The Wolverine

October 2019

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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32 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2019 BY JOHN BORTON J osh Uche learned long ago to pursue a clean path under watchful eyes. These days, it's a journey of mayhem to the quar- terback. The senior linebacker/defensive end keeps on coming, relentlessly rushing the passer. He did so last year, record- ing a team-high seven sacks on one of the nation's top defenses. Uche now looks to prove he's more than just a highly effective pass rusher in his final season in a winged helmet. He knows his every move on the field will be scrutinized on video, replayed and commented on with unblinking bluntness. He's used to it, Uche offers, flashing a knowing grin. Uche's parents immigrated to the United States from Nigeria, where the culture remains "very strict, very direct and very focused on school," he noted. They knew nothing of American football when they came here, and aren't wholly immersed in it, decades later. But they absolutely knew what they wanted — and what they didn't want — for their son. "My parents were extremely strict," Uche recalled. "My 17th birthday, I'm on my Xbox. I've got my headset, got my friends, we're talking. And my headset is broken, so my friend is like, 'Hey Josh, if you give me $5, I'll run to the store and get you a mic and bring it back to you.' I didn't have a car at the time. "I run downstairs and run out of the house, give my friend the money. As I'm walking back in, my dad is stand- ing outside and says, 'Are you selling drugs? What are you doing?' "I'm like, 'No, I just gave …' "He's like, 'You're not coming back in there until he comes back with the mic and whatever you said you're get- ting.' He would have called the po- lice on me. He didn't care. That, right there, shows how serious he is about certain things." Uche recounts the story, not with anger, but with acceptance and un- derstanding. He might not have fully appreciated the approach at the time, but he certainly harbors no bitterness over the direction. "It's helped me so much in the long run," Uche said. "It's helped me be- come a man. It's helped me with disci- pline so much in my life." He speaks every day with his father, an engineer in South Florida. They dis- cuss how he's doing and talk about life. The younger Uche stands in the spotlight more than ever these days, notching a 13-yard sack and forcing a fumble in Michigan's opener, and ty- ing for sixth on the team through two games with 10 total stops. He knows folks back home are watching, and ap- preciates all he has. Football might not have been avail- able to him at a very young age, but discipline always remained close at hand. "We're good," Uche offered, regard- ing his relationship with his dad. "He had to be hard on me back then, when I was little. It's not easy to raise a black man in America — a successful black man in America, at that. He had to be really strict and have set rules for me to follow. "He taught me discipline. He taught me to be a man, in general. Weekends, everyone else would be at parties, do- ing all this stuff. I would have to be doing yardwork, all day, from morning 'til nighttime. "I had to work. It's made me under- stand that if I want anything in life, I've got to work for it. Even if I have everything in the world, I still want to work. "That's something he's taught me. I carry that with me, wherever I go." The work is paying off. Uche's seven sacks and eight tackles for loss last year certainly raised his profile, especially when they occurred on only 15 tackles for the year. Now, he's becoming a more well- rounded performer, noted Michigan linebackers coach Anthony Campanile. GUIDED MISSILE Big Blitzer Josh Uche Received His Guidance Early

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