{"id":10181,"date":"2023-07-11T01:20:32","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T06:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=10181"},"modified":"2023-07-11T01:20:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T06:20:32","slug":"head-coach-believes-alabama-lb-commit-can-make-early-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/head-coach-believes-alabama-lb-commit-can-make-early-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Head coach believes Alabama LB commit can make early impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alabama<\/a> added its first German-born commitment on Sunday as linebacker Justin Okoronkwo <\/a><\/strong>announced his intentions\u00a0to sign with the Tide. The former Maryland commitment re-opened his recruitment on Saturday after receiving a scholarship offer from Nick Saban<\/a><\/strong> last month.<\/p>\n

BOL spoke with Nurnberg (based in Nuremberg, Germany) head football coach, Josh Alaeze. He talks about why it\u2019s time to stop sleeping on Europeans who are hungry for opportunities to play football in America much like the ones who are thriving on the basketball circuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coach Alaeza, who is a Baltimore native, played college football\u00a0at Central Connecticut State before rounding out his football career playing in Germany. He returned home where he trained high school and college\u00a0athletes\u00a0prior to taking what he described as a \u201cleap of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Miss: On3 Sports Evaluation on Justin Okoronkwo<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Discovery of a star<\/h2>\n

He returned to Germany and started coaching players, conducting football camps and training players for potential opportunities to play in the United States. Coach Alaeze discovered the\u00a0future Alabama linebacker during a camp held in Ingolstadt which is less than an hour drive from Munich (Okoronkwo\u2019s\u00a0hometown).<\/p>\n

Okoronkwo stood 6-foot-2, 187-pounds and worked out at safety during the camp. He joined Coach Alaeze\u2019s program where they have worked together for the last two years. The now 6-foot-3, 223-pound athlete has three years of playing organized football.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main difference is the speed of the game,\u201d Alaeze said. \u201cI think the guys in my program are being developed at a high level. Many players out here have an insane work ethic. I am hoping Justin\u2019s situation helps others. Exposure is a big difference. I think he would be a top five linebacker in the country if he were playing in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

The schedule is quite busy for Okoronkwo who attends school until 1:00 p.m. He takes a two-hour train ride to train (two-three times each week). He also trains on the field three-four times a week working on coordination and football drills. He lifts weights four-five times each week.<\/p>\n

Okoronkwo has an \u2018Alabama\u2019 mind-set<\/h2>\n

He has added 25-pounds of solid weight in the last year by eating healthy and focusing on his craft. Coach Alaeze described Okoronkwo as a \u201cno nonsense type\u201d who is more concerned about training\/developing rather than partying.\u00a0 He heaped praise on the linebacker\u2019s work ethic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat separates him from a lot of guys is his athleticism,\u201d his coach said. \u201cThere is not a single football play he can\u2019t make as a linebacker. He can run sideline-to-sideline. He\u2019s insanely physical. Being a downhill player is not a problem. He has great coverage skills as a former safety. He can run with anyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis best football is coming in the next few years. There is a certain level of coaching that he will get at Alabama that we just can\u2019t provide here. I expect a lot of growth. I don\u2019t expect anything less than him reaching his fullest potential. I am really excited to see what he can do at Alabama.\u201d<\/p>\n

The learning curve is possibly the biggest obstacle ahead along with the speed of the game. He has all the physical traits and will match up well against the best at his position as far as testing numbers. The more reps and competition provided in the future will help the transition after he arrives at Alabama in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe he will play next year,\u201d Alaeze said. \u201cI think he will be a usable asset even if just on special teams or in the two deep. He will be 6-foot-3, 235-pounds by the time he walks onto campus. He will be faster than the majority of players at his position. He\u2019s not scared of contact. A lot will be how quickly he develops his IQ. I know it will not be an issue for him. He\u2019s a hungry kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alabama has not decided a definite position. He is recruited as a linebacker, but has the ability to play inside or out. Coach Alaeza has taught him as a versatile player and Okoronkwo is open to playing wherever he can make an impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Germany to dream school<\/h2>\n

Justin Okoronkwo during photo shoot at Alabama.<\/p>\n

Coach Alaeza called Alabama the \u201cdream school\u201d for Okoronkwo. One he probably didn\u2019t expect. Okoronkwo set goals, was motivated and dedicated himself to earning an offer from Alabama. The way the Tide staff recruited him after camp was also something that was different from others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think with Justin accomplishing this goal should motivate the rest of our guys,\u201d the coach said. \u00a0\u201cThere is no reason for Europeans to not be able to do something. This should help take it to the next level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to shoot for the stars. You see how valued Europeans athletes are in basketball.\u00a0 Football is growing and it will continue to grow. Alabama taking a player from here will motivate a lot more kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt says a lot when Nick Saban recruits you personally. He was mainly talking with position coaches from other schools. He then had conversations with Coach Saban. That was big for him with just having direct contact with the standard in college football. Alabama recruited him the hardest of any school.\u201d<\/p>\n

The schedule will not change much for Okoronkwo between now and the time he arrives at Alabama. He has three more football games to play (current in-season). His work-out and training routine will remain the same with the preparations for his future in Tuscaloosa to go into overdrive.<\/p>\n

The post Head coach believes Alabama LB commit can make early impact<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alabama added its first German-born commitment on Sunday as linebacker Justin Okoronkwo announced his intentions\u00a0to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}