Waribokos Future Born on Being a Good Friend
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Oklahoma City Casady offensive lineman Josh Wariboko certainly had some good fortune when he stumbled into an opportunity at one of the state's elite private schools - however it's safe to say that the Cyclones, and head coach Kirby Scoville, fell into a bit of good fortune too.
The 6-foot-3, 295-pound standout is quickly establishing himself as one of the state's best prospects in the class of 2015. However, none of it could have happened, for either side, if not for Wariboko simply taking one afternoon to be a good friend.
"Casady, my friend, he was going to a football camp there and I went there to watch him and support him and I was out there and running around and I talked to a few parents at the school. That led to the director of admissions talking to me and we exchanged info and went through the admission and it worked out for me," Wariboko said. "I was just out there to support my friend.
From there, he was off and running.
"I started as a freshman, and really as a freshman I was getting acclimated because middle school and high school are so different. My sophomore year I started getting a better feel and things started coming to me faster. I thought I dominated a lot and I'm still working, now, for my junior year," he said.
Wariboko is making the most of his opportunity at Casady and has since set his course toward FBS scholarships and after a strong performance at the Army combine last month he'll look to follow that up in March with an effort against many of the region's best on March 17 in Dallas at the Rivals/Under Armour camp at Cedar Hill high school.
"I'm just trying to go out there and show what I can do and get on the radar and start the whole recruiting process for myself," he explained before talking about his impressive sophomore highlight reel. "I can play both (offensive and defensive line) at that time I didn't have time to get all my clips on defense, I've got defensive highlights coming soon.
"I think I'm better at defense but I like offense better."
So far Scoville has already taken calls from Stanford as well as receiving considerable mail from both Nebraska and Oklahoma. The talented offensive lineman admits to growing up something of a Sooner fan and says he'll camp in Norman this summer.
However, Oklahoma will have their work cut out for them as Wariboko says he currently likes the idea of breathing in some ocean air.
"I'd like to hear more from the California schools, pretty much anything on the coast, East or West I'd like to hear from," he said. "I just want to see what else is out there, see the weather and the life out there.
"I have a lot of family on the coast, I grew up in Oklahoma though and I'm born and raised there."
Along with Oklahoma Wariboko mentioned Baylor, and other 'Texas schools' as places he hopes to camp this summer to continue to build his name.
And though academics will play a big role in his life in college, as they do at Casady, he is quick to point out that the Cyclones are currently adding to their talent and are becoming more than simply a quality academic institution.
"You know actually, we played in the Southwest Prepatory conference. We have some real talent but not many people know about it. At Casady we've got a lot of guys who can go play ball. We've got freshmen, sophomores, coming up who can play."