- August 15th, 2006, 6:34 pm
#25083
I would think as a Christian school who hasn't gone by the way side, these guys would love to come to LU and play. Our football program is no NC State, but, to players like this, there's more to life than football.
http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/s ... 05aaa.html
http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/s ... 05aaa.html
RALEIGH -- John Amanchukwu knows he may never become one of the most decorated players in college or professional football history. He even knows that he may never be a starter on the offensive line at NC State.
The junior guard may never, in fact, have much of an impact on a game during his career with the Wolfpack.
But that won't keep him from dedicating his time with the team trying to make an impact on his teammates, to spread the joy he knows from his faith and his abilities as a budding minister.
"Being a preacher has always been the final destination for me, since I was five or six years old," said Amanchukwu. "Maybe one day I will move up and be a big-time football player or get a job somewhere and do well. But that won't be the highlight of my life.
"The highlight of my life is reaching souls and ministering the word of God. That is the joy and the hunger for me."
Amanchukwu, pronounced "ah-mahn-CHUKE-woo," became an ordained minister at Raleigh's Upper Room Church of God in Christ on July 11, 2004. He is there to assist Pastor Patrick L. Wooden Jr. every Sunday that he can when football is not in season. Wooden says Amanchukwu is among the first people to arrive at the 3,000-member church every Sunday, helping others open the doors and secure the grounds by 6 a.m. sharp.
He's there faithfully for Wooden's 7 a.m. class for those who minister, called Christian Apologetics, in which Wooden preaches that it's OK to be an unapologetic Christian, a lesson Wooden learned during his frequent evangelical stands that have generated national headlines for a church that began humbly in 1987 with 120 members.
Amanchukwu is there until the final member leaves from morning worship, usually around 3:30 p.m.
"He is a moral young man," said Wooden, a former offensive lineman himself at Fayetteville State and a member of a state champion high school team at Richmond County. "I tell you, I don't think NC State will ever be made ashamed for ... giving him a chance. He is a straight-shooter and a hard worker. He won the hearts of the members of the church and my heart almost immediately.
"We are extremely proud of him."
Amanchukwu - generally called "John Wu" by his teammates, who don't always go to the trouble of pronouncing his Nigerian surname that means "I know God" - is still a relative newcomer to NC State. The Raleigh native, whose father is from Nigeria, arrived prior to last football season, an unheralded transfer from nearby St. Augustine's College.
Amanchukwu was one of the top-ranked tight ends in the state when he was a senior at Raleigh's Cardinal Gibbons High School. But he didn't have the necessary SAT scores to play Division I-A football. So he played a year for St. Aug's fledgling football program, got his academics in order and then transferred to NC State, where he was required to sit out last year under NCAA transfer rules.
He joined Chuck Amato's program as a little-known walk-on last year, working as a defensive lineman and doing all the grunt work required of scout-team players.
"When you come as a walk-on, you are nobody," Amanchukwu said. "Some may call you the scum of the team. You are like a leach, looking for some blood. You are just trying to find something. Whatever is there, you take and you thank God for the opportunity.
"I worked hard, just like I was playing in a game. I went out there, running around the field. Give the guys a good look and do what little I could do."
Amanchukwu had never played guard before he was switched over from the defensive line in the spring. So his skills are still raw, according to NC State line coach Mike Barry.
"He has a long way to go," Barry said after watching Amanchukwu during the early days of fall drills. "He is learning. He had a good spring and he work hard. He is very athletic.
"But it is not natural to him yet. It's not in his computer yet. We are still inputting stuff in so he can retrieve it."
However, Amanchukwu brought several intangibles with him from defense, not the least of which was an aggressive attitude.
"It is always great to bring guys over from the defense, because you know they are going to get off the ball and be aggressive and they have good big strong quick hands," said junior center Leroy Harris, who plays beside Amanchukwu.
Barry says the offensive line is still a bit in flux, at least until after he evaluates tape from Saturday evening's first scrimmage of the preseason. But, as rough around the edges as he may be, Amanchukwu is in the mix for a starting job with Kalani Heppe, John McKeon and Curtis Crouch.
Amanchukwu hopes he can help when the season kicks off against Virginia Tech on Sept. 4. But he also hopes that he can minister to his teammates, his classmates and anybody who is willing to sit down and talk for a few minutes. He's not an in-the-face preacher, given to hysterics. Imagine that from a 6-foot-4, 295 offensive lineman.
"I usually just minister to people one-one-one," Amanchukwu said. "One thing I have learned, especially working with young people, if you jump out at them, especially with something as pointed as Christianity and your faith, they tend not to receive you. "I let people see the lifestyle I live, let them see the good works I do instead of something I say. `Christianity' is an action word."
So Amanchukwu prays, he preaches, he studies the Bible and he fasts, several days a week, sometimes from sun-up to sun-down. He's reluctant to talk about his fasting days, saying it's a private part of his devotion. But he has caught the attention of his teammates and people outside the program.
One hot day after practice, Amanchukwu was sitting in the shade talking to an interviewer when senior wide receiver Sterling Hicks walked by. He listened in for a few moments, then tapped the interviewer on the shoulder.
"That's a good man right there," Hicks said, as he walked away.
People are starting to notice John Amanchukwu.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
- By PAmedic
- By olldflame