LINK: SENIOR BOWL ROSTERS <\/a><\/p>\nRevenge of the Birds staff writer Barry Shuck is at the Senior Bowl this week. He interviewed Iheanachor (pronounced ee-HAY-nah-chore) during the practice week. Last year, he was named Second Team All-Big 12.<\/p>\n
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OT Max Iheanachor (6\u2019-6\u201d, 330 pounds)<\/p>\n
Shuck: Why does the offensive line need a good connection among all five players?<\/p>\n
Iheanachor: We stick together when we do drills and basically do everything together. It builds a relationship, and when we come onto the field, it\u2019s as one unit. We accept each other as family. It\u2019s a stable environment. We have to trust each other and know that the man beside you has your back. Communicate and work as a unit.<\/p>\n
Shuck: You didn\u2019t play football in high school. What\u2019s that story? <\/p>\n
Iheanachor: I grew up playing soccer in Nigeria. When I moved to Los Angeles, because of my height, they got me into playing basketball at my high school, but we didn\u2019t have a football team. I eventually ended up in AAU and thought that would be my future, and I had a chance to go to college and play basketball. But my AAU coach, Cory DeSanti, suggested I look into playing football in college. God used him to talk to me. I decided to trust the process. I ended up at East Los Angeles Community College and got my introduction to football. I knew I was big enough, and I guess I move pretty well. I thought I\u2019d try it and embrace the journey.<\/p>\n
Shuck: How did you end up at Arizona State?<\/p>\n
Iheanachor: I was recruited by an offensive line coach from Fresno State, Saga Tuitele. I was going to go to school there. Then, Coach Saga got a new job at Arizona State, so I decided to go with him. It was really the connection and relationship I had with him. I played right away because players got hurt. It made me have to learn real fast. In my second year, I start every game. This year, I played every game. Each time, I knew what I needed to do and what I needed to work on. It\u2019s about the journey. Grind every day and stay humble always.<\/p>\n
Shuck: How has your game changed?<\/p>\n
Iheanachor: Really, I would say the game speed has gotten better. And dealing with the physicality of going against these EDGE rushers. My pass set is getting better, but everything still needs improvement. My goal is to get 1% better every day. I have high standards and expect a lot from myself, but I hold myself to be more accountable.<\/p>\n
Shuck: I read one media scouting report that said that you \u201cfloat.\u201d Your thoughts?<\/p>\n
Iheanachor: I am just able to get low. I think my anticipation is good, and so it just looks like I might know where a defensive guy is coming from before the snap. I can grow in any system. I was taught early how to use my hands and then push the defensive end off towards the side. My lower body thickness helps, and with my basketball background, I guess I must have a lateral glide with my feet.<\/p>\n
Shuck: How would you describe your game?<\/p>\n
Iheanachor: I am competitive and have thick skin. I don\u2019t let trash talkers get to me because that is every game. I respond to adversity and think I have good feet. My stance is good, and I have played a lot of football and have learned a lot of football. And I have confidence.<\/p>\n
Shuck: Are there any advantages to starting to play football late in your life?<\/p>\n
Iheanachor: Sometimes I think there are so many disadvantages, but I am a fast learner and love to play. I enjoy playing offensive line rather than another position because I am in a family up front, and we depend upon each other. Other positions don\u2019t have that. I trust the process, and I am patient. God has placed people in my life to steer me to where I am now.<\/p>\n
Shuck: What will NFL coaches and scouts be saying about you when they leave the Senior Bowl?<\/p>\n
Iheanachor: That I do my job. If I play my game in Saturday\u2019s game against some of the best defensive linemen in the country, and hold my own, the scouts will know that I did my job. There has been plenty said about the defensive line prospects that are down here. I need to show them that my run blocking is as good as my pass blocking. I have confidence in myself and am ready to see what is next on my journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Take a look at the final 2025 offensive line rankings in the NFL. Where did the Arizona Cardinals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":719097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2078],"tags":[375,390,2757,2604,1327,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-719096","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arizona-cardinals","8":"tag-arizona","9":"tag-arizona-cardinals","10":"tag-arizona-cardinals-draft","11":"tag-arizonacardinals","12":"tag-cardinals","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115989869211340018","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=719096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/719097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=719096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=719096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=719096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}