There were times during the most recent football season where an unpleasant thought would creep into Sam Okeyo’s mind.

This might be his last year playing football, and in his words, he still has some football left in him.

Well, he’s going to have about four more as Newburgh Free Academy’s senior linebacker on Dec. 16 signed his National Letter of Intent to play Division I football at Wagner College in Staten Island.

“I like that they’re rebuilding,” Okeyo said. “That’s one big thing that made me consider the school. Obviously, they gave me a pretty nice scholarship, which also went into it.”

It has been a struggle of late for the Seahawks, who went winless in 11 games during the 2201 season. The team is coached by Staten Island native Tom Masella, who is looking to turn the program’s fortunes around.

Wagner coaches have been showing interest in Okeyo since the season over email and continued to check with him during the season.

“Ever since then, we built a stronger and stronger relationship,” Okeyo said. “Then he introduced me to the other coaches, and I built a relationship with them, as well.”

Okeyo, who has always been in a program with a strong winning tradition, wasn’t deterred by the lack of success the Seahawks have had in recent years. He’s excited about doing his part to help turn the program around.

“It shows they realized their mistakes and showed a lot of accountability,” Okeyo said. “Speaking to some of the players and captains, it shows they’re trying to change their attitude and the whole culture they have there.”

Okeyo played both sides of the football for the Goldbacks, but Wagner was interested in his defensive talents.

As the Goldbacks’ middle linebacker, he made all the defensive checks and got the defense organized before the play.

And during the play, he was in the middle of everything.

“He’s a student of the game,” Newburgh coach Bill Bianco said. “He’s fast. He’s physical. He’s smart. He can do a lot of different things.”

He played multiple positions on the offensive side of the football, playing some tight end, he would function like a fullback sometimes. He would use his physicality to block for the Goldbacks, on occasion, he’d catch a pass in a big spot as well.

While he could do it all, Okeyo’s first love is playing defense.

“I like being the one that forces a hit,” he said. “Offensive players are cool and everything, but on offense you’ve got to avoid everyone. I feel like on defense, you have that aura. Ifyou’re a hard hitter and you laid one hit on someone, you intimidate them the whole game. Obviously, an offense can score 50 points and still lose, but if the defense plays well, you’re winning the game.”

The Seahawks play at Hameline Field at Wagner College Stadium, which opened in 1997. The field was last resurfaced in 2017 and renovations and improvements are continuing to the team’s facilities, showing the school’s continued commitment to the program.

“It shows they’re trying to improve the program because the new facility will be for football players only,” Okeyo said.

He’s looking forward to the challenge of playing Division I football. He will go from being one of the oldest and most experienced players again to being one of the youngest and a rookie.

At the same time, he already misses his Newburgh football family.

“Playing football here is like having a second family,” Okeyo said. “Each one of my teammates are like brothers to me and still now that the season’s over, I don’t see some of them as much as I want to and it hurts a little bit, and I miss it every day weather if I’m looking through social media, and I see a picture. It hurts and I wish I can carry that brotherhood with me.”