Growing up in the city of Oron in Nigeria, football wasn’t something Umo Bassey knew much about.

“American football was not our thing at all,” Umo said with a laugh. “I’m still learning it.”

Now, 35 years after moving to America, Umo has no choice but to try and understand the game because her son, Essang Bassey, is a member of the Denver Broncos.

An undrafted rookie defensive back out of Wake Forest, Bassey has been a surprising contributor for the Broncos. Thanks to injuries to starting corners A.J. Bouye and Bryce Callahan, Bassey played 48 snaps in Atlanta on Nov. 8 and has played 231 defensive snaps this season. He’s been a mainstay at the nickel back position, a spot coach Vic Fangio has repeatedly said Bassey excels at.

“We like Bassey,” Fangio said. “He’s a good, young football player who’s learning. He’s got the right attitude and disposition and he approaches his job the right way. We’re happy to have him.”

But there’s more to Bassey than being just another feel-good, undrafted rookie story. He, in more ways than one, has carried his family’s mantle.

The Bassey family journey was recently featured in Keegan-Michael Key’s podcast series “Drafted.” In the podcast, Bassey details his close relationship with his family, including his 25-year-old autistic brother, Efiong. Each of his family members have helped take care of Efiong in their own ways — his father is a physician, his mother is a special education teacher, his sister is a nurse and his other brother is studying to become a doctor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Clearly, Umo and her husband, Edet, have raised their kids to chase their dreams, no matter how difficult they may be. And while Essang is playing in the NFL, he represents his entire family’s pursuit of their own personal dreams — overcoming obstacles at every turn.

“I didn’t expect anything less,” Umo said. “You’re going to meet some bumps in life, it’s how you get past those bumps that matters. And Essang has witnessed those bumps and overcome those bumps.”

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‘He could play anywhere’

Bassey’s football career started when he was 5, playing for the North East Packers in Columbus, Georgia. While his parents didn’t understand most of what was going on, Bassey fell in love with the sport.

“They were born here, I don’t deprive them of the right to whatever they want to do,” Umo said. “As long as it was something he loved and it didn’t compromise his education, it was fine with me. And he loved football.”

Bassey’s passion for the game eventually carried over into high school where his potential was realized.

Attending Columbus High School — which is ranked by U.S. News as the third best academic school in Georgia and 101st in the country — Bassey contributed on the varsity football team as a freshman and was regarded as one of the smartest players on the team.

“He’s skill and knowledge level was just something you don’t normally see,” said Phil Marino, Columbus High School’s coach. “He was just an athlete on the field. He could play anywhere.”

And that’s exactly what Bassey did for Columbus, playing corner, wide receiver, running back and kick returner. His senior year he was a first-team all-state 5A selection, totaling 50 tackles, three fumble recoveries and an interception, while also rushing for 536 yards and two touchdowns and receiving 21 passes for 577 yards and four touchdowns.

But Bassey’s success didn’t generate a lot of Division I buzz. For the most part, he received only FCS and Division II offers.

“It had everything to do with him being 5-foot-9,” Marino said. “The Division I coaches that came through here — the Georgias and the Floridas and Florida States and schools like that — everything about his skill set, they liked. It was just length. That’s what it boiled down to: him being 5-9, 5-10.”

Dave Cohen, Wake Forest’s Georgia recruiter and assistant head coach for defense, looked past Bassey’s size, inviting him to a camp the summer for his senior year.

“He was a great all-around player. He had great hands. He had a nose for the ball. He had good coverage skills,” Cohen said. “The only thing we weren’t sure about was how fast and big he was. So, he came to camp and he killed it at camp. He killed it. We knew we were getting a steal.”

Similar to high school, Bassey rose to the occasion early for Wake Forest, playing in all 13 games as a true freshman. He made his first career start as a freshman against Florida State, in which he was the team’s second-leading tackler with eight and had two pass breakups.

Bassey would go on to finish his Wake Forest career with 228 tackles, 50 pass breakups and five interceptions. And according to Pro Football Focus, he had played 863 snaps without committing a penalty — the most snaps of any 2020 draft-eligible defensive back.

But it wasn’t just Bassey’s production that left a void in the Demon Deacons program. His influence on and off the field is hard to replicate, Cohen said.

“He’s a guy that listens more than he talks,” Cohen said. “He’s very bright. He’s very motivated. He’s talented, obviously. But more than anything, he was a great leader for us.”

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‘Prove ’em wrong’

Bassey and those closest to him thought he would be drafted. He performed well at the Senior Bowl, posting a 4.46 40-yard dash and a 39.5-inch vertical jump.

But Bassey never got that call.

“Go prove ’em wrong,” Marino told Bassey after going undrafted. “That’s what’s going to happen.”

Bassey did exactly that, making the Broncos 53-man roster and earning playing time on defense and special teams early in the season.

“He picked up the pieces,” Umo said. “Luckily, the Broncos found the strength and skill in him.”

Bassey’s time in Denver hasn’t been all positive, though, after being benched against the Jets in Week 4. But Bassey has since allowed only four receptions in the last two weeks while earning respect from teammates. This season he’s totaled 16 tackles and one pass break-up.

“Essang shows that he knows the playbook a lot, especially at the nickel,” Bouye said. “He’s showing everything that you want to see. He’s aggressive, he comes up in the run game, he has a good blitz path and he plays the pass game well too with great coverage. There’s not much else you can really say because you watch him on the field, especially in practice, and he’s always going 100 percent whether it’s scout team, special teams or even now getting reps with the defense. He’s well deserving of that.”

So while Umo never imagined having a son play professional, college, or even high school football when she moved to America in 1985, she knows that Bassey’s career is what makes her decision that much more meaningful.

It’s her children’s pursuit of their dreams that makes it worth it. And Bassey’s dream is just getting started.

“I know he’s a rookie,” Umo said, “but trust me, he’s a very determined young man.”