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UConn Football's Okounam Has Covered A Lot Of Ground
Great background story:
>>He's now a 6-5, 288-pound defensive end for the Huskies."What jumps off the page at you is how athletic he is for his size," said UConn defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter.
Just before entering high school, Okounam went about learning football, no easy task. But, consider: Speaking only Russian when he arrived in Montreal, he learned French in 10 months. At 18, he moved to New Hampshire to enroll at St. Paul's, a demanding prep school in Concord. He learned English in four months. Now, as a sophomore-to-be at UConn with plans to switch his major from psychology to political science, Okounam dreams of one day being an agent in the FBI or CIA.
There are football dreams, too, of course, and UConn will call on him to produce during the 2016 season, which begins Sept. 1 against Maine at Rentschler Field. Okounam is expected to be part of the rotation at defensive end behind starters Cole Ormsby and Foley Fatukasi, both juniors, and alongside senior Sean Marinan and sophomore Sheridan Lawley.
"He proved a lot in the spring, and we're looking forward to getting him out there," Poindexter said. "It's different playing ball in the States than it is in Canada. He just needed reps."<<
Great background story:
>>He's now a 6-5, 288-pound defensive end for the Huskies."What jumps off the page at you is how athletic he is for his size," said UConn defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter.
Just before entering high school, Okounam went about learning football, no easy task. But, consider: Speaking only Russian when he arrived in Montreal, he learned French in 10 months. At 18, he moved to New Hampshire to enroll at St. Paul's, a demanding prep school in Concord. He learned English in four months. Now, as a sophomore-to-be at UConn with plans to switch his major from psychology to political science, Okounam dreams of one day being an agent in the FBI or CIA.
There are football dreams, too, of course, and UConn will call on him to produce during the 2016 season, which begins Sept. 1 against Maine at Rentschler Field. Okounam is expected to be part of the rotation at defensive end behind starters Cole Ormsby and Foley Fatukasi, both juniors, and alongside senior Sean Marinan and sophomore Sheridan Lawley.
"He proved a lot in the spring, and we're looking forward to getting him out there," Poindexter said. "It's different playing ball in the States than it is in Canada. He just needed reps."<<
