USF’s Mudia Reuben Using NIL To Help Provide Clean Water In Parents’ Native Nigeria

Tom Layberger Fri, October 2, 2026 at 1:18 PM UTC

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Mudia Reuben (USF Athletics)

TAMPA, Fla. – The recognition is valued, for sure. After all, being among 22 named to the Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team and among 11 FBS players as a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy qualifies as exclusive company.

For USF’s Mudia Reuben, being recognized for his many noteworthy deeds, classroom diligence and production on the field is nice, though it is about the achievements he continues to deliver.

“When I started doing community events, it was never the accolades, it was just my own personal beliefs, my own personal ideologies,” said the receiver, who is in his second year with the Bulls after spending the first three years of his collegiate career at Stanford. “With the accolades that have come, they’re great, but I think it’s great that I can have eyes around the nation focused on the work that I’m doing.”

The work Reuben has undertaken with the help of NIL includes, but is not limited to, founding the Nigeria Water Project. The initiative, a non-profit, involves borehole construction for the purpose of access to clean water in Nigerian villages where family members and relatives are from and currently live. Reuben is a first generation American whose parents, Gladys and Francis, immigrated from Nigeria and settled in Kansas City.

Mudia Reuben (USF Athletics)

“I have heard dozens of stories of how they grew up, and I also hear dozens of stories from family that’s still in Nigeria,” he said of a way of life that includes collecting tree sap and crops as well as what has often been unsafe water. “I have cousins and uncles that still live in Nigeria.”

Reuben, who thought he would play soccer at St. Louis University, began exploring the opportunity to launch the project during his third and final year at Stanford, from where he received his undergraduate degree (life and health sciences) in only three years. He understood that a young man in his position could do something to greatly benefit others.

Mudia Reuben (USF Athletics)

“I have a little bit of a platform and I’m fortunate enough to do what I do,” said Reuben, who is pursuing a master’s in biomedical engineering. “I can play football and go to school. I’m blessed enough to have that opportunity. I was thinking about my family and people that can’t do the same things. Not because they’re not good enough or not because they’re not athletic enough, but simply because their time is spent walking miles to an unclean source of water and bringing it back prior to school.”

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The project is the exclamation point to how Reuben makes the best of his college experience. That includes with the Bulls’ offense, which he is expected become more of threat after an injury-plagued spring and preseason camp.

“I just try to maximize the opportunities I get because you can’t get them back when all is said and done,” said Reuben, who last season established career highs with 36 receptions, 495 yards and five touchdowns. “I don’t want to look back at my career and say, ‘I wish I went harder for this opportunity.’ I want to lay everything out there and then hopefully get all the opportunities I can get.”

Mudia Reuben (Tom Layberger)

It is the commitment to others that has impressed his coach.

“His ability to impact others and to impact a country, or a region, is what life is all about,” said Brian Hartline. “The way we change people’s lives, the way you make people feel, that’s different. Those are the kind of people we need more of in this world.”

READ: What Is Next For USF And Three Other Undefeated Non-Power Teams

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USF’s Mudia Reuben Using NIL To Help Provide Clean Water In Parents’ Native Nigeria

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”