Very few things can silence Miami University football head coach Chuck Martin.
Following the RedHawks’ loss to Toledo during the 2023 season, Martin was speechless. Starting quarterback Brett Gabbert’s horrifying leg injury sent him to the hospital and benched him for the season. Miami’s undefeated streak in conference play came to a halt, and the team’s chances at a Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship seemed to drop to zero.
Silence filled the locker room as players tried to compose themselves. Even the team’s top leaders and veteran players didn’t know what to say, and efforts to uplift the team were nonexistent.
Suddenly, defensive lineman Brian Ugwu stood up and shouted at the team.
“No matter what happens, we’re not losing another game,” Ugwu said. “We love Brett, but Brett’s down. [Aveon], we got your back. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, we’re going to stick together. We’re not losing another game.”
Martin listened to Ugwu’s speech from around the corner. He had nothing else to say. That moment showed him that Ugwu was one of Miami’s best leaders in recent years.
The 2024 season marked the end of his collegiate career. Now, Ugwu’s eyes are set on the National Football League (NFL) draft and pursuing a goal he’s had since he was five years old.
“I was at Rutgers with a torn ACL and no real game film, and now I’m talking about preparing for the NFL draft,” Ugwu said.
Ugwu grew up in New Jersey as a first generation American. Though he played soccer growing up, academics remained a priority, and his parents prevented him from playing football for most of his childhood.
However, after watching Super Bowl XLI between the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts, Ugwu knew football was his calling.
“My freshman year, I tried out for the team … [and] I made it,” Ugwu said. “At that time, I was still kind of hiding that from my dad, so I didn’t know how he would react. I was just telling him I was going to soccer practice when I was really going to football practice.”
For the time, Ugwu would walk to practice so his parents didn’t see him on the football field. However, within the first three games of the season, his dad offered to drive him and saw his teammates in pads and wearing helmets.
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Looking back, he acknowledged that his plan was never going to work permanently.
“Parents are parents: They’re eventually going to find out no matter how smart we think we are as kids,” Ugwu said. “[My dad] found out, and he was upset, but I feel like at that moment, he saw that he had a son that was very passionate about something and really loved something. I feel like he saw that drive in my eyes and that passion.”
Ugwu started out as a quarterback before moving to linebacker, which he maintained for his junior and senior year. Despite the switch to defense, he continued to grow at the position, ultimately earning a spot with the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights.
His time at Rutgers provided trouble almost immediately into his first season. Head coach Christopher Ash was fired after three games of the 2019 season following a 52-0 loss to the University of Michigan Wolverines.
The Scarlet Knights were 5-16 between 2019-20. Ugwu saw action in three games and had one tackle. So far, he felt that his plans for college were not going how he expected.
He didn’t have much game film, and during the 2020 season he suffered an ACL injury. Regardless, Martin saw the athleticism and potential he held, and he offered Ugwu a position at Miami.
“He’s an athlete playing d-line as opposed to a d-lineman,” Martin said. “He’s just so athletic. He grew into being a d-lineman, but he grew up as a skill guy. And he’s super, super smart. Brian is so intelligent on and off the field, so he knows what’s going on, he knows what’s happening in the game at all times.”
Brian Ugwu lined up for a defensive snap against the Ohio Bobcats at Yager Stadium on Oct. 19
Multiple conflicts plagued Ugwu’s first season with Miami. In addition to switching positions and going through rehab, he was away from home for the first time in his life.
Looking back, Ugwu acknowledged that he not only survived the change, but thrived, ranking top five in program history for career sacks despite only playing three seasons at Miami.
“It’s adversity that I have to face,” Ugwu said. “When things are not going my way or going how I thought would be planned, I feel like it’s important for me to remember that this is not my plan, this is God’s plan. Whatever comes my way, I have got to be able to get through it and thrive through it.”
After switching to defensive lineman for his Red and White debut, Ugwu finished with 43 tackles, 11 tackles-for-losses (TFL’s), five sacks and one interception. The talent was there, but Martin questioned whether Ugwu was in Oxford to pad his stats or to play for the RedHawks.
In one game, Ugwu made a mistake that ended with the opponent scoring a touchdown. The next day, Martin’s worries about Ugwu’s reasoning to be there vanished.
“The next day, he was down, and he was like, ‘Coach, I cost us,’” Martin said. “That was, to me, the turning point. He went from a kid that I questioned whether he really was playing for Miami or just playing for himself to one of our best leaders.”
Ugwu’s second campaign with Miami eclipsed his first outing. The 2023 season saw him finish with 62 tackles and 12 TFL’s while sacking opposing quarterbacks eight times and forcing two fumbles.
While his on-the-field performance showed his talent, the Toledo game and the season overall saw Ugwu step up as one of the RedHawks top leaders.
“I truly felt in that moment, God told me to step up and speak, and I was able to bring our whole team together,” Ugwu said. “I broke it down to them that we lost the game, but the war is not over. I was trying to get through to everybody that we still have a lot of games left to play, and we can still turn this season around and win a championship.”
Through his last year with the RedHawks, Ugwu continued to be an uplifting voice in the locker room and at practice. He constantly pushes the younger defensive lineman to outwork themselves and strive for the next level.
“His work ethic is like no other,” redshirt junior defensive lineman Nasir Washington said. “He works hard, he pushes the guys in the d-line room as well. Whatever team gets him, he’s gonna work his butt off and take the opportunity and run away with it.”
Another 7.5 sacks during his final season brought Ugwu’s career total to 20.5, good for fifth in program history.
Following the RedHawks’ victory at the Arizona Bowl, Ugwu set his sights on the next step in his career: preparing for the NFL Draft.
Miami showcased three players at the 2024 NFL Pro Day last March, allowing defensive end Michael Dowell to sign with the Seattle SeaHawks. However, the state of college football implies that players from Power Four programs have a higher chance of getting drafted.
For Ugwu, Miami’s history at the professional level gives him hope that the NFL will see his potential.
“Sometimes when you play at the Power Four level, you think it has to be Power Four or nothing,” Ugwu said. “But I think you see now, even with last year’s draft, Quinone Mitchell and Marshawn Nealon, but also with Dominique Robinson, who I was basically his replacement, their being able to make it to the league from their MAC school, that was huge for me.”
As Ugwu continues to train for Miami Pro Day and set himself up for the NFL Draft, he reflects on his time at Miami. He helped the team to back-to-back winning seasons, two MAC championship appearances and a bowl game victory.
“I’m grateful for my opportunity that I was able to have here, but I’m hoping that I was able to help them as well,” Ugwu said. “They took me out of the portal when I had no real game film and a torn ACL, and they gave me a chance.”
@thekethan04
babukc2@miamioh.edu
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