Sensing opportunity, Oruwariye eager for final season at Penn State

Technically, Amani Oruwariye hasn’t yet started a game in his Penn State career.

Even so, by the time he wrapped his breakout redshirt junior season in 2017, a possible future in the NFL had already crossed his mind. An All-Big Ten campaign and a lifelong dream admittedly were enough to tempt him, he said, but his desire to get closer to his unrealized potential brought him back for a fifth year with the Nittany Lions.

“Coming into it, everyone has their dreams of playing in the NFL and I thought I made some plays and made some noise in the league last year,” said Oruwariye. “I definitely was proud of it and definitely the thought has crossed my mind, but I just knew in my gut that there was more left on the table, and I knew that I needed to come back and just take that leadership role and be a leader.”

Returning to a secondary that lost all four starters from a season ago, Oruwariye is expected to be that leader and more this season.

As the unit’s most veteran player this year. Oruwariye has high expectations for himself and is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his immediate predecessors.

Veterans Grant Haley and Christian Campbell, each currently running through NFL training camps, have given Oruwariye the blueprint in what it takes to lift his game to the next level, he said. Having studied and played alongside them closely at Penn State, and now staying in touch as they work their way through the NFL experience, Oruwariye is taking as many pointers as he can get.

“Those guys played some great football for Penn State and I was happy to see them get that opportunity in the NFL. I really kind of always just modeled my game after them, being behind them, seeing them make plays,” he said. “I always want to ask for advice and try to get tips from them. Especially with them at the next level, I've definitely been talking to them a lot and just seeing what they see out there.”

Noting that he’s been in touch with both, Oruwariye said the feedback has been familiar. Like the jump from high school to college, his former teammates have indicated that the game gets faster, the competition gets more fierce, and the best is necessary at all times to be able to withstand it all.

Similarly, Oruwariye is also determined to fulfill a leadership role that he’s never before had, having instead deferred to Haley and Campbell the past two seasons. Given the number of snaps Oruwariye has played in each of the past two seasons, and especially through his increased role through the 2017 campaign, Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry isn't panicking at the thought of his lost starters from a year ago.

"Throw that group out there with John Reid and Amani, who are proven guys in big games; you'd hate to go out there with a whole bunch of newbies, and yeah, we lost four guys, but Amani was basically a starter in all of our third down stuff. John Reid played a gazillion snaps. So it's not like you're putting four newbies out there."

In Oruwariye's case, it's especially true, having first burst onto the scene as a significant contributor for the Nittany Lions dating back to the home opener for the 2016 season. In a game Penn State led 16-13 at the half, the then-sophomore corner jumped in front of a Kent State pass, picked it clean, and raced into the end zone to give the Nittany Lions a 10-point cushion they wouldn’t relinquish.

Last season, Oruwariye’s star grew even brighter, four times hauling in interceptions to finish fourth in the conference in interceptions per game and 26th nationally. The performance was good enough to make Oruwariye a second-team All-Big Ten honoree by both the media voters and conference coaches.

Now, with his last go ‘round just a few weeks from getting underway, Oruwariye is simply focused on helping guide the Nittany Lions to even greater heights than they’ve reached in either of the previous two seasons. And should he do as much, the blueprint toward a future at the next level could carry him to the NFL.

“A great senior season for myself? I just really try not to talk about personal goals,” said Oruwariye. “I just think if I do everything I can to get that team success and do whatever I gotta do for our secondary, then those personal accolades will come.”