Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 NOV. 19, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE N otre Dame junior Julian Ok- wara craves chaos, and he's admittedly lost without it. On game days, the Irish defen- sive end delivers a heavy dose of it to opposing quarterbacks. And when his life outside of foot- ball became overly peaceful, Ok- wara welcomed in Potter, a rowdy Cockapoo puppy, to provide some chaos around the house. Okwara is a practical joker whose playful chatter rarely stops with his teammates or opponents. He's high-energy, full-go, non-stop, on the edge, all the time. "I like deviating from things," Ok- wara said. "I like breaking the rules a little bit." Never one to sit still, Okwara jug- gled the unorthodox athletic lineup of tennis, soccer, swimming and foot- ball as a youngster, admitting today that he didn't particularly enjoy any of the four sports. "I just wanted to do something to keep the energy going," said Okwara, who vows he could still dominate any of his teammates in a tennis match. THRIVING IN CHAOS Defensive end Julian Okwara has spent his junior campaign harassing opposing quarterbacks Okwara contributed 34 total stops, a team-best 9.5 tackles for loss and five sacks through nine games. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA