DE Philippe Okounam Setting Precedent at St. Paul’s, with Commitment

By, Matt Schonvisky

There have been a number of trends appearing with each member of the 2015 UCONN football recruiting class. All seem to possess a high level of character, are bright, intelligent kids that are charismatic and finally, are focused academically. The same holds true for defensive end Philippe Okounam, who committed Friday evening.

“Coach Diaco was a very nice person,” he exclaimed over the phone this afternoon. “He showed me around, asked a lot of different questions and I definitely liked how he wanted to know everything about me. He made it known that I was a top priority for him.”

“All the coaches there are all the same,” he continued. “They treat you different than at the other schools I visited. I just got the feeling that they care. At the same time, they are going to push you, but if something happens they will be there for you to go to.”

The Montreal resident is prepping at St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH, an attractive place for Canadian and international students, who represent about 25% of the enrollment and want to attend college in the United States.

St. Paul’s head coach Craig Vandersea was able to shed some light on his school.

“Concord to Montreal is just about three and a half hours, so that area is a really good resource for us,” he said over the phone Monday evening. “We are a good option because in Montreal, schools only go to grade eleven. So students and athletes come to the states and either repeat grade eleven to get accustomed, or go straight on to twelve, as they prepare for US colleges. We probably get two-to-three players a year from that area.”

When searching for talent, Okounam, who is 6’ 5,” 265 lbs and runs an unofficial 4.73 40, immediately jumped out to him.

“I saw his highlight tape,” Vandersea explained. “When you see his size and athletic ability, he stands out on film. He’s like a man amongst boys.”

“When I step on the field, everyone goes, wow [referring to his size],” Phil agreed. “It’s been like that since I started playing up in Canada. Pass rushing is definitely what I excel at, I’m very quick on the line and I have a great first step.”

There was an adjustment period when he first arrived at St. Paul’s, a new school for him, in a new country.

“The American game is a little different than up there, so that took some time,” his head coach said. “[Phil’s] English was solid, but Russian is actually his first language and then French. So we worked on the language a lot. There was a lot of teaching going on, but he’s been playing football since junior high and he played really well last year.”

So where did he learn to speak Russian?

“I lived in Russia before I moved to Montreal when I was nine and started playing football a year later,” Okounam added. “Ever since I got to Canada, I had a dream of playing in the NFL. UCONN definitely gives me that opportunity.”

Despite his future endeavors, the defensive end takes pride in his school work and is challenged every day in his current situation.

“There’s no question, he works very hard at academics,” Vandersea said. “This is a tough school academically for high school and there is really no place to hide in that regard. He is at a very high level here and will be as prepared for college as any UCONN freshman entering.”

“We typically send players on to the Ivy or Patriot leagues, so this isn’t really a typical school for 1-A players,” he went on. “It’s been awhile since St. Paul’s had a player commit to a D-1A program, not since I’ve been here.”

The recruiting season picked up as March and April hit.

“I’m definitely glad recruiting is over so I can focus on our team next season,” Okounam said. “No more camps, no more visits and no more calls, definitely a relief!”

“This has been a very busy spring,” Vandersea explained. “Phil was getting interest from a number of schools here in the northeast.  UCONN, however, was really the one to come up here to campus and Phil was impressed. He really liked all the assistant coaches and when he went down for a visit, he was blown away. The facilities [UCONN] has are obviously top of the line.”

Offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mike Cummings was his main recruiter.

“Coach Cummings came to visit maybe three or four times,” Okounam said. “Coach [Vandersea] called me into his office one day in May and wanted me to call him. That’s when I got the offer. My family really doesn’t follow football much and they really don’t know what the NCAA and Division I is all about, but when they saw and heard my reaction, the only thing they wanted was for me to be happy. They have always been there to help me out with whatever I’ve needed.”

Okounam also had offers from Yale, Dartmouth, Brown and Holy Cross and also received a lot of interest from Boston College and Syracuse. Michigan wanted him to come for a visit last season, but the defensive end had to call off the trip after he injured his ACL halfway through his junior year. The injury sparked a new drive in him as he rarely leaves the gym.

“I basically have to kick him out of the weight room at the end of the day,” Vandersea stated. “He’s very disciplined and makes all of his commitments. He is rehabbing his injury from this year and is really working hard this off-season, especially in the workouts. He’s already been cleared for football and has been elected captain for next year.”

“I always enjoyed working out,” Okounam responded. “Especially after I tore my ACL. I just want to come back stronger than ever. I’m about 95-percent back.”

With one year left, Okounam will be missed when he’s done.

“I’m really excited for Phil for committing to UCONN,” Vandersea concluded. “I’m certainly looking forward to coaching him during his senior year and watching him be a leader not only on the field, but in the classroom as well.”

by