If Penn State football had its version of American Idol, offensive lineman Golden Israel-Achumba might be the betting favorite.
Israel-Achumba, a 6-foot-4, 315-pounder, showed off his voice by performing a cover of John Legend’s “All of Me” and posted the video to TikTok and Twitter.
His performance has earned him praise, including from his head coach.
”My guy is talented,” James Franklin tweeted less than a half hour after Israel-Achumba posted the video, “Proud of you.”
Israel-Achumba played in three of Penn State’s 13 games last season, being used mostly on special teams. He redshirted the 2021 season and only appeared in one game. He also didn’t see any game action in his true freshman season of 2020.
Before Penn State, Israel-Achumba played four years at Maryland’s famous DeMatha High School.
He had 18 pancake blocks as a junior and 20 as a senior. One of his younger teammates at DeMatha, Coziah Izzard, ended up following Isreal-Achumba to Penn State a year later. After he committed to Penn State in the spring 2019, Israel-Achumba told Rivals.com that he was trying to get other local players to come to Penn State and specifically mentioned Olu Fashanu.
Fashanu, a former star at Gonzaga College High School in Waldorf, Maryland, ended up committing to Penn State in the same recruiting class as Israel-Achumba. Fashanu has developed into one of Penn State’s best players, and if he stays healthy in 2023, is likely to be a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Where Israel-Achumba’s football life takes him is yet to be determined. But if he doesn’t play anywhere beyond PSU, he just might have a future in music. Whether that materializes or not, Achumba has some pipes, and he proved that on stage. Achumba’s cover of “All of Me” is below.
Cover of “All of Me” by Golden Israel-Achumba, how’d I do? @johnlegend @chrissyteigen pic.twitter.com/wyWbAkSZFI
— Golden Israel-Achumba🇳🇬 (@BigDogGolden78) February 17, 2023
My guy is Talented, proud of you https://t.co/4iuBUBeha0
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) February 17, 2023
