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By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer
Only moments after selecting tight end Fendi Onobun with the first pick of the sixth round last weekend, Rams general manager Billy Devaney was at his usual, straightforward best.
“We’re taking a flier, guys,” Devaney said after making the pick. “We know that. It’s a project in its truest sense.”
To take on a project such as Onobun, though, there has to be a good reason and with the super-athletic former basketball player, the Rams have seen plenty.
“The biggest thing is I am so new to this game, it’s like I am a piece of clay and they can mold me any way they want me,” Onobun said. “I am hungry. I want to get better each and every day and I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Onobun arrived to the Rams’ rookie minicamp this weekend ready for that molding process to begin after a fascinating journey in which football wasn’t even his primary sport at the collegiate level.
Before playing one season of football for the University of Houston last season, Onobun hadn’t played the sport since he was a seventh grader at O’Donnell Middle School in Houston.
Onobun had long since decided that basketball was the sport he wanted to pursue and his efforts at Alief Taylor High earned him scholarship offers from a number of high-major college basketball programs.
Arizona ultimately emerged as Onobun’s destination as he served as a role player for the majority of his four years in Tucson, averaging 1 point and 0.8 rebounds in his final season.
As a sophomore, Onobun says he was approached by football coaches at Arizona but he wanted to focus on hoops. So Onobun finished his four years and began evaluating his options for the next step in his career. The only thing he knew at that point was that he wanted to at least try to become a professional athlete.
Onobun received overtures from basketball teams overseas but was intrigued by an opportunity that was coming from the football world.
Duke basketball player Greg Paulus was exploring ways to use the NCAA’s eligibility rules to move from the hardwood to the gridiron.
According to those rules, a player had five years to complete four years of eligibility in a sport. If that player completes his four years of eligibility in one sport, he has an additional year in which he can play a different sport.
In addition, that player can transfer to another school and play the other sport without having to sit out a year.
“I thought why not? Why not go home?” Onobun said. “It really helped me as far as just learning the game. I can’t imagine being here during this last year and not playing the game of football at all. That would have been ridiculous. Being at Houston really helped me get the foundation of the game where I am able to pick up certain things like blocking schemes and running routes, things like that.”
Onobun chose to go home to Houston to play a year for his hometown Cougars. Although he was limited by an ankle injury, he played in 11 games with just two catches for 33 yards with a touchdown.
For the most part, Onobun chipped in on special teams where he used his athleticism and height to block two kicks.
Still, Onobun was well under the radar for most teams until a March 30 workout in which he put up some dazzling numbers. At 6’6 and a chiseled 252 pounds, Onobun ran the 40-yard dash in a blistering 4.49 seconds with a 37.5 inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 11 feet, 1 inch.
It was enough to open the eyes of all NFL scouts and the Rams decided it was time to take a chance on Onobun when the sixth round began last Saturday with the hopes that he can follow in the footsteps of another tight end with a basketball background who turned into an NFL star such as San Diego’s Antonio Gates.
“Everybody that’s been in that kind of situation reacts a little bit differently,” Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “Some of them are well documented, (Tony) Gonzalez and Antonio Gates, some of those guys catch on quick. We’ll find out with him.”
On his first day of practice with the Rams on Friday, Onobun flashed some of that unsurfaced potential with some impressive catches in traffic. Although the Rams aren’t in pads and the veterans aren’t around, those signs were at least encouraging to Spagnuolo and tight ends coach Frank Leonard.
Onobun even caught the first practice pass from first-round quarterback Sam Bradford and admitted afterward that he did stop to think about how far he’d come.
“There were a few times where I was out here and I was like ‘Man, I am with the St. Louis Rams right now, this is crazy,’” Onobun said. “But football is football. You just go out there and try to do your best and make plays.”
Onobun says the most difficult adjustment on the field has been to the tempo and speed of the game.
But it’s not just that aspect that needs shaping for Onobun. At Houston, he played in a spread offense that didn’t utilize the tight end much and didn’t ask him to run the normal route tree.
Onobun is a fast learner though and says he is spending as much time as he can with Leonard and at home trying to get familiar with all aspects of his new profession.
And yes, as part of that studying, Onobun is watching the likes of Gates and Gonzalez. But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to be in their company.
“I look at those guys and watch film on them,” Onobun said. “I just want to be the best. I am not trying to be Tony Gonzalez. I am not trying to be Antonio Gates. I want to be Fendi Onobun. I want to be the best tight end I can be.”
Onobun calls his athletic ability a “blessing” and believes his athleticism is a tool that can be used to his advantage. And though everyone acknowledges that he’s a bit of a project, Onobun doesn’t think it will take as long to mold him as others might assume.
“I don’t think I am as far off as most people think,” Onobun said. “I think I have a lot to learn. I think I have a long way to go but I am not as far off as many people would assume. I am just going to get better each and every day.”
That daily improvement is precisely what Onobun means when he talks about molding him into a specific player. And though he made the choice to become a football player, he believes his choice was a part of a bigger plan for his life.
“I believe this is my destiny right here,” Onobun said. “I am excited to be here. I am excited to learn and I think I have found something I can really be good at.”
