Recruit Lifts 515 Pounds: Bowie Student, Tope Imade Sets 515-Pound Deadlift Record, Recruit Gets 6 Offers

A recruit lifts 515 pounds and story goes viral: Many are wondering is he the next star in the NFL, or is he on steroids? Challenged by his football coach to beat the Bowie High School 500-pound deadlift record, Tope Imade did so by picking up 515 pounds without injuring his back.

A recruit lifts 515 pounds and already has plans to deadlift 600 before he graduates high school. Tope Imade is currently an offensive lineman for the Bowie High School football team in Arlington, Texas.

Mr Imade, who stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 320 pounds, was recently challenged by his coach Danny DeArman to beat the Bowie High School deadlift record by picking up 515 pounds.

The school’s former record holder is Madison Akamnonu, an offensive tackle, who deadlifted 500 pounds. Akamnonu signed with Texas Tech in February.

With his teammates and Bowie head coach Danny DeArman cheering him on, the recruit deadlifted an impressive 515 pounds as they were visiting Texas A&M.

The crowd burst into noise and hugs after Imade accomplished the extraordinary task. Talking to local media, the recruit explained that his coach and mentor is the one who really pushed him to do it. Imade stated:

“My coach kept challenging me to add more weight. He kept adding, and I kept lifting. Eventually, it got to 515, and I got it up. It was heavy, but I had my teammates there encouraging me.”

Believe it or not, the athlete was not even aware that he was being filmed. The high school student shared:

“I didn’t even know my coach was videotaping. After the video, I started getting more interest. I think it had an impact on recruiting.”

He went on to add:

“I want to show I’m a great run-blocker. I’m also a great pass-blocker with a really good work ethic.”

The 20-second clip, which was posted on YouTube about one week ago, has over 100k views and thousands of comments. Impressed by Imade’s abilities, coaches from Washington, Texas Tech, Texas State, Arkansas State, Illinois State and Tulane have made offers.

The young man has not yet decided, but he claims that Texas Tech was the first to contact him, so they are on his top 3. DeArman gave a break down of how the recruit lifted 515 pounds during athletics class.

According to the coach, Imade first lifted 450 pounds, then 475. After that, Imade was on a mission to break the school’s record. DeArman said:

“He asked me what the record was, I told him it was 500. He said, ‘I want 515. I whistled and got the players to gather around. I told them he was going for a new record. When he lifted it off the ground and got it to his mid-thigh, he paused it, and all of the kids went crazy.”

Imade had plans to go further, but class was over. The future star revealed his goal is to deadlift 600 before he graduates high school.

His coach says that he will make it happen because he does not know his full potential yet. Many say he has a bright future in the NFL, while others believe that he’s on steroids.

What are your thoughts on Imade’s accomplishment?