Namdi Obiazor is a linebacker and 2026 NFL Draft prospect who played his collegiate career with the TCU Horned Frogs after beginning it at Iowa Western Community College. A native of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Obiazor attended Eden Prairie High School and committed to Iowa Western, where over two seasons he earned JUCO All-American honors as a sophomore before earning a scholarship offer from TCU. He joined the Horned Frogs in 2022 as a defensive back, appearing in all 15 games during TCU's national championship run, before transitioning to linebacker ahead of the 2023 season to fill the void left by Dee Winters. In 2023 he started all 12 games and posted 84 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and four sacks, earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors, and in 2024 he recorded 81 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks across 13 starts. He returned for a final season in 2025 after benefiting from the Diego Pavia lawsuit that granted additional eligibility to JUCO transfer players, posting a career-high 88 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble while being named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week against Colorado, and earned an invitation to the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl.
Standing 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, Obiazor is known for sideline-to-sideline range, football instincts developed from years of playing both defensive back and linebacker, and a versatile skill set that allows him to make plays in coverage and against the run. His combination of multi-year starting experience in the Big 12, a background that includes earning JUCO All-American honors, and back-to-back productive seasons as one of TCU's top defenders position him as a developmental linebacker who NFL evaluators project as a contributor on special teams with the size, athleticism, and experience to compete for a rotational defensive role at the next level.
