Daniel Imatorbhebhe Stands Out for Far More Reasons than his Surname
For someone who’s been called “I’m-not-your-baby” and “I’m-a-booty,” it was fitting that the first thing Daniel Imatorbhebhe did upon being introduced to students at USC Annenberg was give the correct pronunciation of his last name. “It’s pronounced Ih-ma-tore-be-be, but my friends just call me be-be,” said the towering ‘SC tight end, repping his team in full-body Trojan gear. He gave the aspiring journalists a glimpse into the life of a student-athlete at Southern Cal.
“Workouts start at 6:00, but I need to be there at 5:20 to stretch and prepare,” he said, garnering a groan from students at the mere thought of leaving bed so early. After detailing his taxing daily schedule, which involves six and a half hours of physical activity, around four hours of homework, and leaves just four–seven hours of sleep on a good day, most listeners had convinced themselves to never pursue a collegiate athletic career. But for Imatorbhebhe, it had been a dream since his childhood days. And all the cards had to fall in the right place for it to become a reality.
“Probably since I was 15, USC was my dream school,” he said while fidgeting with a half-filled blue Powerade water bottle. “I visited here late sophomore year in high school with my brother, and I was like, ‘Man. USC, that’s where I want to be.’” Yet when the time came for the North Gwinnett High School football star from Atlanta to commit in late 2014, Los Angeles wasn’t a destination available to him. Still plagued by the sanctions laid down as a result of the Reggie Bush scandal in 2006, the Trojans were unable to offer Daniel a spot on the team due to a lack of scholarships. Devastated, he ended up choosing, as he puts it, “the next best thing:” the University of Florida.
Imatorbhebhe wouldn’t be a Gator for long. In the spring of 2015, USC saw their incoming tight end recruits — those that were chosen over Daniel — disappear from the roster before they could even arrive on campus. From one’s arrest, to another’s suffering of a mental breakdown, to another’s lost motivation to even step foot on the field, the team was left with only one tight end. Daniel pounced on the opportunity. “I got in touch with the team, and they said they would love to have me,” he said. He transferred to ‘SC in the fall of the same year.
While the Trojans may have suffered a loss in their three failed recruits, they continue to hold a prized possession in Imatorbhebhe, now a redshirt senior. Not only has he been successful when healthy (primarily in the second half of the 2017 season, becoming a top target for quarterback Sam Darnold), but he’s also shined off the field. Last summer, he received his bachelor’s degree in economics, and is now working towards a master’s degree is social entrepreneurship. Perhaps more impressively, he is a recipient of the USC Community Service Award.
Such accomplishments aren’t routine for a collegiate athlete like Imatorbhebhe. “(Being a student-athlete) is like a full-time job. Being a student in and of itself is a full-time job,” he said, humbly adding context to both his accolades and the treatment of athletes by the NCAA. “Guys are putting their bodies on the line, risking their physical health, their mental health, and the university is gaining a lot of money at the same time,” he said. “We’re essentially working for the university.”
It’s clear that being a student-athlete hasn’t changed Imatorbhebe’s outlook on his time in college — for him, it’s about more than football. His accomplishments in the classroom are a testament to this. While juggling athletics and academics, Daniel has created a goal for himself: “To put myself in a position where I can have options.” With an already established resume and one last shot in the Coliseum fast approaching, when Imatorbhebe’s time at USC comes to an end, he should be just fine.
