kelly Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Chris Owusu making most of opportunity with Jets Chris Owusu has latched on with the Jets after playing in Tampa Bay earlier this season. Photo: Getty Images An undrafted rookie free agent who was has been cut three times in four years in the NFL and who had multiple concussions during his collegiate career - injuries that were supposed to end his career entirely - Chris Owusu sits in the Jets locker room with one intriguing story. As anyone who saw his circus catch on Sunday in a 30-24 loss to the Vikings, the word 'quit' is not in the Owusu family vocabulary. The son of immigrant parents, he comes from a remarkable family unit that is a testament to a country that still provides a chance to those who come looking for opportunities. All told, there are five Owusu children, born of a mother Luaiva who is Samoan and Francis, the father from Ghana. As a former standout wide receiver at Stanford, the Jets wide receiver is far from the only star athlete in his family. His sister Crystal plays on the women's basketball team at Columbia in New York City. Brother Francis is following his footsteps at Stanford as a wide receiver and another brother, Michael, played defensive back at Harvard where he was an All-Ivy League selection on multiple occasions. And then there is the fifth who is still in high school, with Chris promising that “he will be allowed to go his own way, make his own path.” But he will be successful, he says. The family is grounded at the top by the parents. Both are highly educated; Luaiva is a nurse and Francis is successful in business. They met in southern California at a food store, two immigrants pursuing the American dream. The Jets wide receiver calls them “extremely hard workers, they are extremely strong in their faith. They passed that on to us.” Always close-knit, to this day all in the Owusu clan remain in touch on a regular basis, even as they are spread across the country. They were all home-bodies and found that they made each other their best friends. “My dad always said that 'You guys to have that because there is no one else around.' Every time he calls, every time we talk, don't forget to call. To call your mom, call your brother,” Chris said. “Don't forget them.” Being immigrants and highly motivated to pursue academics, the Owusu children were never concerned about being popular. Instead, their focus was on academics although they were always encouraged to pursue passions on the athletic field as well. For Chris, this meant three sports including track where he set the Ventura County record in high school for the 100 meters. Because they lacked a support network in terms of an extended family, the Owusus were entirely dependent on each other. There was no grandma or grandpa nearby, no aunt or uncle to watch the children. This meant that with long hours worked by their parents that the children stayed at the high school well into the evening. Chris joked that he was on “a first name basis with the custodians.” They turned it into a positive, creating their own homework club as they waited to get picked up. “In high school, you had to wait your turn. After football, you're spending all your days at high school. After practice, you're waiting a couple hours after. Getting home at 8 P.M. or 9 P.M. Especially with three kids. You had to wait, but that kept us together,” Chris said. “I played three sports: Football, basketball and track. We love to stay busy, my whole family. A lot of them are two or three-sport athletes. A lot of us toned it down to one sport in college but it kept us busy and active and built a work ethic – like theirs. You learn from all those things, you learn discipline and how to use your time. “I really look at where my brothers and sister are now and I think it's a testament to my family, a testament to them and the family as a whole. To our faith, knowing that God has a plan. When you work hard and have that behind you, you can do great things. Working hard and doing it for the right reason as well. When you do that, you have that mentality, you can buy into a dream and you can achieve. There are a lot of times you want to say 'Man, I want to get some rest, have some fun.' We did, we had fun together. Going out wasn't a big thing for us. But we always looked to the future and kept that in mind with the decisions we made. Our parents made sure of that.” He doesn't remember a moment when the workload was too much, when he wished things would go a different direction and could go to a party with friends. Instead, academics and family were placed above all things, the upbringing of overachieving parents in evidence. The end result is a family where two sons attended Stanford, the premier school along the West Coast. Two other children are at Ivy League institutions. The youngest, according to Chris, “is doing very well.” It is an amazing accomplishment by the parents, immigrants who came to this country with dreams and ambitions to make a way for themselves. In turn, they've created a pathway for their children. “They put us in a great position. They asked who our friends were, kind of suggesting that we have great friends because you are who you associate with,” Owusu said. “You're going to gain those habits, those things you want to surround yourself.” > http://www.metro.us/new-york/chris-owusu-making-most-of-opportunity-with-jets/zsJnli---URlHh0PWPeBfg/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j4jets Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 tl;dr Those 7 yarders will put him in to the HoF one day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thshadow Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Yeah, I dunno, his "circus catch" was essentially a drop that he was lucky enough to fall into his stomach... