By Ed McGranahan.
By Ed McGranahan
It’s been about a year since a video of Ebenezer Ogundeko’s highlights was circulated to college coaches . Until then, he hadn’t a scholarship offer.
After 79 tackles and 11 sacks as a junior at Thomas Jefferson High of Brooklyn, he reportedly considered transferring to a more visible school but decided to delay the decision until May. Unmentioned by recruiting sites until February, he finished as this year’s top prospect in New York – the state, not The City – and today Clemson has him on campus. Coach Dabo Swinney said it was like winning the lottery.
“This guy has a great, great up-side,” Swinney said. “The fact that he’s a mid-year guy and a very smart, bright young man, I think he’s going to be a really special addition to our football team.”
One of four members of Swinney’s fifth class to enroll early, Ogundeko fits a critical need in what may evolve into another highly regarded class. Finding Ogundeko – “Ebo” to his friends – served as a balm after a painful separation in Clemson’s relationship with Robert Nkemdiche.
Syracuse responded to Ogundeko’s video first in February followed by Connecticut, Rutgers and Arizona State. Listed 6-foot-4 and nearly 240 pounds, he committed to UConn before a flood of inquiries reportedly including Florida, Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Nebraska. In March, The New York Post reported he had 13 offers, more than any prospect in the city.
Flush with options, he decided to delay his choice until after several visits including “The Opening” at Oregon. After Clemson entered the picture during the season, he agreed to visit the weekend of the South Carolina game, less than three weeks after Nkemdiche recanted his commitment.
Planning to graduate from Jefferson a semester early, Ogundeko announced his choice on Jan. 4 at the Under-Armour All-American Game and was on campus within days.
Gus Cyrus has known Ogundeko since coaching him on a youth team more than 10 years ago. An offensive tackle initially, Ogundeko asked to try defensive end when he arrived at Jefferson, an historic school resurrected with a couple several magnet programs.
Last year he convinced Cyrus to allow him time at tight end. “I didn’t think he could catch.” In a league game last September he caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Al Amin Stewart Jr. with 1:01 to play as Jefferson beat Canarsie, 26-18.
“He made a play my receivers couldn’t make. He refuses to lose,” Cyrus said, citing the game with New Utrecht in which Jefferson trailed by four touchdowns at halftime and won in overtime. “He told them ‘we’re not going to lose this game.’ He turned it up another notch and destroyed the whole offense.
“He’s an ambitious kid. You can’t tell him he can’t do it. Just teach him and he’ll do it. He’ll practice two hours after everybody is gone.”
Charismatic, he also blew life into the program.
“He was the school king,” Cyrus said. “Everybody loved him.”
ESPN published an evaluation that described a instinctive, quick, athletic player with a thick, muscular build.
“He shows flashes as a pass rusher. Has a nice initial burst that allows him to quickly get up field,” the report said. “Because he is from the big city does not mean Ogundeko is raw. He shows flashes of doing the things he needs to do. Instead, it is more a matter of getting more polish and being more consistent in his technique.”
One of three children raised by a single mother in Flatbush, Ogundeko was embraced by Cyrus and his family. His daughter attended high school with Ogundeko and Cyrus occasionally refers to him as a “son.”
“I’m just looking for a good coaching staff to coach me and I’m looking for a family,” Ogundeko in an interview last year with Zack Brasiller of The Post.
“I just think it’s a blessing,” he said of the swell in momentum. “I’ll stay humble and continue to work hard. All the offers won’t change anything.”