Ohalete Goes From Being a Character Actor to Lead Role

Ife Ohalete is a few weeks from being a freshman all over again, and he’s convinced he won’t make the same mistake twice.

As a ninth-grader at Los Alamitos, he was a kid with an attitude.

“He came in and he was a guy who was tough to coach,” said John Barnes, Griffin football coach. “He had a lot of answers for a young guy--and that’s not out of character for a lot of kids.”

And that’s why Ohalete’s selection to Saturday’s California-Texas Shrine game is such a testament to personal growth and a good talking-to.

Ohalete, 18, remembers that freshman season and the critical point in his athletic life.

“I talked back to a coach and they were about to sit me out for a game because I was popping off,” he said. “Barnes [the varsity coach] sat me down as a freshman and told me to get my stuff squared away. And I did.

“From then on, I was a ‘Yes sir, no sir’ guy.”

Ohalete, who was into soccer and had never played organized football before arriving at Los Alamitos, eventually flourished after moving from quarterback to the secondary, where he developed into a standout safety.

In a 28-24 loss to Mater Dei in the Southern Section semifinals at Anaheim Stadium his sophomore year, he had an interception and the team’s hit of the game, “an open-field stick on [Steve] Bodnar,” Ohalete said.

Barnes remembers.

“We walked off the field that night thinking he was going to be a great player,” Barnes said. “From that time on, he became a different kid. He came to practice every day with a smile. . . . The steps he made in leadership, maturity, being a team player, getting the most out of himself, being a guy you were happy to be around--those were all great steps he made.”

He earned a football scholarship to USC, where he said he might also play baseball.

“The impact of that [Mater Dei] game was it made me realize I wanted to go to a big-time school and play in big-time games in big-time stadiums,” Ohalete said. “It made me realize I can make a difference. If I work harder, I can be an impact player.

“It made me realize I had a talent for the game.”

Ohalete had nine interceptions last season for Los Alamitos and finished with a school-record 15 for his career. When Los Alamitos was upset in the first round of the playoffs by Long Beach Poly, Ohalete was in street clothes because of a deep thigh bruise.

Ohalete, who also caught nine touchdown passes last season, was a Times Orange County first-team selection, as well as a first-team all-state choice by Cal-Hi Sports.

But before heading off to USC, there’s Saturday’s all-star game at Cal State Fullerton, pitting California players against those from Texas. Ohalete lived eight years in Texas before moving to Los Alamitos while in the seventh grade.

The game benefits the Shriners Hospital for Children in Los Angeles. Ohalete wants to study medicine at USC.

“I want to be a pediatrician and work with kids,” he said. “I feel I get along with kids, and it’s good money. Good money and help out people.”

What could be better?

“He’s a pretty sensitive kid, and I think the visit to the hospital will mean more to him than it will some of the other players who are doing it just so they can play the game,” said Randy Zimmer, a coach at San Jose Leland who is Ohalete’s position coach for the game.

Ohalete said he is excited “to see what I’m getting into.”

“Those kids don’t see big football players all the time,” he said, “and I’m looking forward to supporting them.”

Ohalete’s cerebral aspect has benefited him during the practices at Biola, where the California squad has been staying since Saturday.

“I’ve coached quite a few all-star teams, and he seems real intelligent--3.6 grade-point average, pre-med, all that stuff,” Zimmer said. “Everyone comes to the ballpark with a different IQ and intellect. I think he’s taken his intellect and applied it to football, in addition to having superb physical talent. He seems to be able to assert that intelligence on the field a little better than some of the other players.

“He has a complete knowledge of defense. . . . He’s taken what we’ve tried to teach and taken it one step further.”

That’s no surprise to Barnes.

“He’s got a lot of star qualities, and one of them is that if it’s a big game, he’s going to play big,” Barnes said. “I can picture him saying, ‘This is going to be a game to show my stuff’ and be able to back it up.”

Barnes knows Ohalete well. He prefers the better competition, and is looking forward to testing his skills, knowing he could get burned by some Texas wideout.

“It’s a higher risk, but it’s a higher reward,” Ohalete said. “The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. This is going to be a high-risk game. A big game, under the lights, with a big crowd on Fox Sports. I love the adrenaline rush of a big game.”

Barnes said Ohalete is one of the best defensive players he has seen in 26 years of coaching.

“Plus, I think his best days are still ahead of him,” Barnes said. “Some kids, they leave high school and you say they’re as good as they’re going to be. But Ife is just starting. He’s going to be a great player.”