Cool story about 2022 PWO Chibi Anwunah
Cool story about a local preferred walk-on on Hometown Life
Certainly, someone would want Wiemer's latest prospect, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound defensive end with a motor like JJ Watt's, a physicality like John Randle's and both the leadership and strength of Christian faith like Reggie White's.
But no one — not a SINGLE team — returned Wiemer's calls, emails or texts last fall.
Or so that's what the senior thought until, in December, Wiemer heard from Albert Karschnia, the person responsible for getting Anwunah a preferred walk-on opportunity at Michigan.
Full disclosure: I work at the church connected to Plymouth Christian Academy where Chibi goes to school. Haven’t seen anything posted about him since he signed, but he has a really cool story and I thought others might be interested.
https://www.hometownlife.com/story/sports/2022/02/18/michigan-football-signs-plymouth-christian-defensive-end-chibi-anwunah/6834766001/?fbclid=IwAR0utDLtl9N1cUciEb9-_aWj_7Mqy1cihUEK8RVJszQQFuO_jpw_iWxFMBs
February 19th, 2022 at 9:20 AM ^
Anwunah, the son of Nigerian immigrants, has spent most of his life in Michigan.
Athletic director Matt Windle will never forget the first time he saw Anwunah walk into the building as a freshman.
"He looked like he was 30 as a 14-year-old," said Windle, who's also Anwunah's basketball coach.
February 19th, 2022 at 9:26 AM ^
I've watched Anwunah's film and . . . umm . . . that paragraph comparing him to Watt/Randle/White is about as hyperbolic as it gets. The reason Anwunah didn't get many looks is because he looks like he doesn't know what he's doing out there on the field.
Which is understandable, and there's a lot of room to improve, considering his background. But the writer doesn't need to go crazy with the comparisons.
February 19th, 2022 at 10:44 AM ^
I didn't even realize Fred Jackson was writing for Hometown Life these days
February 19th, 2022 at 10:53 AM ^
Easy now. He was comparing his faith to Reggie White's, not his football ability.
You can't coach a kid to be 6-7, so let's see what they can do with him. He's a PWO and not a scholarship player for a reason, but I'll be rooting hard for this kid.
February 19th, 2022 at 11:08 AM ^
In case you're not being humorous, the writer absolutely went to the land of hyperbole with the Watt and Randle comparisons.
I hope the guy does well. His background and size make him very interesting as a football prospect.
February 19th, 2022 at 11:09 AM ^
indeed. and maybe people forget guys like ziggy ansah, who the lions drafted #5 in the first round of the 2013 draft. while that may have been high, he did have some good seasons and played 9 seasons in the NFL. more importantly, chibi has a 4 year head start on ziggy as it relates to playing football. ansah didn't start playing until his sophomore year in college:
Sophomore season[edit]
Unfamiliar with American football, Ansah had to be instructed in the most basic rules and techniques, even needing help getting on his pads for the first time.[5] Midway through the 2010 season, Ansah made his first collegiate appearance in the Cougars' game versus Wyoming where he recorded his first tackle. During the 2010 season he saw action in six games on special teams and the defensive line, recording three tackles and a pass breakup.[6]
February 19th, 2022 at 1:54 PM ^
I remember Ziggy. Good player...
February 19th, 2022 at 11:30 AM ^
All of that aside (because of Anwunah being so raw and inexperienced in football), my questions for you, Magnus: does he have the athleticism needed to be a B1G-caliber football player a few years down the road? What is his ceiling?
February 19th, 2022 at 8:34 PM ^
Both my sons played with him so ive spent several seasons watching the team and him, and that is kind of the defensive system. They are just told to do something, attack and do it quickly. Run fits are secondary concern and often small young players play the d line which means d linemen get clean releases and linebackers run around blockers rather than meeting and beating them. Level of competition
He has great size, shows good upfield and lateral speed and has gone from a kid that didn't want to play football to playing with violence. He also spent his last 2 seasons playing LT so one would hope defending edge rushers would help him assuming he evolves towards that position.
He is a great young man and I hope football at UofM becomes a valuable piece to his life. And I'malso cautioning my son from putting to much pressure on him because football is about to get a whole new level of real for him.
February 19th, 2022 at 9:27 AM ^
Cool story. Hope he can develop as quickly as OH-JA-BO.
Welcome Chibi and Go Blue!
February 19th, 2022 at 1:51 PM ^
Ch-I-BI!!
February 19th, 2022 at 9:27 AM ^
Thanks for the insight.
Welcome Chibi, way to GoBlue!
February 19th, 2022 at 10:08 AM ^
Sure, some of the article is a bit over the top but tbqh I don't care. Love reading stories like this. Sounds like exactly the kind of guy the program loves to recruit - strong family, smart kid (future dentist), hard worker, athletic potential.
February 19th, 2022 at 10:08 AM ^
Hope the staff can really coach him up!
February 19th, 2022 at 10:48 AM ^
Just saw this and was getting ready to post it! What a great story. This kid is already one of my favorite players!
February 19th, 2022 at 12:37 PM ^
Great story and here's hoping that another PWO earns a full scholarship by proving he truly can excel on the field as well as in the class room, which I have no doubt he will.
February 19th, 2022 at 12:52 PM ^
Nice! If he can absorb what he's taught, stay focused, hit the gym, and cares about succeeding as much as he currently seems? Could be a very interesting "challenge" for the coaches (edit: as in "where do we try to fit him").
I think I'm going to enjoy tracking this kid.
Thanks for the story, OP!
February 19th, 2022 at 2:13 PM ^
Hakeem Olajuwon had to pay his own cab fare from the Houston airport to the UH campus when he arrived from Nigeria.
February 19th, 2022 at 4:36 PM ^
Great story. Thanks for letting us know about it.
February 19th, 2022 at 4:36 PM ^
I'll gladly take a 6'7" 225 DE who ran cross country as a PWO. Who knows what Elston could turn him into. He looks raw on film but there could be something there
February 19th, 2022 at 4:41 PM ^
6’ 7” at 220 — I would expect two years in the training room before he can start pushing people around in the B1G. Congrats on the PWO and good luck!
February 19th, 2022 at 8:50 PM ^
Un-related athletic scholarship question, Can a football player have an academic scholarship??
i.e. I've heard 2 sport athletes with athletic scholarships generally count against the "higher profile" team to keep schools from skirting scholarship limits, so if I run track and play football, my scholarship counts against the FB team limit but not tracks'. But does that same rule apply to academic scholarships (not asking as a way to skirt the rules, genuinely curious whether a scientifically inclined student athlete could have say an engineering scholarship while still trying to walk on to the football team)