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#27TheDominator Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 He was an undrafted rookie free agent, but how long does that name stick. He is not a rookie. He came out in 2012. He's been with the Niners, Chargers and Bucs. He has had catches (not many) in each of the last three seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 ooops... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 He was an undrafted rookie free agent, but how long does that name stick. He is not a rookie. He came out in 2012. He's been with the Niners, Chargers and Bucs. He has had catches (not many) in each of the last three seasons. ok ,..now,...re our QB dept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#27TheDominator Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 ok ,..now,...re our QB dept. ? I have no idea what this means. The first one made as much sense to me. Matt Simms was also an undrafted rookie in 2012. I wouldn't call him one now. The other two were drafted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kleckineau Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I mean really, if it wasnt for undrafted rookie free agents where would this team be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 I mean really, if it wasnt for undrafted rookie free agents where would this team be? 1 - 12... cheers ~ ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 ? I have no idea what this means. The first one made as much sense to me. Matt Simms was also an undrafted rookie in 2012. I wouldn't call him one now. The other two were drafted. " ? I have no idea what this means... " ~ ~ fyi : Between Geno Smith and Michael Vick, do Jets have worst quarterback play in NFL this season ? Last week, Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com decided to rank all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks based on their play this season. With names like Drew Stanton, Josh McCown, Zach Mettenberger, and Blake Bortles, there was lots of competition for that bottom rung. But the Jets' duo of Geno Smith and Michael Vick won (lost?) the honors by coming in dead last. Wrote Rosenthal: The Jets endured two of the most embarrassing quarterback performances of the year in back to back games, by different starters. No matter which metric or stat one goes by, it's difficult to argue Rosenthal's point. In terms of Total QBR—ESPN's version of a quarterback rating, which is actually a better indicator of performance than the plain old quarterback rating—only the Jaguars' Bortles (23.1) has a lower number than Smith's 28.1 among quarterbacks who qualify (14 attempts per team's game played) for the league's leaderboard. But when one factors in Vick's QBR of 22.2, which includes the three games he threw at least one pass but didn't start, it's easy to see how the Smith/Vick duo would rank lower than Bortles—who happens to be a rookie. Here's one more that basically makes Rosenthal's point. There have been 11 games this season in which NFL quarterbacks have thrown at least 10 passes and posted a (plain old) passer rating of less than 40. Smith (two) and Vick (one) have accounted for three of them. No other team has had a quarterback do it more than once. Worst games by NFL QBs this season (min. 10 att.) Name Team Date Opponent Result Comp Att Int Rating Cam Newton Panthers Oct. 30 Saints L 28-10 10 28 1 39.4 Matt Cassel Vikings Sept. 14 Patriots L 30-7 19 36 4 39.1 Colin Kaepernick 49ers Nov. 27 Seahawks L 19-3 16 29 2 36.7 Eli Manning Giants Nov. 16 49ers L 16-10 22 45 5 36.6 Geno Smith Jets Dec. 1 Dolphins L 16-13 7 13 1 35.7 Brian Hoyer Browns Dec. 7 Colts L 25-24 14 31 2 31.7 Philip Rivers Chargers Nov. 2 Dolphins L 37-0 12 23 3 31.0 Michael Vick Jets Nov. 24 Bills L 38-3 7 19 1 27.5 Josh McCown Bucs Sept. 18 Falcons L 56-14 5 12 1 22.2 Geno Smith Jets Oct. 5 Chargers L 31-0 4 12 1 7.6 Andy Dalton Bengals Nov. 6 Browns L 24-3 10 33 3 2.0 Source: Pro Football Reference > http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/12/with_geno_smith_and_michael_vick_do_jets_have_worst_quarterback_play_in_nfl_this_season.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Bump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetster Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Sometimes in the NFL it's about getting a chance. He looked pretty damn good to me, ran with power & speed, loved the way he high pointed that ball between 2 defenders. Rex doesn't give young guys a shot he stubbornly sticks with his "vets" to the detriment of getting young hungry guys reps. Wayne Chrebet would have been cut by Rex to keep Gates, guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section314 Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Owusu seemed to show enough to at least get a good look next year.Same with Marcus Williams. At this point, do we really care where we find players that can contribute, since it doesn't seem that the draft is where that happens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetdawgg Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 A good number 5 right now. Let's see what he does in camp next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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