| No. 66, 68, 73 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Offensive guard |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1982-06-01)June 1, 1982 (age 43) Vaasa, Finland |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight | 320 lb (145 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Nebraska |
| NFL draft | 2006: undrafted |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Coaching | |
| |
Operations | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
As a player
As a head coach:
| |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season | 31–14 (.689) |
| Postseason | 4–3 (.571) |
| Career | 35–17 (.673) |
Seppo Evwaraye (born June 1, 1982) is aFinnish formeroffensive guard inAmerican football and former general manager and interim head coach of Finnish teamWasa Royals of Maple league. Evwaraye was first signed byCarolina Panthers as a free agent in 2006,[1] and also played forMinnesota Vikings as aninternational practice squad member.[2]
Evwaraye started playing football in his home city ofVaasa,Finland. During his year as an exchange student in Nebraska, Evwaraye received an offer to play forUniversity of Nebraska. Heredshirted as a freshman. Evwaraye played as adefensive tackle during his freshman and sophomore year, but turned toright tackle as a junior.[3]
Evwaraye had been signed by theCarolina Panthers as afree agent in 2006, however he was unable to make the team due to problems with hiswork permit.[4] Evwaraye played during the 2007 spring inNFL Europa forCologne Centurions as aguard. After the season, he joined the Vikings as anInternational Practice Squad Program member.[5]
Evwaraye retired in September 2010 after winning his second consecutiveFinnish Championship with thePorvoo Butchers.[6]
Evwaraye has been the head coach and general manager of Finnish team Wasa Royals since 2013 season. In his first season as head coach Royals achieved promotion to Finnish first division. In his second season, Royals won the Finnish first division championship, Spaghetti Bowl. In 2015 Royals again won the Spaghetti Bowl and achieved promotion to Finland's top tier,Vaahteraliiga. Royals finished fourth in the regular season with a record of 6–6 and were defeated by Seinäjoki Crocodiles in the semi-finals.
At the end of 2016 season Evwaraye left his position as head coach and became a full-time general manager of the team.
Evwaraye is currently the head coach and offensive line coach of Finland's under-15's national team.[7]
Evwaraye took over as interim head coach of Royals when the team fired Dan Grass after week one of 2018 Maple league.[8]
Evwaraye's mother is Finnish and fatherNigerian.[9] He has two football playing brothers, Ari and Efe, who both are Finnish champions and Finnish National Team players.[citation needed] All three brothers joined forces for the 2009 season and played forPorvoo Butchers championship winning team.
Seppo was inducted to the Finnish American Football Hall of Fame in 2016.[10]