Boise Bound: Arthur de Boachie Signs As NFL Academy Pipeline is Established

By Simon Carroll

Signing Day is no longer ‘National’ – It’s ‘International’.

Dutch cornerback Arthur de Boachie signed for Boise State on Wednesday, after committing to the Broncos back on October 8th. And he wasn’t alone, joined by five other NFL Academy prospects who are about to embark on the next chapter of their careers in various locations stateside. Simon Carroll caught up with the next big star to hail from Loughborough’s football factory:

Arthur de Boachie - Amsterdam to the Academy

Go back 10, 15 years, and football was a closed shop. The minor smattering of international players at either the College or NFL level in the States was more happenstance than by design. Today, the sport is officially global. And the NFL Academy, based in Loughborough, is at the forefront of football’s thirst for talent from every corner of the world. The NFL has only had five Dutch players suit up in its history – but today, an aspiring star took a huge step in becoming the next man to represent the nation at the sport’s highest level.

Arthur de Boachie, who hails from the Netherlands but also has Ghanaian heritage, was first introduced to football at high school. However, he was mostly focused on a different sport until his high school coach convinced him to join him at Amsterdam’s biggest football team:

“I played football at high school, but my coach there, he also coached at the Amsterdam Panthers. At that time, I was playing a lot of baseball, and my coach was like ‘why you playing baseball bro? Just come and play with us, be a Panther’. At the time I was unsure, I really liked baseball, but some government regulations meant that my team ended up stopping playing. Then I just happened to bump into my coach again at the station one day, and he tried to convince me again. I hesitated for just a second, but eventually jumped in – and I never looked back since.”

It was a shrewd decision for de Boachie, who starred for the Panthers at both defensive back and receiver – enough to get on the radar of the NFL Academy. When they came calling, Arthur said it was a pretty easy decision:

“A friend of mine already went to the Academy, was two years ahead of me in the system. One time, his coach asked him for a name of a DB who could possibly play at this standard, and my friend sent my tapes through to him. Almost immediately I got a phone call from the coach who wanted to recruit me. At this stage I was all in on football so I didn’t think twice – I got my papers sorted and I moved countries. I didn’t think too much about it to be honest – I just went straight there and faced the reality. And I’m not gonna lie – I struggled at first, how different it was from home. But I overcame that and flourished, and I think that stands me in good stead for the next part of my journey.”

Boise State - Establishing An NFL Academy Pipeline

Arthur de Boachie is easy to talk to, a man with a big smile and affable demeanour. He jokes about how he got switched to safety early in his career ‘because of his hands’, but there’s a definite steel behind his eyes. Describing his play style as ‘physical’, de Boachie quickly made his mark at the Academy and flashed the kind of potential that colleges in America would be interested in.

He began putting himself in the shop window, not just attending camps across the Atlantic, but balling out; at the Clemson camp, he impressed coaches so much that Florida A&M offered him on the spot. Designated a 3-star recruit by 24/7 Sports, De Boachie would go on to receive more offers through the process from Campbell and Fordham, but it was the blue turf of Boise State that would prove the most attractive option for the young star:

“I know quite a few people over in Boise already. Lopez Sanusi, my Academy teammate, he is out there, and there’s a couple of guys I know from the Panthers on the team too. Maybe three years ago, I attended a Boise State camp too, so I was already a little familiar with the program. And then my official visit there – my only official visit in the end – confirmed it; I knew I was going to be a Bronco.”

Boise State, for those that aren’t familiar with College Football, is a university in Idaho that plays on blue turf and frequently punches above their weight. This year they look set for a place in the playoffs, and will battle UNLV on Friday night for a conference championship – a game both de Boachie and myself will be tuning in for. They’ve been one of the first FBS schools to really focus on the NFL Academy as a pipeline for talent. Arthur tells me he hasn’t set himself any expectations in year one other than to go over there, learn and be himself – but when I mention seven DB’s on the roster are seniors, he has a glint in his eye that suggests he’s ready to fight for an opportunity to play early.

The Ultimate Goal

Like most of the stars in the NFL Academy, earning a scholarship to play college football in the USA may be the first step, but it’s not the intended destination for Arthur de Boachie. The clue is in the name – these kids have ambitions of playing on Sunday. De Boachie, who admits he enjoys coming down into the box and hitting someone, cites Jessie Bates, Antoine Winfield and Jevon Holland as players he likes to model his game on. It’s not a bad standard to aim for, and when his time in Boise comes to an end, I have no doubt Arthur will be ready to compete with them at the next level. For him, and the other five NFL Academy stars who have signed today, the next stage of the journey is about to begin.

NFL Academy Prospects Signing For US Colleges:

Player

Country

College Team

Position

Arthur de Boachie

Netherlands

Boise State Broncos

Defensive Back/Wide Receiver

Andy Quinn

Ireland

Boston College Eagles

Punter/Kicker

Kevin Bentin

Germany

Long Island Sharks

Defensive End/Outside Linebacker

Akram Elnagmi

England

Pittsburgh Panthers

Offensive Tackle

Issac Ubaka

England

Lenoir-Rhyne Bears

Inside Linebacker/Running Back

Thompson Umukoro

Nigeria

Eureka College Devils

Defensive Lineman

About The NFL Academy:

The NFL Academy program offers talented student athletes a pathway to combine their full-time education with intensive training in American football, under the guidance of a professional coaching team. The program was first launched in the UK in 2019 with a second facility opening in Australia in September 2024.

In the UK, the NFL Academy is based at Loughborough’s world-renowned center of sporting excellence and in partnership with Loughborough College and Loughborough University. The program primarily supports athletes from Europe and Africa aged 16-19.

The NFL Academy in Australia, located on the Gold Coast, was opened in partnership with A.B. Paterson College and supported by the City of Gold Coast and the Queensland State Government and supports athletes from the APAC region aged 12-18.

NFL Academy alumni currently playing Division I College football:

  • Darren Agu, United Kingdom (TE) – Vanderbilt University
  • Dimitri Madden, United Kingdom (DL) – University of Akron
  • Seydou Traore, United Kingdom (WR) – Mississippi State University
  • Freddie Pelling, United Kingdom (OL) – Campbell University
  • Samuel Isiguzo, United Kingdom (DB) – Bryant University
  • Tunde Mkparu, United Kingdom (DB) – Bryant University
  • Ott Eric Ottender, Estonia (WR) – University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Kofi Taylor-Barrocks, United Kingdom (LB) – University of Texas at El Paso
  • Peter Clarke, United Kingdom (TE) – Temple University
  • Emmanuel Okoye, Nigeria (TE) – University of Tennessee
  • Dominic Braesch, Germany (OL) – University of North Alabama
  • Daniel Akinkunmi, United Kingdom (OL) – University of Oklahoma
  • Luke Yau-Gayle, United Kingdom (DL) – University at Buffalo
  • Timi Oke, United Kingdom (DB) – Northwestern University
  • Lopez Sanusi, Ireland (DL) – Boise State University
  • Pape Abdoulaye Sy, Senegal (OL) – Boston College
  • Benjamin Kienz, Germany (OL) – Kennesaw State University
  • Yahya Attia, Austria (OL) – University of Colorado Boulder        
  • Clinton Azubuike, Nigeria (DL) – Northern Arizona University

Feature Image Credit: NFL Academy

Mock Draft

SIMON CARROLL

Lead Writer, Head of Content

PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST.

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A huge thank you to Arthur for taking the time to talk to us. Everyone at The Touchdown wishes him well in his future career.