Macon, Georgia’s Stratford Academy head coach Mark Farriba first met Tobe Umerah in seventh grade and quickly knew the young man had the potential to be a special athlete. But first Umerah had to learn the game he knew next to nothing about.

He was a quick study.

“He has started every single game for us since ninth grade,” Farriba said. “He is a very conscientious guy, a very good student and has a great work ethic. And he is an extremely explosive athlete.”

The son of Nigerian immigrants who came to the U.S. for college, Tobe’s parents -- father Emeka and mother Anayo -- are both doctors in Macon. Farriba discovered early on how seriously the family took academics when Emeka told Tobe he wasn’t going to play any sports his sophomore year to focus on his grades.

“I called Dr. Umerah on the phone, ‘You’re the parent and can do whatever you want to do, but let’s see if we can find some step in between taking football away from him to get his attention,’” he recalled of the conversation. “His dad has been supportive and just wants the best for his kids. Tobe has taken advantage of every opportunity that he has been given to work and improve. He’s just a great guy. Kids on our team love him.”

With football never an overwhelming presence in Umerah’s childhood, his approach to the game is similar to everything else he does, which has led to a humility on the field that is a significant reason he has earned the respect of his teammates.

Umerah plays at defensive end, and even nose tackle, for Stratford, which is out of position compared to where Stanford and other schools project him to play in college. The Cardinal plan to start him at outside linebacker. But Umerah -- who is listed at 6-foot-4, 226 pounds on Rivals and 230 pounds on his school’s Maxpreps -- often takes on bigger players in the middle of the line.

“He has always played bigger than he actually is,” Farriba said. “He is a defensive end /outside linebacker type of guy who can really rush the passer and set the edge. I don’t think he’s going to be a big 290-pound guy. I think he’s an edge player. That’s who he is to me.

“Tobe is a very humble guy. He’s not a chest bumper or anything like that. He understands the concept of a team and appreciates what the guys lining up next to him and behind him are doing. He just wants to do his part. I think the guys on the team appreciate his humility. He has a great sense of humor, but he’s not a really vocal guy. They appreciate who he is and he in turn appreciates who they are and the things they bring to the table.”

Stanford has been on Umerah’s radar for a long time and he committed on April 7 during his third visit. Umerah was always focused in programs at high-academic schools, so Farriba said he often had similar conversations with college coaches about the recruit.

But Stanford's coaches stood out in their willingness to make sure that Farriba understood where Umerah stood on their board and the staff’s thinking. Umerah was evaluated for an extended period of time as the Cardinal wanted to make sure he could be an outside linebacker.

“The one thing I really appreciated about Stanford, though, with specifically Coach (Lance) Anderson, who was the guy I talked to, is that he was very open and good communicating with me,” Farriba said. “He let me know what was going on and where they stood. I really appreciated that because he was kind enough to keep me in the loop and I thought that showed a lot.”

Now Umerah can focus on his senior season free from thinking of himself as a recruit. And that suits Farriba, who said he is most concerned about making sure that Umerah has a great close to his prep career than think ahead to what he may accomplish at Stanford.

When Umerah takes the field for the last time as an Eagle in the fall, it will mark the end of one part of his football journey that started with him and his family not knowing where the sport could take them.

How far they family has come is shown by one of Farriba’s favorite stories about the Umerahs.

Stratford was in the playoffs Umerah’s sophomore year -- the one he almost wasn’t allowed to play -- and the Eagles won their first round game. The second round was during the Thanksgiving break from school.

Emeka called Farriba and said Tobe wouldn’t be able to make the game because they would be at a large family reunion in North Carolina. But after several conversations it was worked out that Tobe would fly into Atlanta early Friday, Farriba would pick him up and drive a little more than an hour to the school campus in Macon. Tobe joined the team and got on the bus to go to the game, which the Eagles won on their way to a state semifinal finish.

“It was just sort of a fitting story for them because their family is such a big deal and their academics,” Farriba said. “And football has become a big deal to them. But we were not going to play that game without him. If I had to drive to North Carolina myself and get him -- I hope they had a good time, but we had a great reunion Friday night at the football game. That worked out well for us.”