Fort Collins – This kid came out of nowhere to be a contender. His name is Nnamdi Ohaeri. His dream?
To run for touchdowns for Colorado State. Or be heavyweight champion of the world. I’m not sure.
Sometimes, at CSU practice, it is hard to tell whether the Rams are in training for football or boxing.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been hit by boxing gloves on a football field. It’s weird,” Ohaeri said Thursday. “And some of those punches are pretty tough. One got me in the ribs.”
So intent is coach Sonny Lubick on finding a running back who is Ram tough, the standard equipment at CSU practices now includes big red boxing gloves.
And the Rams beat the stuffing out of their running backs with left uppercuts and right crosses.
Last man standing is crowned the starter.
Talk about a tough-man competition.
Now, before anyone gets the wrong idea, the punches thrown at CSU backs are wicked, but all are legal. And above the belt. Nothing dirty. Or truly dangerous.
Wearing full football gear, the Rams do a drill in which their runners are drilled with punches, with the gloves aimed at a football in an effort to cause a fumble.
The logic?
A year ago, with a record of 4-7, the Rams were far from world-beaters.
When the going got tough, CSU got knocked down. Repeatedly. Colorado State did not pack enough muscle, especially in the running game.
“Last year? Was I satisfied with our running game? No,” Lubick said.
Remember the 27-24 loss to Colorado in Boulder on opening night? The Rams would have won, if not for being 98-pound weaklings.
They had no punch at the goal line, backing down to the CU defense during the final minute of this intrastate fight.
The most embarrassing memory of last season? In a dozen years of Lubick’s remarkable tenure at CSU, he never had a softer team.
Lubick had no running back gain more than 436 yards in 2004. The Rams were outgained on the ground by a humiliating 2:1 ratio. They lost too many contests by TKO.
Something must change if Colorado State is to be feared again in college football.
That is the task of Ohaeri.
Who? I never heard of him, either.
But, with little more than a week until the season opener against CU, his name is the buzz of Rams training camp.
Could a junior who has yet to rush for a single yard in a college game really drive CSU to an upset victory in Boulder?
Ohaeri originally enrolled at UCLA. Swimming pools. Movie stars. And he was told offense was a role for players with more star quality.
But Ohaeri refused to let his dream die. And he transferred to Colorado State, stopping at no lengths to get his hands on the ball.
“Second chance? It’s really my first and only chance to be a running back in college,” Ohaeri said. “Sometimes, you just have to accept the way life is. But I never got a fair assessment to be a tailback at UCLA. You have to stand up to adversity, face-to-face. Look it in the eye. You either succumb, or you keep going, explore other options, keep moving.”
In all the important ways, Ohaeri’s story mirrors the tale of redemption authored by a CSU quarterback named Bradlee Van Pelt.
If the sequel can be anywhere near as compelling as the original, it could be a blockbuster.
Ohaeri is No. 1 on the depth chart, still doing battle with Colorado State veterans Kyle Bell and Jimmy Green.
While Lubick wants to believe any of those candidates can get the tough yards, the coach clearly wants one to win the job. No more running back by committee.
The formula is simple. Cecil Sapp (2002), Kevin McDougal (1999) and Damon Washington (1997) are the last three backs to rush for 1,000 yards in a year at CSU. Each time, the Rams won the conference championship.
“I think, ideally, you’d love to have an Adrian Peterson (of Oklahoma) as your running back,” Lubick said. “I think when we had a Cecil Sapp or a Kevin McDougal, they carried the load alone. I don’t even remember who we had behind those guys on the depth chart. We didn’t even care. You like to have one guy at running back who really sticks out. The one real guy.”
Nnamdi Ohaeri.
If that’s a name to remember, it will be a football season CSU never forgets.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-820-5438 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
