David Folorunsho still kicks the soccer ball around once in a while.

Growing up in Nigeria, where he lived for 10 years, Folorunsho learned soccer and basketball at a young age. He still likes to play soccer with his brother on occasion, often traveling with him to local matches.

But the 6-foot-4, 280-pounder shifted his future focus to football after arriving in the United States. He started playing football when he was 11 years old and is now nearing the end of his junior year at St. Patrick. While he still has fun with soccer on the side, Folorunsho has capitalized on his newfound opportunities from playing football.

“I still play a little bit of soccer,” Folorunsho said. “I’ll play left back and goalie. I think I lost my touch, but I’m getting there... There are a lot more opportunities over here. I’ve been able to come over here and learn more about football and life in general. I have more family over here too, so being able to connect with them is a great thing.”

The shift came with good reason. Folorunsho, who helped guide the Shamrocks to the CCL/ESCC Purple Division title and a second-round Class 5A playoff appearance in the fall, has rocketed up the recruiting charts and now ranks as one of the top defensive line prospects in the country. A defensive tackle, Folorunsho has over 30 Division I offers. His top five schools are reported to be Notre Dame, Miami, Texas Tech, Georgia and Michigan with a commitment to be announced May 15.

“The thing I excel in is my pass rush and getting to the quarterback on third down,” Folorunsho said. “Being able to stop the run, create knockback and just be the hardest working player on the field. I run to the ball, wherever that may be. I want to add more moves to my bag from what I have right now and take less plays off. There were some plays I would watch back on film where I feel I could’ve given more.”

A varsity athlete since his freshman season, Folorunsho has played on both the offensive and defensive lines during his time as a Shamrock. He played defensive tackle as a junior, notching 27 tackles, eight TFLs and two sacks with a forced fumble. St. Patrick made the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and topped Wauconda in the opening round.

“We wanted more out of ourselves,” Folorunsho said. “We knew that the past couple of seasons wasn’t everything we could’ve given. We pushed each other harder and we had multiple leaders on the team rather than just one. I think it took everybody to another level. Being able to communicate was the main thing I thought we did really well.”

The Shamrocks, who had endured three straight losing seasons prior to the fall, have seen a revitalization in the program under new head coach Tom Zbikowski. A former Notre Dame star who played in the NFL for five years, Zbikowski’s coaching style has brought out the best in Folorunsho, now the No. 3 defensive lineman in the country per 247.

“Playing under him, you know you’ll get the same person every single day,” Folorunsho said. “You’ll get the same high energy guy who wants the best out of you. No matter who we’re playing against or who’s all there, he tells us it’s the same game plan. He’s all about physical football. Anybody that loves football would love to play for him.”

An offensive lineman during his freshman season, Folorunsho moved to defensive end as a sophomore before bumping inside and filling the 3-technique position as a junior. Zbikowski, a two-time All-American at Notre Dame who became the head coach at St. Patrick just over 12 months ago, noticed Folorunsho’s potential almost immediately.

“It’s his physical strength when he gets his hands on the other kids,” Zbikowski said. “Their feet start kicking helplessly. I saw that in our Week 0 scrimmage. He understands the strength he possesses, but he also does it with good techniques... He understands what he can do in a 3-point stance. His thing is a 3-technique who can go to a 4-technique and also play the 5-technique. He’s explosive off the ball.”

Folorunsho is setting the bar higher as he prepares for his senior year. Zbikowski also has big plans for him. In addition to returning on the defensive line, Zbikowski said Folorunsho will see a much higher snap count this coming season. He envisions using Folorunsho as a two-way player in order to build his fuel tank up for the Power 4 level.

“His future is going to be on the defensive line, but I’ve got to get some use out of him on the offensive line because he’s just too good at it,” Zbikowski said. “If you’re going to be an every-down D-lineman, you should be able to play every snap in high school. A high school game for a defensive lineman is about one series in the Big Ten, the SEC or Notre Dame. You need the reps to be able to play every rep.”

St. Patrick is graduating a senior class that includes multiple players bound for collegiate programs. Among them are Division I signees Eli Valencia (NIU), Kevin Michaelsen (Illinois State), Conor Malenock (Dayton) and Joseph Chase (St. Thomas). Anthony Catron (UW-Whitewater), Matt Downes (Carthage) and Nick Ergish (Carthage) are either signed or committed to play Division III football next year.