BOP! “There goes a pass breakup at the line by Jaheim Oates.”
Jaheim Oates is a junior Defensive Lineman for the Ursinus College Bears. Even though Oates is making plays now, making his way to the starting lineup and finding playing time wasn’t always easy. Let’s back up and see how Jaheim got to this point of making a huge play against William Paterson, sealing a win for Ursinus on October 19th.
Oates was born just outside of Kingston, Jamaica and the main sport he played in the past was not the football we are used to in America, but Futbol. Futbol has always been Oates’ first love, and he still plays it today at Ursinus during intramural Soccer season.
One day when Oates was 15, his parents informed him and his brothers that they were moving to America to pursue the “American Dream.” The adjustment “was hard…I had this strong accent and… still till this day I have to repeat things multiple times over because my accent is still decently thick.”
Jaheim went on to attend and graduate from Boys Latin Charter School in West Philadelphia, where he was introduced to football. Going into his senior year he had interest from Albright, Keystone, Ursinus, and Eastern. Jaheim also thought about going the juco route but after a game-day visit and an official visit to Ursinus he knew he wanted to spend his next 4 years here.
Freshman year Oates showed flashes of what he could be, with a strength and speed combination that made it hard for offensive lineman to block him. Sophomore year Oates moved up in the depth chart but wasn’t high enough to get any playing time, which really messed up his head and made him think about the possibility of quitting and transferring.
Oates did not show up for a couple practices, and the defensive coordinator called and told him to meet him in his office. I interviewed the defensive coordinator, Coach Steve Devlin, and asked what he said to Jaheim in that meeting to make him change his mind and come back to the team. He told me, “Yea he has a poop-ton of potential, and I wasn’t going to let him go without a fight. I wasn’t allowing him to turn his pads in because he is the future of this defense and this program, and I knew he would be a playmaker.”
Junior year, Oates is in the rotation at nose tackle and has made an impact, accounting for multiple tackles so far in each game. Oates’ best game was against William Paterson, when he had 4 tackles and made an excellent play. Oates got a text call from the sideline that the defensive ends crash inside to the guard while the nose tackle, Oates, loops outside to contain. The text call was run to perfection, as the defensive end forced the quarterback to roll, but Oates was on his trail chasing him. As soon as the quarterback went to throw Oates raises his hands and *BOP* got the fast deflection at the line of scrimmage. He almost had an interception but couldn’t track the ball. It was a wonderful play to force the three and out, and the offense went on and scored again to put the game out of reach for Patterson.
Who would’ve thought a kid from Kingston, Jamaica would be making huge game changing plays to help his American football team. Oates’ journey is an inspiration, showing perseverance paying off.