The first time I met Uyi Osunde, my jaw dropped, like that of a star-struck kid upon meeting his favorite sports hero. And I didn’t even know who he was. It was simply his physical presence that immediately commanded my attention: a human wall of muscles!
Uyi had just begun a counseling internship in Manchester, Connecticut at Manchester High School’s Student Support Center where I worked as a school psychologist. We had been working together for a few months when my wife and daughters came for a visit one day. He jokingly stated that I would need a gun (to ward off the boys) when my girls got older. I simply replied, “No Uyi, I need you!”
Despite his intimidating physical appearance, I soon discovered that Uyi Osunde was a genuinely good person who was incredibly intelligent and had a natural gift for working with people, particularly kids. I saw that he could engage tough kids and inspire them to do better. He was inspiring to me, as well. And this was before I even knew his story.
Flashback to August 30th, 2003: the date of the University of Connecticut’s (UConn) highly anticipated inaugural football game at the brand new stadium at Rentschler Field. “It makes you feel like you’re in the elite,” senior defensive end and co-captain Uyi Osunde was quoted as saying in the Hartford Courant that day. “I can’t imagine what it will be like with 40,000 people. I hope it’s crazy.”
It was crazy. From almost all perspectives, it was a nearly perfect day. In front of nearly 39,000 fans, UConn handily defeated Indiana University 34-10 to kick off their season. From Osunde’s perspective, the only part that may have been less-than-perfect was his first quarter knee injury. Coming off shoulder surgery that had him sidelined during his junior year, Osunde was ready to lead his team to a winning season in the new stadium. When the MRIs came back, they indicated that Osunde would need knee surgery. He had to choose: season ending surgery now or wait and have the surgery after the season.
Osunde making a tackle
“I figured I would work through it,” Osunde told me. “I was captain of the defense and one of the leaders on the team. I knew I could help the team win more by playing than by sitting out with a knee brace.” Osunde firmly states that he has never regretted this choice. UConn had one of its best seasons to date since moving to Division I, finishing with a 9-3 record. Osunde had a historic season placing him near the top of all Division I Defensive players in several categories including sacks and TFL (Tackles for Loss of Yardage), finishing as the UConn career leader in both categories.
Osunde’s surgery at the end of the season was performed by a top surgeon who used a relatively new surgical technique that would allow for quicker healing. At the time, Osunde was being courted by several NFL agents due to his projected second round draft pick status. “They would fly me in and drive me around in limos,” Osunde recalls. “They took me out for great dinners!” While considering which agent to sign with, for guidance, Osunde talked with several NFL greats such as Lawrence Taylor and Tiki Barber.
Osunde went to the NFL Combines, and despite not being able to run, did extremely well on other aspects of his assessments, especially strength. For his size, he was exceptionally strong. Then there were the medical assessments. Through these evaluations, Osunde states that he was “red flagged and labeled as damaged goods” due to his injury and the surgical procedure being one that had not yet been proven to be effective over the long term.
By the time NFL draft weekend arrived in May, Osunde’s draft status projections had dropped to the fourth or fifth round. Football analyst Mel Kiper had projected him as a top 10 pick after round 3. On April 27th, Osunde prepared for draft day with friends and family at his apartment near UConn. It was rare that a player from UConn was drafted into the NFL so local sports media members were also in attendance to cover the story.
As the draft unfolded, rounds three and four came and went, and Osunde’s name still had not been announced. He spoke with his agent who heard that several teams were considering drafting him in the fifth round. Again, the round ended and Osunde was not drafted. The TV analysts were pondering the fact that he wasn’t yet chosen. The sixth round passed by and Osunde was back on the phone with his agent who told him he might get chosen in the seventh (and final) round of the draft. One by one, the names were called until the last pick of the draft…wide receiver Ryan Hoag. Osunde had not been drafted after all. His apartment fell into an awkward silence. Heartbroken and not knowing what else to do, Osunde announced “Hey, let’s keep the party going!”
