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Cincinnati Bengals rookie wideout Andrei Iosivas is from a diverse ethnical background.
Iosivas was born in Japan to a Filipino mother and a Romanian father, meaning he's of mixed ancestry. He and his family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, when he was four, and he attended the Punahou School in his younger years.
According to the Cincinnati Bengals website, Iosivas was nicknamed "The Romanian Rocket" as a child, and his parents speak a combined five languages. This diverse ethnical palette helped the young Iosivas adapt to whatever environment he found himself growing up.
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Andrei Iosivas' background
Andrei Iosivas was always built for greatness, as his father once said that the young Andrei became Hawaii's youngest Taekwondo second-degree black belt.
That's no mean feat, considering how seriously Hawaiians take their martial arts. Andrei Iosivas and his family moved to Hawaii when he was quite young, nd he incorporated football early.
According to the Bengals' website, Andrei's dad, Mihai Iosivas, cannot remember a week going by without Andrei playing football. The younger Iosivas fell in love with the sport once he began playing flag football at age five, in what his dad believes is the first year the NFL brought the program to the island.
As time went on, Andrei became better at his craft.
Andrei Iosivas' football career
Following a childhood and early teenage years of being around football, Andrei Iosivas got a sports scholarship at Princeton. He played on the school's varsity squad as a freshman.
Iosivas had a decent and productive first year, quickly becoming the varsity team's most promising talent. In his sophomore year, he loved up the depth chart and caught 18 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns.
This performance shone the light on the multi-sport athlete making his name in the Ivy League school. It was clear that they had a potential talent on their hands heading into his junior season.
Unfortunately, Iosivas' original junior season was truncated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he took a gap year. In the following season, the 2021 college football season, Iosivas grabbed 41 passes for 703 yards and five TDs and was named second-team All-Ivy League. That was the first football award of his young career.
Heading into his final year of college eligibility, Iosivas was ranked as the nation's 15th-most athletic player in sportswriter Bruce Feldman's annual "Freaks List." He was electric all season, finishing the year with 66 receptions, 943 receiving yards, and seven touchdown catches. He declared for the 2023 NFL at the conclusion of the collegiate season.
Andrei Iosivas had a phenomenal NFL Combine, as his heptathlon background was on full display at the 2023 Combine. He was eventually selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2023 Draft, fulfilling a childhood dream.
