University Southern California Trojans
Family Matters
October 13, 2017 | Football, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
In 2013, USC LB Oluwole Betiku Jr. boarded on a plane for the first time in his life and came to America, leaving his hometown of Lagos, Nigeria behind. He had earned the opportunity to play high school football in the States, which eventually led to a USC scholarship.
When Betiku left, his mother cried and told her son to make her proud. In the years since, Betiku has communicated with her and the rest of his family via WhatsApp texts, calls and FaceTime whenever the eight-hour time difference permits.
"I try to talk to them as much as I can," Betiku said. "My mom stays up to pray at night a lot, so I talk to her at night ... She doesn't really know a lot about football so I just try to explain what I can about it and about the game to her and my struggles and stuff like that. She prays for me. She tells me about life and what's going on in Nigeria. She gives me a little gossip about stuff going on in the church and around my neighborhood. She gives me the latest scoop in town."
After four years of not seeing his family, Betiku was finally reunited with his mother, Christy, and his sister, Bukola, just over a month ago. The two women decided to come to the United States for a year to see and support Betiku.
USC's season opener against Western Michigan on Sept. 2 marked the first time his family had ever watched him play football in person, an experience he called "beautiful."
"It was something I never thought would happen because they have never really seen me play any sport, not even football, because I didn't start playing football 'til I got here," Betiku said. "They really enjoyed the atmosphere. And [my sister] was surprised to see the number of people that showed up to the Texas game. She didn't know it was that big, because when I tell her on the phone and when she sees it on the TV and in videos I send her, she doesn't really understand how big of a tradition playing football at USC is. And she was able to witness it which was awesome."
His family's presence will make this year's Trojan Family Weekend special, and he hopes that they can find a better long-term solution than this one-year visit.
"I hope they get relocated soon because I definitely don't want them to leave," he said. "It's really good, having them here, to be honest. There's nothing like family."
When Betiku left, his mother cried and told her son to make her proud. In the years since, Betiku has communicated with her and the rest of his family via WhatsApp texts, calls and FaceTime whenever the eight-hour time difference permits.
"I try to talk to them as much as I can," Betiku said. "My mom stays up to pray at night a lot, so I talk to her at night ... She doesn't really know a lot about football so I just try to explain what I can about it and about the game to her and my struggles and stuff like that. She prays for me. She tells me about life and what's going on in Nigeria. She gives me a little gossip about stuff going on in the church and around my neighborhood. She gives me the latest scoop in town."
After four years of not seeing his family, Betiku was finally reunited with his mother, Christy, and his sister, Bukola, just over a month ago. The two women decided to come to the United States for a year to see and support Betiku.
USC's season opener against Western Michigan on Sept. 2 marked the first time his family had ever watched him play football in person, an experience he called "beautiful."
"It was something I never thought would happen because they have never really seen me play any sport, not even football, because I didn't start playing football 'til I got here," Betiku said. "They really enjoyed the atmosphere. And [my sister] was surprised to see the number of people that showed up to the Texas game. She didn't know it was that big, because when I tell her on the phone and when she sees it on the TV and in videos I send her, she doesn't really understand how big of a tradition playing football at USC is. And she was able to witness it which was awesome."
His family's presence will make this year's Trojan Family Weekend special, and he hopes that they can find a better long-term solution than this one-year visit.
"I hope they get relocated soon because I definitely don't want them to leave," he said. "It's really good, having them here, to be honest. There's nothing like family."
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