Senior Writer
Only moments after selecting tight end Fendi Onobun with the first pick of the sixth round last weekend, Rams general manager Billy Devaney was at his usual, straightforward best.
“We’re taking a flier, guys,” Devaney said after making the pick. “We know that. It’s a project in its truest sense.”
To take on a project such as Onobun, though, there has to be a good reason and with the super-athletic former basketball player, the Rams have seen plenty.
“The biggest thing is I am so new to this game, it’s like I am a piece of clay and they can mold me any way they want me,” Onobun said. “I am hungry. I want to get better each and every day and I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Onobun arrived to the Rams’ rookie minicamp this weekend ready for that molding process to begin after a fascinating journey in which football wasn’t even his primary sport at the collegiate level.
Before playing one season of football for the University of Houston last season, Onobun hadn’t played the sport since he was a seventh grader at O’Donnell Middle School in Houston.
Onobun had long since decided that basketball was the sport he wanted to pursue and his efforts at Alief Taylor High earned him scholarship offers from a number of high-major college basketball programs.
Arizona ultimately emerged as Onobun’s destination as he served as a role player for the majority of his four years in Tucson, averaging 1 point and 0.8 rebounds in his final season.
As a sophomore, Onobun says he was approached by football coaches at Arizona but he wanted to focus on hoops. So Onobun finished his four years and began evaluating his options for the next step in his career. The only thing he knew at that point was that he wanted to at least try to become a professional athlete.
Onobun received overtures from basketball teams overseas but was intrigued by an opportunity that was coming from the football world.
Duke basketball player Greg Paulus was exploring ways to use the NCAA’s eligibility rules to move from the hardwood to the gridiron.
According to those rules, a player had five years to complete four years of eligibility in a sport. If that player completes his four years of eligibility in one sport, he has an additional year in which he can play a different sport.
In addition, that player can transfer to another school and play the other sport without having to sit out a year.
“I thought why not? Why not go home?” Onobun said. “It really helped me as far as just learning the game. I can’t imagine being here during this last year and not playing the game of football at all. That would have been ridiculous. Being at Houston really helped me get the foundation of the game where I am able to pick up certain things like blocking schemes and running routes, things like that.”
Onobun chose to go home to Houston to play a year for his hometown Cougars. Although he was limited by an ankle injury, he played in 11 games with just two catches for 33 yards with a touchdown.
For the most part, Onobun chipped in on special teams where he used his athleticism and height to block two kicks.
Still, Onobun was well under the radar for most teams until a March 30 workout in which he put up some dazzling numbers. At 6’6 and a chiseled 252 pounds, Onobun ran the 40-yard dash in a blistering 4.49 seconds with a 37.5 inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 11 feet, 1 inch.
It was enough to open the eyes of all NFL scouts and the Rams decided it was time to take a chance on Onobun when the sixth round began last Saturday with the hopes that he can follow in the footsteps of another tight end with a basketball background who turned into an NFL star such as San Diego’s Antonio Gates.
“Everybody that’s been in that kind of situation reacts a little bit differently,” Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “Some of them are well documented, (Tony) Gonzalez and Antonio Gates, some of those guys catch on quick. We’ll find out with him.”
On his first day of practice with the Rams on Friday, Onobun flashed some of that unsurfaced potential with some impressive catches in traffic. Although the Rams aren’t in pads and the veterans aren’t around, those signs were at least encouraging to Spagnuolo and tight ends coach Frank Leonard.
Onobun even caught the first practice pass from first-round quarterback Sam Bradford and admitted afterward that he did stop to think about how far he’d come.
“There were a few times where I was out here and I was like ‘Man, I am with the St. Louis Rams right now, this is crazy,’” Onobun said. “But football is football. You just go out there and try to do your best and make plays.”
Onobun says the most difficult adjustment on the field has been to the tempo and speed of the game.
But it’s not just that aspect that needs shaping for Onobun. At Houston, he played in a spread offense that didn’t utilize the tight end much and didn’t ask him to run the normal route tree.
Onobun is a fast learner though and says he is spending as much time as he can with Leonard and at home trying to get familiar with all aspects of his new profession.
And yes, as part of that studying, Onobun is watching the likes of Gates and Gonzalez. But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to be in their company.
“I look at those guys and watch film on them,” Onobun said. “I just want to be the best. I am not trying to be Tony Gonzalez. I am not trying to be Antonio Gates. I want to be Fendi Onobun. I want to be the best tight end I can be.”
Onobun calls his athletic ability a “blessing” and believes his athleticism is a tool that can be used to his advantage. And though everyone acknowledges that he’s a bit of a project, Onobun doesn’t think it will take as long to mold him as others might assume.
“I don’t think I am as far off as most people think,” Onobun said. “I think I have a lot to learn. I think I have a long way to go but I am not as far off as many people would assume. I am just going to get better each and every day.”
That daily improvement is precisely what Onobun means when he talks about molding him into a specific player. And though he made the choice to become a football player, he believes his choice was a part of a bigger plan for his life.
“I believe this is my destiny right here,” Onobun said. “I am excited to be here. I am excited to learn and I think I have found something I can really be good at.”
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