Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: "I See You As Ifeadi"
9/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
In today's mid-week post, Skip Myslenski looks at the man who entered the Big Ten record books with three forced fumbles on Saturday, defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo.
THE PAST: Pat Fitzgerald is remembering one of the first conversations he ever had with sophomore defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo. "He said, 'You know, coach, I really see myself as a Clay Matthews (the Packer linebacker) kind of guy.'
"I said, 'I don't. That's an All-Pro player. I see you as Ifeadi. I don't know what that means yet, but we'll move forward from there.'
"He kind of looked at me a little puzzled. So we were a little apart there. There was a little separation. But he's done a great job."
THE PRESENT: On the job last Saturday Ifeadi Odenigbo was a dervish, ending the 'Cats' win over Western Illinois with three forced fumbles and two sacks and one fumble recovery. Now, this Saturday in their Big Ten opener, he bumps up against Penn State, which duly noted his performance against the Leathernecks.
"Their defensive end number seven, I don't want to mispronounce his name, 6-3, 240-pound sophomore," said Nittany Lions James Franklin at his press conference last Monday. "He's the guy that's really jumping off of tape for us right now as a pass rusher and doing some nice things, so we're going to have to deal with him."
THE PAST: Ifeadi Odenigbo's first love was soccer and that was just fine with his parents Thomas and Linda, Nigerian immigrants who didn't get a sport where people beat up on each other. So when their son, as a high school freshman at Centerville (O.) High School, asked if he could play the game, they said only if he ended that year with a 3.5 GPA. He did, on the nose, and the next fall he began his career as something called a "JV All Star."
He was already a track star, excelling in the 200 and 400 meters, and soon enough he was that in football as well, ESPN.com eventually rating him the top recruit in the Midwest. He would receive scholarship offers from traditional powers Ohio State and Michigan, Stanford, Alabama and Notre Dame, but when he finally chose the 'Cats over them all, he weighed just 209 and was still as raw as a saddle sore. "I had such a low football IQ coming in," he told reporters in August. "I didn't know anything about coverages. All I was told in high school was, 'Go get the quarterback, Ifeadi.'"
"You hope every day isn't the first day," Fitzgerald said this week when asked about coaching a player that raw. "That's kind of the whole thing with guys who are young in the game and haven't played a lot, you hope they move past that. I think freshman year for Ifeadi, every day was kind of the first day. `No. We talked about that yesterday. Remember?' `No. We talked about that two days ago. Remember?` I think he's really worked hard frankly at overcoming that.
"You can get labeled that and you keep that your whole career. Some guys never get over that. First of all, you have to have the self realization that that's who you are, that's how you're presenting yourself. So how do you fix that? You just work hard. You get your butt in the playbook. You grind mentally so you're not out there thinking, you just play, and you can revert back to that talent the good Lord's given you. And he's got a lot of it."
PRESENT: Offensive tackle Paul Jorgensen, who has worked often in practice against Ifeadi Odenigbo, is asked about him. "He's improved a lot since he got here," he says. "He's gotten a little bigger, and just from a technique standpoint. He used to be a guy who could run around anybody in high school and make plays. Now he's become a technician and running around guys. So I think he's improved a lot in that sense and obviously he's a great pass rusher. He can make a lot of plays."
"He's been through it, and I think that's why he's doing it," Fitzgerald will finally say of Odenigbo's improvement. "He's been to where he came in with these high expectations that were unfair and unrealistic, and then reality sets in and it's, `Aah, I'm not that good. Now what do I do?` Well, you go to work. You roll your sleeves up and go to work. We've got a bunch of freshmen who are taking a class and they're going to get a B for the first time in their lives. That's the best experience they can have. You get a B and you don't know how to deal with it. You've been so successful for so long, the first thing that creeps in is doubt.
"It's learning and growing your self-awareness and being realistic. I think Ifeadi's become very realistic about his strengths and the areas he has to work on to improve while not minimizing his strengths. . . It's about consistency and he's getting better. I'm really proud of him. He's working his fanny off. He's the first guy in here. He's working hard. I think he's really realized this isn't just about talent. It's about talent plus technique. And he's got great desire. He wants to be great.
"I'm excited to see him coming on. He's doing a great job."
QUICKLY NOTED:
• Wide receiver Tony Jones, who missed the last two games with a lower body injury, participated fully in Tuesday's and Wednesday's practices. "It's great to have him back, man," superback Dan Vitale said of his return. "No one runs routes like he does. I know (quarterback) Trevor (Siemian's) happy, for sure. It's good to have a guy like him back out there."
• Practicing too was defensive tackle CJ. Robbins, who was suspended (by the Big Ten) for the Western game after being penalized and ejected for throwing a punch late in the `Cats loss to Northern Illinois. "It was football," he said when asked about the incident. "We were in the trenches. I was on a double-team. It was just a physical play and I got caught up in the moment. It was a selfish act that I did and I should have kept my composure more." Did he learn anything from the experience? "I learned a lot. Just composure. Not getting caught up in the moment."
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