The football season ended a while back, but during the offseason, players were getting noticed for film, skills, technique, and how they performed at practices. Are they competitive or lazy? Will they commit and help the team? But some Osbourn players caught the eyes of college coaches. The Osbourn football team managed a well-done turnaround season after going 2-8 during the 2023 season. The Eagles came into the 2024 season much stronger by going 6-4. Unfortunately, their ticket to the playoffs was cut short due to the district being so crowded with other teams; only 8 spots were available from the 59 teams. Let’s catch up on some Osbourn players who got noticed by colleges! 

I asked players what colleges they have committed to and will be attending once they graduate. Khamoni Morris committed to Ferrum College, Andrew Funk committed to Grinnell College, Julian Burrell committed to Bethany College, WV, and Mike Okeneh committed to Ferrum College. 

I asked players why they committed to their college of choice. “I chose this college mainly because the school seems amazing and I feel like I would improve as a player by playing at a great school,” said Morris. “The college was very interested in me, and when I took the visit to Iowa to go see this college, it just caught my attention a lot more than the other programs,” said Funk.

“I chose this college because it was the best route for me as an athlete and will give me a chance to improve myself as a player,” said Okeneh.  Some players had to take a different route, but still made it to a college team to improve and play for.  “The school was honestly very interesting, as much as it’s a juco (junior college) school. There is always time to improve and give chances,” said Burrell.

Some players want to go to college to have a degree in anything other than sports, but still play football, as it’s a sport they love. Others, on the other hand, want to make it to the big leagues, whether it’s the NFL, XFL, or CFL, but of course need to go to college and have their academics up. “My focus is mainly academics, I’m a pretty smart person, and the academics at Grinnell are very good, which got my attention,” said Funk. “Academics are always gonna matter in order for me to play, but I’m taking the sports route and will try to make it one day.” 

Athletes have to set a goal for themselves, as these athletes will be going to the next level with more competitions and bigger opponents. “My goal is to become something I never knew I could be, like surprising myself with new skills and improvement,” said Burrell. Athletes can set themselves up for pretty high standards, but that’s just going to make the athlete work even harder to reach that goal. “Hopefully becoming a bigger athlete and getting stronger and better every day to become a top threat to other teams,” said Okeneh. 

Everything must come to an end for seniors, and as they make their way up the finish line to graduation, and go to college to pursue their dreams. I asked players what they were going to miss about high school football. “The culture and the fans that were always there to support on Friday night lights, and my teammates cheering on while they get the energy up, whether it’s a touchdown or a defensive stop,” said Morris. “Unfortunately, my senior season was cut short due to an injury during the offseason, which made me miss the whole season. But the time I had with my teammates made it count, as they will still be there for me, despite not being able to play,” said Burrell. 

These Eagles have been helping the OHS football team since they were just freshmen and have done so much for the team. Good luck to these Eagles as they step into the real world of college sports!