Kene Onyeka
Kene Onyeka is a Nigerian-Canadian defensive lineman for the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL. He was born on November 18, 1996, in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved to Canada with his family at age nine, growing up in Brampton, Ontario. He played U Sports football for the Carleton Ravens from 2014 to 2018 and was a two-time First-Team All-Canadian (2017 and 2018), also earning the Ontario University Athletics top lineman honor in both years. He studied mechanical engineering at Carleton.
Although he could have entered the 2018 CFL draft, Onyeka decided to finish his degree and was drafted 29th overall (fourth round) by the Ottawa Redblacks in 2018. He signed with Ottawa on May 16, 2018, then returned to complete his final year of eligibility before re-signing with the team on December 3, 2018. He began 2019 on the practice roster, was promoted to the active roster, and made his pro debut on August 2, 2019, against the Montreal Alouettes. He played in six regular-season games that year, recording three special-teams tackles. The 2020 season was canceled due to the pandemic.
On January 6, 2021, Onyeka signed a contract extension with Ottawa and made the opening-day roster after training camp. He notched his first defensive tackle on August 7, 2021, against Edmonton, and recorded his first two sacks on October 11, 2021, against Montreal. He finished 2021 with 13 regular-season games, 14 defensive tackles, eight special-teams tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble.
In 2022, he played 17 regular-season games, posting 17 defensive tackles, nine special-teams tackles, five sacks and one forced fumble. He signed a two-year contract extension with the Redblacks on December 20, 2022.
Onyeka was born to Jane and Godfrey Onyeka Sr. in Lagos and moved to Canada at nine. He has family in the CFL, including his brother Godfrey Onyeka (defensive back), and cousins Nakas Onyeka (linebacker, drafted by the Argonauts) and Kosi Onyeka (defensive back, with the Roughriders).
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:59 (CET).