Andrei Iosivas, a Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, was born in Japan to a Filipino mother and a Romanian father. He and his family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, when he was three years old. He had planned to attend Stanford, but the track and football standout chose Princeton as his Ivy League destination.
The life story of Cincinnati’s sixth-round choice in this year’s NFL Draft is fascinating, and there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye. But, from one side of the world to the other, Iosivas’ visit to Cincinnati later this week will be another dream come true.
“It just felt like everything fell into place because I went on a Bengals [top] 30 visit, which felt like home to me,” Iosivas said in a Twitter Spaces conversation with The Draft Network’s Ryan Fowler. “So I was quite delighted to go there.”
Iosivas’ journey to the draft was substantially different, as he carried a full Ivy League academic workload for four years and was named a First-Team All-Ivy track athlete three times! In typical manner, the event he specialized in (Heptathlon) combines seven separate track events into a single final result.
Having a lot on his plate never disturbed Iosivas, nor did it prevent him from rising to the position of leader at an institution full of leaders.
“I went to the greatest undergraduate school in the country and was captain of that team. So my efforts and leadership kind of speak for itself on my resume,” Iosivas said of his time at Princeton. “But to those who don’t know me, I’m a really mellow guy. But I understand what it takes to be a leader and to win.
“I’ve been on a squad that has lost five games in the last four years,” Iosivas explained. “So I understand how much effort and work it takes to be a leader. I set a good example and hope that others will do the same.
For the time being, Iosivas will try to emulate his new colleagues’ behavior. Joining an offense that includes Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd is an excellent situation for an athletic piece of clay waiting to be shaped.
“It felt like it was almost a perfect circumstance coming in, since I had the best quarterback in the league and the best receiving room in the league,” Iosivas explained. “I get to learn from folks who have competed at the greatest levels in college and in the NFL. I will accept any sort of guidance or mentorship since I want to be the best as well. So, you know, those folks will always help me improve.”
Iosivas appears and sounds like an ideal fit for a coaching staff that places a high value on character and football intensity. We’ll see how quickly he fits in with the rest of the club at rookie minicamp, which begins this Friday. John Sheeran has been a Divisional Editor at A to Z Sports since 2023, primarily covering the Cincinnati Bengals. He was previously the Deputy Editor of SBNation’s Cincy Jungle from 2018 until 2023. He has also co-hosted the Orange and Black Insider Bengals Podcast since 2018. He is a University of Cincinnati grad, and he used to be very proud of that.
