PHOTO COURTESY OF GLENN OHAERI Running back recruit
Glenn Ohaeri jukes one defender while shaking off
another. Ohaeri expects to be converted to a defensive back upon
arriving at UCLA. Defense: “¢bull; Size might be a
problem, but very strong and physical, and also has speed to make
up for size “¢bull; Has a nice break on the ball, and makes things
happen once he’s got the ball in his hands “¢bull; Tends to
lose his assignment and has been caught covering two guys at once;
will need to trust his teammates at the Division I level and focus
on his man
Offense: “¢bull; Very low center-of-gravity
that allows him to stay on his feet after the initial hit “¢bull;
Very quick to the hole and elusive “¢bull; Tends to do too much and
gets stood up, opening his body to punishment
By Bruce Tran
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected] Glenn Ohaeri doesn’t look like a
football player. At 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, he looks like he would be
lost in a huddle. And yet, they call him “The Hit Man.”
Maybe because, given just a ray of light, he’ll hit the hole
as fast as a lightning bolt hits a tree. Or maybe because, should
an adversary get in his way, he hits opponents with great ferocity.
Or maybe it’s because size isn’t everything.
“It’ll follow me wherever I go,” Ohaeri said.
“It’s been proven by those successful NFL and college
athletes that size isn’t everything. But still, people
doubt.” Size wasn’t the only reason that scouts doubted
his ability. Aside from his physical stature, Ohaeri also plays for
Aquinas High School, a private Catholic school in San Bernardino
that has a total of 300 students. Aquinas isn’t known for
churning out Division I football prospects. “Coming from a
small school, people will say stuff about the competition
level,” Ohaeri said. “But talent will be found
regardless of the type of school you go to. “When I went to
the NIKE camp, I posted one of the best performances. Athleticism
doesn’t matter where you play; if you’re good,
you’re good.” Prior to the NIKE camp, Ohaeri sent out
highlight tapes to colleges, and few responded. After his NIKE
performance, however, recruiting scouts took notice of the small
kid from San Bernardino. Shortly after, offers from each Pac-10
school (except Washington) poured in, along with the likes of Notre
Dame and UNLV. It was UCLA that offered him a scholarship last, and
it was UCLA that Ohaeri had been waiting for all along. “The
Bruins have always been my favorite,” Ohaeri said. “On
my visit, I just fell in love with the campus. There’s stuff
other than just football, and I wanted to be comfortable during my
four to five years there. UCLA just had everything.” Although
people first started noticing him as a running back, UCLA coaches
see themselves using his speed and hitting ability somewhere
else.
Glenn Ohaeri
“We’re going to give him a look at running back, but
we’d like to see him at defensive back,” head coach Bob
Toledo said. “He’s got the skills to be successful
there.” Ohaeri rushed for 2,095 yards and scored 32
touchdowns as a senior. He had even better numbers his junior year,
rushing for 2,546 yards and 36 touchdowns while picking off five
passes and making 73 tackles. In one of the high school plays of
the year for 2000, in the CIF championship game against Pasadena
Poly, and with his team down 7-0, Ohaeri pulled off a jaw-dropping
run. Fatigued with the flu, Ohaeri took a pitch to the right and
was severely jarred at the line of scrimmage to the point where his
body was almost parallel to the ground. While keeping both hands on
the ball, Ohaeri kept his feet and accelerated forward. He broke
two more tackles before bolting on a 75-yard touchdown run that
awoke the Aquinas offense and crushed the Pasadena Poly defense.
Ohaeri finished with 160 yards on 18 carries en route to a 27-21
victory. The game put Ohaeri’s name on coaches’ list,
and the play had people buzzing. “People started saying,
“˜Wow, this kid might have some talent,'” Ohaeri
said. “It was an unbelievable feeling. That changed the whole
game because it pumped us all up. The newspapers called it
“˜The Instant Classic.'” UCLA coaches have
compared him to current Bruin defensive back Ricky Manning, who is
similar in stature and likes to play physically. Ohaeri says he
finds Manning as an inspirational figure and looks up to him. And
like Manning, who played quarterback in high school, Ohaeri will
most likely have to give up offense to play defense. “On
offense, guys get the glory,” Ohaeri said. “But I enjoy
defense so much because I can hit someone instead of being hit.
Doubters think that I don’t hit hard, but I don’t hold
anything back. I don’t hesitate to initiate contact.”
Fitting words for “The Hit Man.”