Anwar O’Neal rejected scholarship offers from a slew of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision programs to play for Delaware of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Staying close to home was important for the Middletown High grad and Philadelphia native.
With the Blue Hens making that climb to FBS as a Conference USA member next year, O’Neal now relishes the opportunity he’ll have to demonstrate skills recruiters thought were applicable to that level.
Offensive Lineman Anwar O’neal simulates blocking a defender during the first day of practice for the University of Delaware football team on Tuesday July 30, 2024.
“I’m really excited because just being in the football world, you hear that FBS is harder, so I like that challenge,” O’Neal said after practice Friday.
“I like winning. I like dominating. I like going against the best, so I feel like that’s gonna be a good move.”
O’Neal’s future is certainly bright, but the red-shirt freshman is also expected to be a valuable asset this season on what is surely among the nation’s most experienced offensive lines.
“Anwar’s going to be a star for us,” UD offensive line coach Chris Rogers said.
Better in year 2
O’Neal should benefit from all that he learned during a challenging freshman season last year.
He appeared in two games, preserving the year of eligibility.
Delaware offensive linemen Anwar O’neal (70) and Cole Snyder (77) block Melkart Abou-Jaoude during the Blue and White Spring Game at Delaware Stadium, Friday, April 19, 2024.
“It’s a complete 360 for me,” O’Neal said of being a second-year Hen. “Last year, coming in, it was a little rough because, obviously, just getting here and going through the season. I wasn’t [familiar] with the offense, so I was learning but not as much.
“Now I feel like I can really get out there and do what I gotta do and dominate. I know it. I got it down to a ‘T’ and I can do what I need to do.”
NATIONAL CHAMP AT MICHIGAN: Thaw seeks chance for bigger role at Delaware
Bigger and better
In an effort to be a more effective blocker, O’Neal has added more than 30 pounds and is now measured at 6-foot-5 and 292 pounds.
“I came in at rough 258, 260,” O’Neal said. “Going through that summer and the fall camp of last year, just seeing those guys and how big and how physical they were. I knew I had to put on that weight so I could really compete.”
Eating “as much as I could” was the main path to better size, O’Neal said. But having the right diet and supplementing that with strength and conditioning work was critical so he could have what he termed “good weight.”
“I absolutely notice the difference,” O’Neal said. “I can sit down those bull rushes, any move they got coming for me. When I was lighter, I was faster but I wasn’t as strong.”
Rogers has certainly seen improvement.
“Getting bigger was a huge thing for Anwar,” Rogers said. “He’s done a great job at that. That’s never an easy thing . . . It’s something he struggled with in his head, in his mind, and he’s battled through it and now he’s got that mass and you can see the difference on the field.
DB ADDITIONS: ACC football transfers seize opportunity in Delaware defense
Opportunity will come
The Blue Hens have five returning starters with center Brock Gingrich, guard Patrick Shupp and tackles Blaise Sparks and Fintan Brose in their fifth seasons and guard Bradly Anyanwu in his sixth. Those five have played 180 college football games.
Sparks, who spent his first college football season at Illinois in the Big Ten, is 6-7 and 322 pounds, which has helped attract some NFL interest.
O’Neal has been backing up two-time All-CAA third-team pick Brose at right tackle.
Even though Delaware is ineligible for the NCAA playoffs due to its 2025 move, O’Neal senses the Blue Hens are determined to have a strong season. They open at home Aug. 29 against Bryant.
“I feel like everybody’s been locked in,” O’Neal said. “We’re taking it one game at a time, honestly, one practice at a time.
“We all have a goal. We want to go 11-0 this year. We don’t plan on anything less than dominance.”
Rogers likes Hens’ depth up front
Rogers is as happy with the unit’s depth as he is with its experience and proven ability.
In addition to O’Neal, depth comes from the likes of Cole Snyder, Steven Demboski, Anthony Caccese, Thomas Chernansky, highly regarded freshman Tyler Bunham and others.
“It’s created a lot of competition in the room,” Rogers said. “ . . . ‘Compete, compete, compete,’ we say it in our room every day. It’s open season on everybody’s job and, for us, we’ve got some younger guys stepping up, playing good football, pushing the older guys.”
Snyder has made some first-team appearances at guard lately with Anyanwu, the Dover High grad, sidelined.
“If we’ve got 10 guys ready to go, all 10 guys play. That’s always been my philosophy,” Rogers said.
Contact Kevin Tresolini at [email protected] and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Middletown grad Anwar O’Neal big part of Delaware Blue Hens’ front
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66b9d44ae39f48bb9120638e69e95e26&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Fmiddletown-grad-staying-close-home-091359324.html&c=12046762101121811970&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-08-11 18:13:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
