NIU's Onyebuagu not too short on talent

Former Warren Central High School football coach Kevin Wright remembers the Warriors’ players and coaches good-naturedly teasing Jason Onyebuagu about his mother having him take tap dance lessons as a child.

But Wright looks back now and knows Sheila Onyebuagu was onto something. The superb footwork her son used to excel at Warren and now at Northern Illinois University is something you don’t normally see from an offensive lineman.

“Jason was always a special guy,” said Wright, now the offensive coordinator at Heritage Christian. "He could stand flat-footed and jump up and dunk a basketball. Whenever you can do that as an offensive lineman, that says something about your athleticism.’’

The 6-2, 307-pound Onyebuagu is in his third season as a starting guard at NIU, 6-3 and 4-1 in the Mid-American Conference after a 50-6 victory over Eastern Michigan on Thursday. He has helped the Huskies rush for 229 yards per game, by far the most in the MAC, and NIU’s Chad Spann (North Central) is third in the conference in rushing.

“I think he’s a great, great football player,” said NIU coach Jerry Kill, who thinks Onyebuagu has a chance to make an NFL roster next season.

Onyebuagu was a three-year starter at Warren — first at guard, then at center — and helped the Warriors to three consecutive 5A state titles. “He was a fiery leader,” Wright said. “He led by example in the weight room, in the classroom and on the football field.”

Yet, Wright was discouraged when most Division I programs declined to offer a scholarship, noting Onyebuagu stood just over 6-foot tall at the time, which they considered too short. Wright said he tried to compare him to former Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro center Dermontti Dawson , who is 6-2 and weighs 294 pounds. “He could run, he could pull and he could kick out,” Wright said.

Onyebuagu didn’t hesitate when NIU finally offered a scholarship.

“They were going to give me a chance to play right away,” he said. “That’s something that I really wanted to do.”

The Huskies beat Purdue 28-21 earlier this season, which Onyebuagu admitted was a sweeter win than most. He had his eye on Purdue coming out of Warren, but the Boilers coaching staff was among many that didn’t offer a scholarship.

“I loved that,” he said. “That was great for my team. But to be honest with you, the best thing (during his career) is I have a great bond with my teammates. My four years of college football and great experience.”

He is listed at 6-2, but Kill said he most likely will have to play center in the NFL because of the height factor. Most pro guards and tackles now are closer to 6-5, but Indianapolis Colts All-Pro center Jeff Saturday , for instance, is 6-2.

More football

DePauw (6-4, 4-1) can clinch the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title outright and its first NCAA Division III NCAA Tournament berth if it beats Austin College today and Centre loses to Trinity. . . .A group of DePauw and Wabash students and alums have set up a Facebook page titled “Bring College Gameday to Monon” in an effort to convince ESPN officials to broadcast its Saturday morning preview show from the DePauw campus before next week’s Monon Bell game. . . . Butler (8-0, 5-0 Pioneer Football League) plays at Dayton (7-1, 5-0) today in a battle for first place in the PFL. The Bulldogs, who are off to their best start since 1961, lost 61-0 at Dayton two years ago, the program’s worst loss since World War II.

Volleyball

IUPUI’s Shari Bernhardt (Plainfield) was named the Summit League’s Defensive Player of the Week. . . . The University of Indianapolis (30-1) surpassed 30 victories for the first time. UIndy’s Cheneta Morrison (Fort Wayne Snider) was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s Player of the Week after victories over Drury and Rockhurst. . . . Southern Illinois’ Rachael Brown (Brownsburg) was named the Missouri Valley Conference’s Freshman of the Week.

Women’s soccer

Navy’s Beth Reed (Bishop Chatard) was named the Patriot League’s Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. Reed has a 3.97 grade point average and is majoring in mechanical engineering. She also was named the conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year. . . . Florida’s Lauren Hyde (Bishop Chatard) was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year. . . . Samford’s Amber Cress (Zionsville) was named the Southern Conference’s co-Player of the Year.