Oregon cornerback Ify Obidegwu desires soccer to be enjoyable once more, this fall may very well be his huge probability

EUGENE — At Maryland powerhouse St. Frances Academy, gamers repeatedly hear the message “have fun” from their head coach. That credo took on a deeper which means for Ify Obidegwu after his first 12 months at Oregon, as he redshirted whereas unable to play.

“You want football to be fun,” Obidegwu stated. “Bringing that every day, never let myself think it’s just business or you’re not going to enjoy it. You’re going to hate it.”

Growth and studying needed to come solely from the observe discipline and assembly room, the place Obidegwu took within the knowledge from veteran cornerbacks Jabbar Muhammad, Nikko Reed and Dontae Manning, all of whom signed as undrafted free brokers.

With the Ducks changing their three exterior corners from final season, Obidegwu is competing not just for a spot within the rotation, however for a beginning position. His play within the spring recreation, with three tackles and a pressured fumble that led to a landing, highlighted how the 6-foot-1, 203-pound nook could make an impression.

“He’s definitely having one of the better outputs in the secondary,” defensive backs coach Chris Hampton stated. “He’s just got to continue to grow, continue to get better. We’ve got great players so you’ve got to bring it each and every day — nobody owns a position right now. Ify knows that. But I definitely expect big things out of him this season.”

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Obidegwu had all the time had a nostril for the ball — he had 61 tackles, 14 cross breakups and three interceptions as a senior at St. Frances. Where he’s improved most forward of his redshirt-freshman season is knowing “what he’s going to do, how he needs to be able to execute on the field, what his job is,” in response to Oregon coach Dan Lanning.

“He has really special traits,” Lanning stated. “He can be a special player for us.”

The rave opinions of Obidegwu have poured in all through the offseason, however he’s not taking any position without any consideration. Hampton and cornerbacks coach Rashad Wadood instill an urgency every single day and Obidegwu doesn’t must suppose again lengthy to when taking part in soccer was not a certain factor, and far much less enjoyable for him than this fall may very well be.

“You can never get comfortable no matter what you did in the past, no matter who you is,” Obidegwu stated. “(Hampton and Wadood) tell us in the NFL a guy can be here one day, gone the next day. You got to be on your stuff every day. No matter how you’re feeling, no matter what’s going on in your life, you got to bring it every day.”

— James Crepea covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten.