Tunde Ogun is a big league talent at a small school. He is 6'0", 225, runs in the mid 4.5s and has been dominant the last two seasons for Christopher Newport U. in Newport, Virginia. Tunde is of Nigerian descent and hopes to follow in the footsteps of the great Christian Okoye (Asuza Pacific/Kansas City Chiefs) as the next great Nigerian-American running back in the NFL. Tunde has been around some before landing at CNU in 2007, and we'll let him tell the story about how/why he ended up at DIII CNU.

Let be the first to congratulate Tunde in being selected our 2009 Preseason DIII Offensive Player of the Year, and kick things off here in his forum with a question:

Tunde, the writeup on you at the CNU website says you have four brothers! Have any of them been stars at Douglas Freeman H.S. in Richmond as you were? Are any of them also playing college sports?


P.S. Everyone can read more about Tunde by visiting:
http://www.cnusports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id...p;path=football

Yes, I have 4 Brothers and 2 sisters. All of my brothers are "athletes" haha!! But i'm the only one that played in high school or college.

Huh...thats a bit unusual. You'd think with four younger brothers that at least one of them would have at least tried to follow in their big brother's footsteps...

Anyway, tell us about the offensive system that CNU employs. Are you asked to do much blocking? blitz pickup? receiving?

I was wondering what style of running do you have.? Who do yoy compare yourself to and what are your goals for this season?

Well at CNU we run a Multi-Set Offense. We can attack a series of different ways. We run Single Back and Iso Sets, Spread and Option packages, Heavy packages (2 FBs). There's really no one Set or Package that defines our offense. We honestly incorporate a touch of everything. With the way our offense is designed I am often required to make blitz pickups and catch out of the backfield. Its greats because it allows me to utilize all of my talents, and not just limit me to carrying the football.

Honestly, I like to believe that I have adopted a style of my own. Inevitably i'm a one cut and go type back but elusive enough to shake defenders between tackles. On the Power side of things I wouldn't consider myself a necessarily a "Power Back", I like to refer to my style as Aggressive. I don't look to run every single tackler over, but if the situation warrants putting my head down I have the ability to do it. Along with that I try never to let one defender bring me down and I always look for an extra 2-3 yards on every carry. But If I had to choose someone to compare my style to I'd say Willis McGahee. His combination of size and speed is a lot like mine, and we both have a smooth running styles.

This coming season I want to fine-tune every aspect of my game. Going into this season there are high expectation for me and I don't want to fall short on any of them. I'm not too much of a numbers guy, so I'm not going sit here spit out figures that I want to achieve but I will tell you this, I would love to do better in every category this year than I did last year. Mainly though, I want to be a leader and a go-to-guy for my team. Those guys count of me a lot so under performing is not an option. Lastly, a goal for myself as well as my team is to go further than one game deep in the playoffs. CNU has sort of developed a reputation as a One-n-done team in post-season play, I know that we are better than that and am looking to show everyone else the same.

So who do you run like?

We need to get you into the East Coast Bowl in Petersburg, and hopefully one other All-star Game. Just make that a goal of yours, Tunde, and we'll talk about it more later on.

Most definitely, I'm open to playing in any All-Star Game available to me after my senior season.

Hey Tunde... welcome to CDS! When did you start playing football? Have you always been a RB?

Also, for those of us who don't know a whole lot about CNU football, who are your main rivals?

I started playing football when I was 6, and like most athletes I played a variety of positions. Started off as a Safety in Little League. Then played a different position each year in Middle School...RB 6th Grade, CB 7th Grade and WR 8th Grade haha!! Played Corner my 9th Grade Year, then made the permanant move to RB my 10th grade year. Signed with SC State as an RB, when I transferred to Cincy they moved me to Strong Safety. So ive played just about every skill position except LB and TE haha! But I really think that that is attributed to my athliticism. At practice sometimes I joke with our Head Coach and D-Coordinator about letting me play on Defense!! I tell them that "im not just and RB im a GA = General Athlete" hahaha!! All joke aside though, instinctively im a RB and I believe its my true position.

Rivals? Hmmmm, honestly every team in our conference is our rival!!! They all HATE us hahaha!! But if I had to pick a few above the rest i'd say NC Wesleyan, because we are usually the 2 best in the conference and fighting for the Championship. There is bitter-blood between us and Shenandoah, it gets pretty nasty on the field, I wish they would mic me up for the game so you could hear some of the stuff going on out there!! haha!! and Washington and Jefferson...we've seen them in the playoffs 4 times and they've won everytime....nuff said

TUNDE!! Whats up?

Why did you leave Cincy, if you don't mind me asking...

Haha! no its okay. Ive told this story a billion times. Well, I thought I was going to get on scholarship after my sit-out season from SC State. A whole-sale coaching change at the Nati pretty much put a damper on that. So I decide that instead of being bury on a depth chart, out of state, with no funds that I would explore early playing time opportunities elsewhere.

Hey Tunde, Ending high school you were 185 pounds. You ran the 2nd fastest time at the nike camp running a 4.35 forty. How did you get to 220+ pounds. Also you beat out some very big company at that Nike camp, Brandon Minor of Michigan, Darious heywood Bay who now plays for the Oakland Raiders, and Derrick Williams who now plays for the Detroit Lions. (He ran a 4.31)

Did you sit down with Brian Kelly before you left and talk about what your role for the upcoming season would be before you left?


Also, Why did you chose Christopher Newport out of all the other schools in the country? Did they guarantee you a starting job, or..?

Tunde Ogun you must be Yoruba, those are 2 very powerful and important names. If my memory is correct that means the Spirit or God of Iron has returned. What do you want to change physically for the next level, gain more speed and agility or get bigger? The back you remind me of is Andre Brown of NC State who the Giants selected with the 129th pick, have you ever seen him play? The McGahee comparison you made is fairly apt as well. Again as a native of the Tidewater I am thrilled to have you here.

Yes, I had spoke with the Special Teams coordinator at the time and he informed me that I had earned a camp invite and a chance to play on special teams the next season. However, i still wasnt back on scholly so I left because i couldnt afford it.

After Cincy I initially was going to attend William and Mary, and everything was set as far as discussion with the coaches and football, until the admission office didn't grant me admission. Transfers are required to carry a 3.4 GPA and I only had a 2.75 leaving the Nati. Long story short, Coach K used to coach at William and Mary and shot me an email asking me to visit CNU and the rest is history.

Thanks for the support!! Where in the Tidewater are you from? Yeah my last name Ogun is the "God of Iron/War" in the Yoruba belief. Haha its nice that you actually new that!!

As far as physical changes for the next level, in terms of size, I believe im am at a decent weight. At 6'0 220 Lbs I think my frame can handle the load at the next level. If any I may cut back to 212-215 which is what I played at last season, but we'll see I how I feel running at 220 during the summer and training. You can never have to much speed or agility so those are 2 things that I constantly strive to improve on.

Haha! and yes I know Andre Brown. We actually attended a camp together in high school down at ECU. I agree with your me-him comparison. His style is alot like mine.

Wow! If you are anything like Andre Brown....
....MAN! What was Cincy thinking???

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Andre Brown and his game.

Hey..if you have any film, Tunde could you send it (DVD or VHS)

Steve Martin
Consensus Draft Services
1049 US Route One,
Amity, ME 04471

Haha!! Yes I do have film and I can send it you later this week. In the mean time you can view the tape at this link, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/vi...?v=584918197295 I would love to hear some feedback on.

Unfortunately, I am stuck on dialup and can't do on-line videos. Wish I could...!

Hahahaha!!! Oh yes the good old 179lbs days!!! Back then I was definitely a WHOLE LOT smaller so I really didn't have a choice but to be fast, haha it was my only weapon back in high school!!!
However, now I follow a very strict training regiment. I workout 6 days a week and super-set everything. Along with that I try not to put "trash" in my body. Ive never smoke or drank, I dont drink carbonated drinks and I try to limit my fatty food intake. So all those things together is really what has helped me gain quality weight/

Ironically, I was driving from Norfolk to Williamsburg today, so now I know exactly where CNU is!

Tunde, I grew up in Norfolk and VA Beach, I got to see 'Famous' Amos Lawerence, Lawerence Taylor, Bruce Smith, DJ Dozier, Iverson, Plaxico and both Vicks play in HS, my dad used to live in Newport News and played baseball and basketball at the old Huntington Y with Leroy Keyes who finished second on the 1968 Heisman Trophy voting. I tell people that when UNC and Penn State were at their best it was at least in part due to Tidewater talent and VA Tech has built largely upon talent from Hampton Roads area.

That is very true! Well hopefully one day I'll be apart of the legacy of guys you know that made it from around here.

Tunde you are a beast. But is it true you learned alot from Jestun Oden? You would be best to be at abt 215-220lbs You have speed and strength but i want to see the pass blocking improve. Stay hungry, stay in the weight room, and stay watching film. Aint no such thing as a off season. You got the ability to make it and be great and imma be on your case the whole way. (Tunde know who i am)

Here go the goals

1,500+ yards rushing
500+ yards receiving
0 fumbles
No getting tackled by DB's
10+wins
3.0 GPA or better
NO trouble off the field

All you ppl out there that keep hyping my guy thanks but ya'll best be there for the good and for the bad if there is a bad.

Tunde you my boy so you know i go hard abt football and players being good men off the field

Haha!! Yeah im down to about 220 now and im still cutting. I always enjoy your "tough love" approach Jestun haha!! But believe me, everything you have slated on that list of goals are always on my agenda. Only day I take off is December 32nd (think about it)

Tunde, how do you feel you are doing so far, and do you feel there are ways you could help the team even more?

Congratulations, Tunde, on being selected as an RB for the South to the East Coast Bowl held in Petersburg, VA next week (Saturday, Nov 28 at 12 PM).

Good luck and have a great week and game!

Hey Tunde. Yea, definitely congrats man! Tear up the ECB this weekend!

Tell us about your regular season. I imagine maybe the O-line was a bit less than what you had in the past. Am I right?

First off I'd like to say thank you to everyone for the good ECB wishes. I am down here now and I am having a great time, i've met a lot of other great players and im excited to get out there on Saturday and play!!

Yeah, this season was a series of growing pains, one of them being our offensive line. We lost 4 crucial guys up front. Honestly in the off season I didn't think it was going to be the big of an issue, but then again in D3 we don't use pads during Spring Ball so its difficult to tell sometimes. It didn't help that on top of a new O-Line our starting QB was put out for the season in Game 3 and our FB Game 6, 2/3 of our backfield was absent majority of the season thus making it easier for teams to zero in on me. Those are just a few of the logistical things that made this year different.

Yea, I figured it had to be o-line issues that held your stats down some. And having the entire defense focused just on stopping you had to be frustrating, man.

Anyway....this game will be a lot more fun because no one knows much about what you can do and no one will bekeying on you. So...tear 'em up man!

Let us know who impresses you down there, either on your team or the other team.

Tunde just called. Although there is still nothing on the East Coast Bowl website about the game this past Saturday, as of this afternoon, he said he was very happy with his performance. He ended up being switched to the North team at the last minute, and led the team to a 27-21 victory with 117 all purpose (catching and receiving) yards. He said he got a chance to talk to scouts from the Texans, 49ers, Colts, and Steelers.

(Bill, Tunde is also confirmed for the show Saturday. We need a time and call-in info. Expecting a time back from Arthur Moats soon....Michael Landers is out, as he turns out to have an extra year of eligibility that wasn't on the RMU website. I'll find another Dback....)


CONGRATS TUNDE! Tell us all about the whole ECB experience below. Thanks in advance.

You have been invited by Cosensus Draft Services to join a live Community Call.
Episode: EPISODE 5 -CDS Post-Midseason Review (Join in) Host: Bill Carroll
Small School Specimens, very early draft projections, will there be a deluge of early entries and the XOS/NFL stand off
Call ID: 60585
Personal Message from the Host:Gentlemen you are invited to the next show this Saturday
Scheduled Time: 10:00 AM EST
Date: Saturday, 12/5, 2009
How to participate:

Call in:
1. Dial: (724) 444-7444
2. Enter: 60585 # (Call ID)
3. Enter: 1 # or your PIN

Is this posted in the right place, Bill?

P.S. Arthur Moats and Tunde Ogun have both confirmed.

Tunde also suggested we look at this!!! :

http://today.sportingnews.com/sportingnews...1201?pg=10#pg10