Alston Orji saw his football career take off with the help of his younger brother, Anfernee Orji, who plays with him on the Rockwall High School football team in Rockwall, Texas. The journey began when he was just nine years old.
“…My love for football began soon after that when I played as a defensive end [at nine years old] and started to tap into my aggression more,” Alston Orji said.
He plays the game for his brothers on the field and he’s motivated by competition and achieving team goals.
“The guys I play with share my intensity and love for the game and that’s what makes us family.”
Alston Orji has found it hard to find people who motivate him not to be complacent but he thanks God for the people that were placed in his life to push him to be great.
He credits his parents and other people he has met who have overcome a great deal to get where they are. They have shown him it’s not easy to come out on the other side a better and stronger person but it is possible.
The Rockwall, Texas native loves his city because it and the people living there taught him the value of family through their support of youth and school sports and now he has the opportunity to represent his city very well at the college level. According to the 247Sports Composite, Alston Orji is a four-star recruit in the 2018 class, the fourth best inside linebacker and 21st best player in Texas. See his highlight film here.
“It’s been an exciting process so far. [I] never imagined I’d blow up like this but I have to remind myself every day to stay humble and stay hungry,” Orji said about the recruiting process.
He has received a total of 10 scholarship offers from these top Division I programs: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Utah, Baylor, Nebraska, SMU and TCU. He said it’s too early to worry about making a commitment decision and he hasn’t seen enough to set anything in stone just yet. His excellence is not just exclusive to his on the field performance. In the classroom, he has a 4.25 cumulative GPA and has received several honors.
“For now I look to major in business, I’ve received scholar honor roll both years, I’ve been recognized by the National Society of High School Scholars & I’ve received the National Academy of Future Scientists/Technologists Award of Excellence.”
Alston Orji is also a writer in his spare time. He writes stories, rewrites lyrics to his favorite songs and writes down football plays to memorize them. He grew up writing music as a kid and he kept up with it as he got older.
On the football field, he believes he has become more aggressive and grown into a pass rusher and run stopper while still being able to drop into coverage if need be.
“I’m trying to become a Ray Lewis type [of] leader with the aggression of Lawrence Taylor.”
Here is what his head coach, Rodney Webb had to say about his growth.
“Well, I think any player that is as young as Alston is, has still got a whole lot to learn. Where he has come, from when I started coaching him as a freshman in high school to now, he’s mature, he has a great deal of emotional maturity. He has come a long way, he has become much more of a football player,” he said. “Initially, when you see him, [people like] his frame, physicality, and structure. He’s become much more of a polished football player in the past two years in addition to becoming an imposing figure.”
Webb also said that Orji has a great combination of athleticism and intellect that will take him a long way as an athlete on the field and as a student-athlete as well. The first thing college coaches see when they look at him is his frame and potential which is what college coaches look for more than anything according to Webb. Alston Orji has it.
“Team goal is to be state champions. My personal goals are 200 tackles, 10 PBU, 2 picks, and 10 sacks. I set my goals high so it’s that much sweeter when I meet [them].”