The brutality of life in the NFL has not put off Haggai Ndubuisi from chasing a career in American football.
The 21-year-old Nigerian only began playing the sport four years ago, and seemed to have capped his remarkable rise earlier this year when he signed for the Arizona Cardinals in April.
However, he was cut from the roster four months later. Yet he has vowed to fight his way back onto the road that took him from Abuja to Arizona.
"For me, there is no backing down," he told BBC Sport Africa.
"It's all about not giving up. I will continue to pursue my dream. I will just continue to train and work extra hard and correct the errors and the things I feel I should do better or I would have done better.
"[I will] keep pursuing the dream and keep believing and hoping that one day, I will also be among the starters in one of the clubs."
Standing at six foot six inches tall, Ndubuisi grew up playing football and basketball in Nigeria before finding a passion for American football on the internet.
However, West Africa's largest and most populous nation has scant players or clubs in a sport which dominates in the United States.
"American football is not a sport that is in Nigeria per say - it is like a sport without hope. There is no future in it," he said.
''It was basically watching YouTube and going to practice on our own. When we started people thought we were joking.
"As time went on, we started organizing camps to get more people."
NFL looks to tap into Africa's potential
In 2021, offensive linesman Ndubuisi joined the UpRise Academy in Ghana, run by two-time Super Bowl winner with the New York Giants, Osi Umenyiora, and former professional basketball player Ejike Ugboaja.
It is part of the push to extend the scouting operation on the continent for the NFL, who have more than 100 professional players of African descent.
The NFL's ambition to discover more talent on the continent was underlined when it hosted its first events on the continent in June, with the inaugural NFL Africa Camp taking place in Ghana.
''We know that Africa has probably the best athletes in the world," said Umenyiora, who was born in London to Nigerian parents.
"For the NFL you have to be big, strong, fast, aggressive and intelligent.
"We went to Senegal, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria. And then we found the best guys that we could, and we brought them all to Accra, Ghana.
"We want to provide infrastructure and knowledge for these guys to know what the game of the NFL is all about. And they're going to have those opportunities. That's what we're here for.''
Speaking at the camp in Accra, NFL International chief operating officer Damani Leech added: ''We have over 40 players from seven different countries.
"We could see ourselves being in Nigeria or South Africa, or another country in future years.''
