Six NFL Academy athletes from five countries have become the latest to graduate from the programme and sign to US colleges for the 2025-26 academic year.

Arthur de Boachie (Netherlands), Andy Quinn (Ireland), Kevin Bentin (Germany) and Akram Elnagmi (England) will all join NCAA Division I programmes, while Issac Ubaka (England) and Thompson Umukoro (Nigeria) will join NCAA Division II and Division III programmes respectively.

The NFL Academy has been offering talented student-athletes a way to combine full-time education with intensive American football development, under the guidance of a professional coaching team, since 2019, with the UK’s Loughborough-based operation being joined by a second facility in Australia this past September. The British centre, run in partnership with Loughborough College and Loughborough University, primarily supports athletes aged 16-19 from Europe and Africa, and has so far resulted in19 alumni currently playing NCAA Division I football, with another 23 preparing to take to the field in the 2025-26 academic year. This year, some 68 players from 19 different countries were enrolled on the 2024-25 UK roster in the UK.

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Arthur de Boachie (DB/WR) becomes the second graduate to join Boise State in as many years, linking up with defensive lineman Lopez Sanusi. Andy Quinn (P/K) was crowned ‘Ireland’s Kicking King’ in front of 43,000 people in 2022 at the country’s annual college football game, the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, and will team up with fellow alum Pape Abdoulaye Sy at Boston College.

Exciting prospect Kevin Bentin (DE/OLB) made his commitment official ahead of the NFL Academy vs De La Salle Spartans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October and will head to Long Island University, while Englishman Akram Elnagmi (OT) also signs to a Division I college, with the former rugby and basketball player receiving four offers before selecting the University of Pittsburgh.

Londoner Isaac Ubaka (ILB/RB) also made the switch from rugby to join the NFL Academy programme, and will head to Division II Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina, while Thompson Umukoro (DL), who set a new NFL Academy bench press record at 180kg earlier in 2024 and was scouted via the NFL Africa programme, will reunite with former NFL Academy coach Randy Starks at Eureka College in Division III.

“We couldn’t be prouder of these young men as they begin the next chapter in their American football journey,” Lamonte Winston, head of the NFL Academy programme in the UK commented. “Today’s news is a testament, not only to their football ability, but their dedication and hard work in the classroom. All six are exemplary role models for young athletes across the world seeking to pursue their dream of playing in the NFL and optimising what can be achieved at the NFL Academy.”