Obafemi “Femi” Awodesu is a current Houston Dynamo central defender and social media sensation. The 23-year-old has made waves this season, playing every minute for his MLS club in his debut season following an impressive rookie campaign with the Dynamo 2 in MLS Next Pro. Awodesu also boasts 400,000 followers and 14 million likes on his TikTok account, where he gives viewers an inside look into his professional soccer journey.
Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Awodesu grew up attending the Union Academy. After leaving home, he had stints with various clubs in Florida before joining Penn State’s men’s soccer team. Awodesu’s four-year career with the Nittany Lions culminated in his being named Big Ten Defender of the Year his senior year. He then went undrafted, signing with the Dynamo 2 shortly after the end of his collegiate career.
Soccer America: How has this current MLS season matched up to your expectations so far?
Femi Awodesu: It’s definitely coming at me fast, but it’s hard. This is something really new to me, so I didn’t really have any expectations. I’m just trying to take it one game at a time. Before the Seattle game, if you had asked me who we’d play next, I wouldn’t have known. So I’m just trying to take one game at a time, and prepare for each game and just keep learning, keep getting better each game.
SA: You’ve played every minute this season. What do you think has allowed you to transition so well from the second team to the first team?
Femi Awodesu: I think just the willingness to learn—the staff has definitely taught me a lot and guided me throughout the whole journey. Even coming from that Division 2 season, the physical aspect of playing every minute is not something that’s new to me, because I played every minute of every game last year, but it’s more about staying alert for 90 minutes. These players are faster. They’re quicker, stronger, they just think the game more. So it’s just that mental resilience and being alert for 90 minutes is more of what I’ve had to adapt to.
SA: Can you speak on your mentality to be able to work through that first season in MLS Next Pro and consistently improve throughout your career?
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