Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011

Owino's skills get him noticed quickly

First year playing football a success

Six months ago Sanderson High's Desmond Owino had never touched a football, had no clue as to how to wear a football uniform and didn't have the slightest idea of how the game was played.

Today, he is the object of great desire by programs such as N.C. State and the University of North Carolina. Colleges are lining up to offer the 6-foot-5, 240-pound athlete a scholarship to learn more about football and play in its program.

"Unbelievable," Owino, a senior, said last week when he reflected on the steadily increasing number of scholarship offers.

"Beyond belief," echoed Simpson Peter Owino, his father. "He had never been around football at all."

"I've never seen anything like it," agreed Sanderson coach Tony Lewis. "He does all the things well that you can't really teach. He not only is big and runs fast, but he plays hard.

"He'll get knocked and chase after a play 30 yards away. He didn't know anything about football - he still doesn't know a lot - but he plays so hard and wants to learn."

Simpson Owino, who manages the Shaba Shabu restaurant in Raleigh, already brought his other two children to the United States from Nairobi, Kenya. Vivian Owino is working on a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Ohio State and Duncan Owino is studying environmental science at Washington State.

His father wanted similar opportunities for Desmond and brought him to the United States last November.

"The opportunities here are superior to those in Kenya," Simpson Owino said. "If you work very hard here, you will have the chance to succeed."

Desmond had played rugby in school and liked to play basketball, but he knew nothing about football.

"We saw him walking the halls and asked him if he'll like to play a little football," said Lewis, the Sanderson coach.

Lewis suspected Owino was a good athlete but the coach was surprised the first time he timed Owino in 40 yards.

"He had on these high-topped shoes, had his feet turned wrong and just came out and ran," Lewis said. "We got him in a 4.8. Here was this 6-5, 235-pound guy who could turn a 4.8 just like that."

Owino had to be taught how to put on a football uniform but in the Spartans' first scrimmage, a workout against Harnett Central, he recorded six quarterback sacks.

"We put him at defensive end and told him to go to the football," Lewis said. "He didn't always do exactly what he was supposed to do, but he went after the football.

"He just plays so hard. His motor doesn't idle. It is always full speed. If you knock him down, he is going to get up and keep coming. He never gives up on the play."

Owino said he had no idea he was any good until the scrimmage game.

"Football was new to me," he said. "Offense. Defense. You don't have that in rugby."

Lewis mentioned the unpolished gem to college recruiters last spring with the caveat that Owino had never played football and there were no guarantees. But Lewis told the college coaches that if Owino played football that he had the potential to be a special player.

"I think most of the recruiters had forgotten all about him," Lewis said. "But then we sent out some tape of him playing."

The offers started almost immediately, much to the surprise of Owino, who was still learning how to play.

"It took me about two months to really understand what I was supposed to do," Desmond Owino said. "Getting off the ball (moving as the ball is snapped) took a while."

The recruiting process has been a revelation to Desmond and his father.

"Even my friends, people who understand football, are surprised because Desmond is getting the college scholarship offers," Simpson Owino

Desmond and his father are taking time with the decision. Obviously, Desmond doesn't know a lot of about college football.

"The biggest thing to me right now is researching the schools first and then the football," Desmond said.

Desmond said he thinks he might like staying in the state to play, but schools like South Carolina and Clemson are getting to show interest in him.

"The offers just keep coming," Lewis said.