how he was jealous of “normal students” at USC. “We lowkey are slaves sometimes,” is how he described the grueling life of a collegiate football player.
Besides practically having a full time career as a college athlete, Imatorbhebhe has dedicated much of his time to serving those in need. He was awarded the USC Community Service Award for doing work such as setting up movie nights for local orphans or passing out food on skid row. Daniel is currently working on getting his MBA at USC to help serve people and use business proceeds to solve social issues and support good causes.
Daniel’s life could easily be in a different place right now if it were not for career altering injuries. Since 2017 Imatorbhebhe has dealt with a nagging hip injury. Before his injury he was a contender for the NCAA Mackey Award and an immediate NFL prospect. “For me I was thinking I was gonna be done in the fall, I wasn’t going to get my degree or anything.” This all changed after becoming injured. Although his life right now was not what he originally imagined, Daniel does look on the bright side towards his current position. “If I left my whole identity in being football player I would be crushed, I had to figure out dang, who am I, what gives me my value?”
It was easy to see Daniel Imatorbhebhe’s value as a person and a player. He is going to graduate with two degrees from the University of Southern California with zero debt. He is going to train to hopefully one day play at the highest level of football in the NFL, but unlike many others he has a bright future outside of the sport. No matter what the future holds for this gentle giant, he is bound to do good things for anyone he crosses paths with.
