Alan
Banned
The First Quarter with Jamario O’Neal
By: Alan
By: Alan
BuckeyePlanet.com
It turns out that Jamario O’Neal is not only one of the nations best high school football players, he also does quite well in predicting the outcome of bowl games. Jamario spent the first quarter of last nights Sugar Bowl speaking with BuckeyePlanet. When asked his thoughts on the game as the quarter drew to a close, O’Neal predicted, “I think Auburn’s got this one.” Two and a half hours later he was proven correct.
Jamario is ranked (Scout) as Ohio’s number two overall player and is generally considered the Nations #1 DB prospect. O’Neal will follow fellow Cleveland Glenville defensive backs Ted Ginn, Jr. and Donte Whitner (who were also rated #1 nationally at db) to Columbus this fall. Jamario will compete in this months US Army All-American game in San Antonio.
O’Neal was surprisingly left off the original East roster for the Army AA game, only to be added later when another player withdrew from the game. When asked how he felt to be originally snubbed, Jamario said “I mean you get dealt a bad hand sometimes and there’s nothing you can do about it. I think they just got some wrong information.” He continued, “I would like Fred (Lenix) to play too, I think he is one of the best defensive players in the country.” Freddie Lenix, also from Glenville was left off the East roster despite being a finalist for Ohio’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.
When asked if he has any worries about transitioning from high school to college he replied, “No, I mean I just moved to Cleveland and left family behind for a new family. Now I just will do that again.” Jamario indicated that his “father and Coach Ginn” are the strongest influences in his life and that he currently lives in the Ginn household. “Coach Ginn, he’s like my father. He keeps me straight. Everything they (his father and Coach Ginn) have said is coming true.” He even said he moved in to Ted Ginn, Jr’s room when he left for Ohio State “Yeah, I took over his room. I took all his pictures down and put mine up. He teases me about it.”
Both Ginn and O’Neal are electrifying players who turned in spectacular touchdown punt returns in their team’s biggest games. Ginn, with his 82-yard effort versus Michigan and Jamario with his 98-yard return in the State Playoffs. When asked which return was better, Jamario replied, “I think mine because I eluded a lot of guys….like everyone (laughing). He did too, but I think mine had more.”
Jamario said that he has enjoyed the recruiting process because “they wait on you hand and foot (on visits) and it just isn’t long enough because you are having so much fun.” He committed to Ohio State over a year ago and has stayed steadfast with his decision because “I talk to Coach Tucker a lot and the way they treat their players and keep them on the straight and narrow.”
O’Neal has “set high goals when I go down there (Ohio State). I want to start and not make any silly mistakes.” [font="]
Anyone who can't wait until midnight to find out who will be the winner of tonight's National Championship Game might want to contact Jamario O'Neal at the end of the first quarter.
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