’Freakish athlete’ Obum Gwacham hopes to sack spot with Jets
FLORHAMPARK, N.J. » Obum Gwacham wanted to catch footballs from the time he started playing the sport.
Now, the New York Jets linebacker is chasing after the guys who are throwing them.
“You can also catch the ball on defense, too,” Gwacham said with a big smile. “So if I’m able to do that, I would not be mad at all.”
Gwacham — oh-BOOMGWAHchum — enters the team’s final preseason game Thursday night at Philadelphia hoping to make an impression on Todd Bowles. He’s among several sitting squarely on the roster bubble, but has flashed the type of speed and athleticism that make him an intriguing player.
“They want to see an outside linebacker that can power rush, that can speed rush and can do all those things,” Gwacham said. “They know that I can do that.”
The 27-year-old Gwacham has two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit, along with a special teams tackle in the preseason. He’s facing tough competition at the outside linebacker position, with Brandon Copeland, Frankie Luvu, Dylan Donahue, Lorenzo Mauldin and David Bass all jockeying for spots behind projected starters Jordan Jenkins and Josh Martin.
Gwacham is also still learning the nuances of playing defense after spending most of his college career at Oregon State as a wide receiver. He didn’t play de-
regularly until his senior season.
“I’ve been trying to work on getting tackles’ hands off me as soon as I can, so I can turn that edge faster and get to the quarterback,” he said. “I just want to get around the edge as fast as I can.”
Gwacham is certainly used to finding different paths to achieve his goals.
He was born in Onitsha, Nigeria, and spent his early years in a high-rise in La-
gos, where his mother Caroline owned a jewelry store. She and her husband Edwin raised five children — two boys, including Obum, and three girls — while trying to provide them a solid life.
“I remember school, and I had to be trilingual,” Gwacham recalled. “I had to know English, French and Igbo. My sister is planning to get married in Nigeria next year. She sent out some pictures of our old house and a lot of memories came back. I remember our auntie cooking for us when my mom was working and I remember us acting a fool in the
house when I was younger.”
Gwacham — whose name means “Son of God” — was just 7 when his family packed up and headed to the United States with hopes for a brighter future.
They had won a visa lottery, which allowed them to emigrate to the U.S. The family lived with relatives in southern California before settling in their own place in Chino Hills. Sports became a bonding activity.
Gwacham played soccer and learned about football, basketball and track from his older cousins and siblings. By the time he got to high school, he was al-
ready an outstanding athlete. And, his mom finally allowed him to play football.
“I felt as though I was a little different from the other kids,” Gwacham said. “I was a little bit taller, a little bit faster than them.”
He played wide receiver and cornerback at Ayala High School. The 6-foot- 5 Gwacham also excelled in track, where he ranked among California’s best athletes in the high jump, triple jump and long jump.
That’s how he first drew the attention of Joe Seumalo, then the defensive line coach at Oregon State.