Yaya Diaby parents, Mohamed and Mariama Diaby, wanted him to become a basketball player rather than a footballer. The linebacker has his roots in the West African nation Guinea.
Like any NFL mother, Mariama flinches whenever she sees her son getting tackled. This was one of the reasons why she wanted Yaya to choose basketball.
But Yaya was set on becoming a footballer. He had loved this sport from a young age. Known for his bright smile, Yaya didn’t have an easy road to the NFL.
He had no collegiate offers and had to sit out a year before Georgia Military College came calling. After a season, he landed a spot in the Louisville team, and now he is in the NFL, playing alongside Baker Mayfield and Tristan Wirfs.
The linebacker says everybody has a different journey, and if he makes it big, his story will be an inspiration for many youngsters.
Yaya Diaby Parents: Meet Mohamed And Mariama Diaby
Yaya Diaby parents, Mohamed and Mariama Diaby, hail from the West African nation Guinea. In an interview, Diaby mentioned that his family weren’t big fans when he chose football over basketball.
Only in his debut season, Yaya seems to have already won the hearts of the Buccaneers fans. After making a breakthrough in the team, Yaya was interviewed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers YouTube channel.
He talked about his approach to the games and his family life. The 24-year-old started by talking about the origin of his name, which had become popular among the fans.
Yaya said it was his mother, Mariama, who came up with the name. She named her son after her older brother, Yaya. Mariama was the youngest of her family and looked up to her older brother as an inspiration.
She wanted her son to be somewhat like his uncle, a leader, a man of the house. Previously, in another interview, Yaya shared it was from his mom, whom he gets his work ethic from.
The NFL player said he wants his mother to stop working, and he wants to provide for her. Continuing his interview with the Buccaneers channel, Diaby said his family still didn’t know much about football.
He added that his mother gets excited whenever the team scores or gets an interception. Diaby said his mom gets into mother mode when somebody tackles him.
Mariama wanted her son to choose basketball over the contact-heavy sport. The interviewers joked with Yaya, saying his mother probably only celebrates if there is a touchdown interception.
As Yaya cements his position with the Buccaneers, we might hear more stories from the linebacker. For now, Yaya hasn’t gone into details about his dad and his impact on his life.
Yaya Diaby Journey So Far
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Diaby lettered in football, basketball, wrestling, and track & field at North Clayton High School. Despite, earning All-State and First-Team All-Region honors, Diaby wasn’t considered a suitable candidate from the college scouts.
After he received no offers, Diaby started working as a wheelchair passenger assistant at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He said working at the airport made him stronger mentally and not take things for granted.
In 2018, Georgia Military College showed interest in Diaby and signed him up. It was the beginning of something special for Diaby.
In his first season, Yaya recorded 19 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, and a pair of sacks in nine games. He received offers from Kansas State and West Virginia but chose Louisville.
In his first season at Louisville, Yaya appeared in eight games, making seven starts. He recorded 18 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Before the start of the second season, Yaya was interviewed by Sports Illustrated.
He said he had been working on his nutrition and had added 20 pounds. Diaby said defensive coordinator Bryan Brown had been a huge helping hand for him.
And Yaya kept his word as he had a stellar season with 39 tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss. In his final year with Louisville, Yaya started all 13 games, recording 37 total tackles, and was second in the team in tackles for loss at 14.5.
He was a third-round pick for the Buccaneers. It was a massive moment for a kid, who had no Division I or II offers out of high school.