Osunde on the Cleveland Browns
Fortunately, Osunde didn’t have much time to wallow in grief as nine NFL teams called his agent in the days following the draft looking to sign him. As he and his agent reviewed the options, they decided to go with the Cleveland Browns who appeared to give him the best possibility of making the team. The Browns posted a 9-7 record the year before, losing in the NFL Playoff AFC Wild Card game. Osunde was signed by the Browns but the medical staff had him spend the summer rehabilitating his knee and learning his position of defensive end within the Browns defense. Even though his knee was not yet fully healed, Osunde was cleared to play just prior to training camp and joined his new team.
Three days before the first preseason game, the Browns signed another defensive end and changed Osunde’s position to linebacker, a position with which he had virtually no experience. After spending months learning the defensive end position, he suddenly found himself with three days to transform into a linebacker.
During the preseason, NFL teams carry about 70 players. This number dwindles down to a final roster of 45 over the course of the preseason. Despite still recovering from knee surgery and being thrust into a new position, Osunde played well and was still on the team when the final cuts were being decided. On the Monday that the final cuts were made, it was a known fact that if you didn’t get a call by 5:00 pm, you were on the team. Rather than watch the minutes tick by, Osunde and a college friend (Mike) went to Detroit for the weekend. Returning to Cleveland on Monday, they got caught up in traffic. There was nothing to do but watch the clock and wait. The hours and minutes ticked by. Five o’clock came and went with no phone call. He and Mike began to celebrate: until the phone rang at 5:04. It was coach Butch Davis telling Osunde that he was the final player to be cut from the team. Within the course of a few months, Osunde went from being a projected second round NFL pick, all but guaranteeing him millions of dollars, to being teamless, jobless and without any health insurance. Feeling low, he headed back home to Bloomsburg Pennsylvania.
While many people in Osunde’s small town knew him and reached out to him, he couldn’t even get himself to watch a football game. He spoke to his agent daily but since all the rosters were full, he found himself in the undesirable position of waiting for someone else to get injured. Any time a defensive end was injured during an NFL game, his friends would call and tell him so he could pass it on to his agent. In time, the New York Giants sought him out. In Osunde’s mind, making the Giants would be ideal as their stadium was between his hometown and UConn. In the end, Giants coach Jim Coughlin had a change of heart and cancelled as he didn’t want a player with a significant injury history. Other teams called, including the Jacksonville Jaguars; a team Osunde and his agent felt represented his best bet.
In Jacksonville, the practice field had just been repaired after the stormy season and the team wanted Osunde and several others to do their workouts in the parking lot! As he was still recovering from the surgery, Osunde and the others convinced the team to open the practice field. Running headward into 40 mph winds, Osunde’s workout was less than perfect. The General Manager informed him that he wasn’t being signed but they would watch for him in the future.
In Atlanta, the Falcons had put Osunde up in a Westin Hotel which had what they called “heavenly beds.” He awoke for his try-outs with excruciating back spasms. The workout didn’t go well and back home he went. This was followed by workouts with the San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles. Nobody signed him. And, the back spasms continued.
Osunde returned home and took a job working at a gym for $8 an hour, a far cry from the lifestyle he’d expected to be living at this point. It occurred to Osunde that his mental stress was likely compounding the physical stress and that it might be best to “shut down” the free agent process for the rest of the season and focus all of his mental and physical energy on healing. His agent agreed.
Official NFL Buffalo Bills Picture
Four days later, however, an offer came from the Buffalo Bills. They wanted to sign Osunde: No work out was needed, only a medical evaluation by their team doctors. Osunde went to Buffalo and was signed on the spot. He was assigned to the practice squad for the remainder of the season. The coaches loved what they saw and signed him to a roster spot immediately after the season ended. During the off-season, Osunde worked hard to prepare for the upcoming 2004 season. The Bills designed defensive plays around Osunde’s particular skill set.
Before official training camp starts, the players take part in Organized Team Activities (OTA’s). Osunde’s back spasms were a constant source of pain that he pushed through solely on his mental toughness. Then, during a training camp drill, Osunde felt a sudden pain in his back worse than any he’d ever felt before. “It felt like I got shot in the back.” Barely able to move, the medical staff tried a series of minimally successful interventions. He was finally given a corticosteroid to decrease the inflammation and told that he’d experience some relief in about five days. The relief didn’t come. Unable to sleep, Osunde went for an MRI. He was diagnosed with a badly herniated disc. Working with a pain management specialist, he was given an epidural which resulted in some relief after about three days. A few days later, Osunde was in the shower and something gave in his back. Once again, he couldn’t move. It was determined that he needed back surgery.
