Ossai ready for breakout year
Published 9:00 pm Monday, August 14, 2006
SEATTLE – Ben Ossai has always been on what he calls, “the other side.”
No, not the Twilight Zone. He’s referring to doubters, negativity, people who believe there’s no way he or his team can succeed.
So being a member not only of the University of Washington football team, but also the team’s most questioned unit – the offensive line – is nothing new to Ossai.
But that doesn’t mean he likes it. Unlike many players, Ossai admits he pays attention to what is being said, and he uses that as motivation to prove people wrong.
“I’ve been on the other side every time,” Ossai said. “You want to change it. … We’ve been here all summer. We’ve been here all spring. I’ve been here for almost a whole year completely. I’ve been home for about a month (in that time). We’re doing what we have to do to win games.”
This year, Ossai takes on a big role in Washington’s attempt to turn things around after back-to-back miserable years. The 6-foot-6, 290-pound redshirt freshman from Bakersfield, Calif., mans the ever-important left tackle spot, protecting the blind side of quarterback Isaiah Stanback. The past two players to hold that position – Khalif Barnes and Joe Toledo – were selected in the NFL Draft. But Ossai said he doesn’t feel any added pressure to try to carry on what those two players established.
“You’ve got to play a game at a time, you can’t look forward to the draft,” Ossai said. “That’s years away. You just have to play your hardest, and you’ll get there.”
Ossai will be one of two starters on the line who have never played in a game. The other is center Juan Garcia. But Garcia has at least been in the program for four years. Ossai has somewhat unexpectedly become a key player in just his second season.
Ossai was the No. 82-rated prospect in California as a senior at Stockdale High School when he committed to Washington. Some academic situations made it unclear if he would arrive in Seattle, but after those issues were resolved, he spent the 2005 season as a redshirt. He used that time to get stronger and in better shape. He arrived at the UW at around 335 pounds, but has since shed about 40. That allowed him to be quicker on his feet, something necessary when blocking for a scrambler like Stanback. He’s also improved his bench press about 65 pounds to around 375. His squat press has gone up about 55 pounds and his power cleans have risen by about 70 pounds.
“There’s no question that Ben is going to work to get better,” offensive line coach Mike Denbrock said. “He’s stronger and quicker than he was when he first got here. And he recognized that that was something he needed to do. It’s always scary when you have to start someone with no experience, but I have no doubt that Ben will continue to improve all season.”
“I like his toughness,” head coach Tyrone Willingham said.
Ossai learned that he had the inside track on the starting left tackle spot during a spring meeting, when he found out the other candidate – sophomore Nathan Flowers – would miss the season with academic trouble. Ossai said he knows that Flowers not being available has helped him claim the job, but also said he believes he’s worked hard enough to have the position anyway.
“We’d been battling for a spot since the season’s been over,” Ossai said. “We’ve been battling in the weight room, battling in practice, flipping it back and forth.”
Now that Ossai seems to have the job – he’s ahead of redshirt freshman Morgan Rosborough on the depth chart – he understands he can’t stop working. He knows that people will be paying extra attention to him and wondering if he can hold up his part to help the Husky offense move. But he welcomes the challenge of proving people wrong.
“We’re 11th-ranked out of 10 teams in the Pac-10,” Ossai said. “We’re not supposed to win anything. We’re the underdog and we’re taking the underdog role. But we’re doing what we have to do to not be the underdog anymore.”
