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Pirates get a 'steal' in sack artist Olenga
By
Sammy Batten
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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Recruiting Class of 2015 Thumbnail Sketches...
Emmanuel Olenga is short on football
experience, but long on talent and potential.
And, oh yeah, he's 6-foot-5 and 250
pounds of talent and potential.
That was more than enough to create a
ripple of excitement in the East Carolina football program on December
22 when Olenga made a verbal commitment to play for the Pirates. Olenga
became the 13th player to join ECU's recruiting Class of 2015 and is the
second defensive lineman along with tackle
Justin Brown
from Ayden, NC, who was the first to made a pledge to the Pirates last
March.
Olenga chose ECU over offers from
Charlotte, Illinois, Indiana, Miami (Ohio), Old Dominion and Towson.
Playing defensive end at Olympic High
School in Charlotte this season, Olenga was a dominant force. He
collected 105 total tackles, made 16.5 quarterback sacks and forced five
fumbles. The performance earned Olenga first-team All-So-Meck 8 4-A
Conference and All-Charlotte Observer honors in his first year back on
the football field after sitting out the 2013 season.
“This was really his first year of
varsity (football) experience,'' Olympic's first-year head coach Keith
Wilkes said. “So, ability-wise he's green right now because he hasn't
played a lot in high school. But once he learns to play the game and
gets into a strong weight training program, it's unlimited as to what
he'll be able to do. I see this young man as a future pro.''
Wilkes knows a thing or two about
football talent. Formerly the head coach at Charlotte Vance and
Winston-Salem's Carver high schools, he's helped develop major college
players like Larenz Bryant (South Carolina), Matthew Brim (Wake Forest),
Isaiah Thomas (North Carolina) and current ECU linebacker Kirk
Donaldson.
Olenga's path to college football has
been significantly different than most of Wilkes' former protegees.
Born in the southern African nation
of Congo, Olenga moved to the United States at the age of 6. He was
first exposed to the sport of football a couple of years later during a
sleepover at a cousin's house.
That cousin, Prince Shembo, would go
on to star at Charlotte Ardrey Kell High School and earned a scholarship
to play linebacker at Notre Dame. Shembo was taken in the fourth round
of last year's NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and appeared in all 16
regular-season games this season.
Olenga played football in middle
school. But when he enrolled at Olympic as a freshman he opted instead
to play football for the Airborne for Christ Rangers, which consists
mainly of home-schooled players. Olenga dominated at that level,
averaging 2.3 sacks and eight tackles a game.
The following season Olenga joined
the Olympic varsity football team where he played opposite future North
Carolina signee Robert Dinkins on the defensive line. Later that year,
Olenga also played a role on Olympic's basketball team that went 30-0
and defeated Raleigh Broughton 56-53 for the state championship.
Wilkes said Olenga didn't suit up for
either team as as junior, but returned to the gridiron as a senior. He
made a clear impression on Wilkes upon their first meeting.
“He didn't play for Olympic last year
… he played for one of the other teams around Charlotte,'' Wilkes said.
“But when I got here and saw him, you could see he's a thoroughbred. He
looked like a grown man. I wasn't letting nothing that big and pretty
walk around the school and not play football.''
Wilkes directed Olympic to a 5-7
record in his first season and Olenga played a major role. Perhaps the
highlight of Olenga's season occurred back in September in a 33-14
victory against Providence. Olenga produced a season-best 16 tackles and
two quarterback sacks in the game.
“He's probably one of the better
athletes I've had, and I've had a lot of boys who have signed college
scholarships,'' Wilkes said. “I wish I had another year to work with
him. If I did, he'd probably have been a national recruit.''
Tennessee was an early player for
Olenga's services and actually offered a scholarship last March. But
Wilkes said because Olenga didn't commit fast enough, “they gave his
scholarship to someone else.''
East Carolina's involvement began
last September, but really intensified over the past few months.
“About a month or so they (ECU)
started talking to him really hard,'' Wilkes said. “I think he got real
comfortable with (ECU receivers) Coach (Donnie) Kirkpatrick and (head)
Coach (Ruffin) McNeill. He was really comfortable at East Carolina and
wanted to stay close to home so his parents can see him play.
“I'm thinking they got a real steal
with him. And he's not just a great athlete. He's one of our team
leaders. Before every game he was the person who led us in a team
prayer. He has a lot of potential, but will be a good team player
immediately.''
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01/07/2015 08:59 PM |