A plan was developed to have the surgery, engage in aggressive rehabilitation and be ready to play in six weeks. By this time, the Bills had changed their defensive sets that had been designed around Osunde’s skills.
Osunde recovered in time for the preseason. He played against some of the greats: Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and even sacked Aaron Rogers. For the second time, Osunde found himself still standing as the final cuts approached before the official season started. Then, during a three day scrimmage with the Green Bay Packers, Osunde tackled a player and felt his whole left side compress. The back symptoms he had before the surgery immediately returned and lasted the rest of the preseason. And, when the final cuts came, Osunde was once again the last one released by an NFL team.
Still clinging to his NFL dreams, Osunde went to Tampa to take part in the NFL Europe training camp. He was a potential first pick for the league. He was medically cleared, but in February, another MRI on his back revealed that he once again had a severely herniated disc. “The pictures were identical to the original pre-op pictures showing a massive hernia,” Osunde recalls. Despite the injury and pain, he showed no symptoms in tests of strength and functionality. Eventually, the NFL Europe management determined that he was too much of a risk and released him. Feeling knocked down yet again, he turned to an old familiar face: Coach Randy Edsall at UConn.
Heading into senior year at UConn
Osunde was given a position as a mentor to current UConn football players. The option of surgery once again presented itself. Osunde chose not to accept. To save himself physically, Osunde made the decision to step away from playing football. It occurred to him that playing football may not be his only calling. He began to believe that helping today’s youth might be his true calling. Already possessing an undergraduate degree in psychology, Osunde enrolled in the Master’s in School Counseling program at UConn. For his internship, Osunde was placed at Manchester High School in Manchester Connecticut. This is where our paths first crossed.
Osunde went on to complete his master’s degree and became a guidance counselor. He worked in the New London Public Schools followed by East Hartford. During that time, Osunde continued his education and got his 092 Intermediate Administrator Certification. This led to his appointment as an assistant principal at Illing Middle School in Manchester starting in the 2013-14 school year.
Osunde’s back troubles plagued him until last spring when he finally had spinal fusion surgery. For the first time in many years, he no longer feels the excruciating pain.
So, how did Uyi Osunde cope with the loss of his dream of playing in the NFL after coming so close?
“From a young age,” he explained, “I was always pushing myself to be a better self, moving toward self-actualization.” Uyi notes that even during the toughest times, during the biggest let downs, he never gave up. His mindset was always that he could find a way to push forward and find success doing something he loved.
“I would not change anything,” he states. “I am healthy and blessed. I have bigger and greater ambitions [than football] and really, no regrets.” When asked about his mindset, one gets a glimpse into the wisdom that makes Uyi Osunde a truly special person and highly successful educator:
“My mindset is that we are here to appreciate where we are and what we have. If you focus all of your energies on something, it will happen.”
As for football, Uyi can watch games now, but not like a regular a spectator or sports fan. “It’s not always as enjoyable for me like it is for others because, knowing so much about the game, I am always automatically analyzing the plays!”
Well Uyi, while there are many people who think you’d make a great coach, we know you are in the right place. Your true calling is inspiring kids to carve out their own rewarding futures. The staff and students at Illing Middle School are lucky to have you!
Uyi Osunde, Assistant Principal, Illing Middle School
Scott I. Goldsmith, M.S., LPC is a school psychologist, author and owner of Outside The Box Experiential, LLC which provides experiential, professional development and team building programs. This article is the second in a BLOG series about those who have come within reach of the “big time” but watched that dream slip away, how these amazing people handled that experience and how it impacted their lives. You can learn more about Scott, his programs and his new book (Experiential Activities for Enhancing Emotional Intelligence) at his website for Outside The Box Experiential.
scottigoldsmith 
I hadn’t read this in quite a while! Uyi has continued to push himself towards self-actualization and is now the superintendent of schools in Stratford CT!
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