UCLA Football: Bruins’ Transfer Sunny Odogwu Grateful on Bruins’ Fan Appreciation Day

On Saturday, UCLA Football held its traditional Fan Appreciation Day. There were games, food and fun for the family in Lot 8 while the Bruins practiced hard down on Spaulding Field.

After practice, the only player who was interviewed was graduate transfer Sunny Odgowu. And, it was appropriate because Odogwu might just be the most appreciative Bruin of all.

After all, Odogwu grew up in Nigeria with a thin mat for a bed and no running water. So, when asked to compare whether he liked Miami or Westwood better, Odogwu wouldn’t compare the two. Instead, he chose to compare the United States to Nigeria and he is clearly happy to be in the US. Odogwu said:

I can’t do a versus, to be honest with you, because they are both great places. Where I’m from, I don’t have running water. Miami has running water. Westwood has running water. So, I am more than grateful to be either in Miami or here. But, I’m here now and all that matters is here and my teammates and I love them all. We’re just grinding every day in camp. I’m working hard with the coaches.

Odogwu explained that he was what he called an “oops baby”, the youngest of eight children. But, just because he was the youngest, it doesn’t mean he’s the smallest. He said that he wasn’t as big as he is when he came to America, but, now, his family in Nigeria can’t believe how big he’s gotten.

As for practice itself, Ben Bolch of the LA Times notes that Rosen was 19 of 31 with two touchdowns and no interceptions Saturday. After practice, Jim Mora acknowledged Rosen’s improvement. “It feels like he’s becoming more comfortable in the offense and more confident in what he’s doing and, obviously, that’s what we’re after,” Mora said. “It’s a good sign. It’s been about three or four days when he seems to have found a little bit of a rhythm. We just have to keep pushing him and he’ll keep pushing himself.”

Let’s take a look of some of the video I shot during practice on Saturday. First, we have the receivers working on a cut drill.

Then, we have two videos of the defensive line doing different handwork drills.

We wrap up coverage of Saturday’s practice with video of the post-practice interviews from Edward Lewis of the Bruin Sports Report. First up is Jim Mora.

In this case, we saved the best for last. It’s Sunny Odgowu talking about how he came to America, how he came to UCLA, and how grateful he is to be where he is. It’s almost guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. It’s hard to watch this and not feel good about Sunny’s presence on this year’s team.

Now, that’s the right way to close out an article on Fan Appreciation Day.


Go Bruins!!!