Much like any other member of Arizona State’s 2020 recruiting class, there wasn't one reason and one reason only that drew Omarr Norman-Lott to the Sun Devils. Granted, the fact that his potential position coach in Tempe was his uncle, Jamar Cain, was ultimately a significant factor in the Sacramento’s defensive lineman’s decision. Nonetheless, Cain’s departure from the school’s staff wasn’t a game-changer for the incoming ASU freshman.
Norman-Lott details the reasons why he decided to stick with his pledge and how he viewed the missed opportunity to be coached by a family member, as just one more adverse situation that he has proven to deal successfully with and mold him into the person and the player he is today.
“I was about seven years old living in San Diego when I played flag football. That was my first time the game. I remember my mom forcing me to get up and go to practice and really pushing it on me that I’m playing football, and I didn’t have a choice. I played both offensive and defensive lines back then.
“I did not realize that I was good enough to get a college scholarship for football until the end of my junior season. Colleges were texting me and contacting me on Twitter, and I started to really get some hype around my name as far as the college football world. I started getting up to the camps and stuff like that. So, that’s when I realized that I could be something with this football stuff. It was surprising. It was kind of a surreal feeling.
“My uncle (and former ASU defensive line coach) Jamar Cain was the first coach from ASU that contacted me. It wasn’t weird with him being my uncle. He was kind of harping on me real hard about committing to Arizona State but still gave me the free reign to visit all the colleges I wanted to. I did appreciate that. But at the end of the day, he was family. And family is going to push you harder than anybody else. That’s the mindset I was in.
“When he left to coach at Oklahoma, it was just hard in the sense that he pushed me really hard to commit to ASU and then just got up and left. I was just shocked. I wasn’t expecting that, but I still got a good head coach, good defensive coordinator, got a great new D-Line coach, coach (Robert) Rodriguez. So, the train keeps going. I had a few schools that contacted me after Jamar left, but I didn’t really pay them no mind. I knew that Jamar or not, Arizona State is where I needed to be and where I want to be.
“What I liked about ASU early in the recruiting process in that they had a good sense of knowing that young black men need help. They have this program set up, called championship life. I love it. You can just be yourself. It’s not like there are a whole bunch of rules set. It’s really about just being yourself, and they’re going to help you turn into a man that you need to be.
“The first ASU coach I talked to after Jamar was my guy (Defensive Analyst), Anthony Garnett. I was really upset, and he was trying to help me look at it from Jamar’s perspective so I could really get an understanding. But the point of view where I was coming from was that he could have gone about it in a better way. So that was that conversation, and Jamar and I are cool right now.
“The first time I talked to coach Rodriguez, he was telling me that he trains pro athletes and he makes pro athletes. That’s what he does. He said he coaches hard, but he’s going to give me the tools I need to be great in the game. I told him I’m right with him. We can relate a lot to each other in the sense of our upbringing, coming up in poor neighborhoods.
“Working out during the coronavirus isn’t a problem. I’m always all gas, no breaks. I’m sitting here busting out 300 push-ups, or I’m in the hills running 15 miles at a time. I’m always working, moving around. I’m in good shape right now. I’m ready to get in there and get started. I’m 293 lbs. right now. Coach Rodriguez hasn’t talked about a target weight for me. He just told me to keep working out and keep trying to be in shape. Once I get here, he’ll get me how he wants me to be. He sees me as a three-technique (lineman). More of an inside edge rusher on third down type of player. He wants me getting after it on every play because that’s my main thing. And I really mean that in the humblest way possible.
“I don’t think it will be a big adjustment playing in a 4-3 instead of the (last year’s scheme) 3-3-5. I don’t see it as a big deal. I’m really versatile, so whatever kind of situation you put me in, I’ll find a way to deal with it and come out on top of that situation. And that has a lot to do with coach Rob and his coaching. My get off speed needs to pick up. I probably need to get my striking power a little bit stronger. But other than that, I got my frame, my hand speed, and everything else. I just need the little bit of coaching from coach Rod, and then we can take off.
“Fans watching me play will see the heart I have. I have a big heart for the game, and I look to give it my all every down. One of my sayings, it’s not even my own saying, is that ‘I did not come here to bow. I came here to conquer.’
“It was a long and hard process getting my friends Elijhah Badger and Daniyel Ngata to come to ASU, but we got it done. It was kind of like an uphill battle for a long time until I really just start drilling it into their heads that ASU is where we need to be, and the result is that they came over, and everything worked out perfectly. But the process of getting them there was hard. I played a big factor in this and man; we got it done. Daniyel has been there since the spring, and he told me that he’s just having fun, enjoying himself, and working hard.
“When I get to ASU, the biggest challenge will probably be just getting adjusted to the schedule and how things go around on campus. So, just the sense of that, getting into my groove, …knowing that lunch is at this time, and then I need to be here at this time. It’s all new but once I find my flow. I’ll be good.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m ready to play well in my freshman year. That adversity that I had to go through when Jamar left…I’ve been going through stuff like that my whole life. I don’t see it as adversity. It’s just the type of stuff that helps me become the better man I am today. It gives me that drive to want to work harder and get after it all the time. So, I feel like I’m going to have a productive freshman year because I went through everything and put in all the work to have a good season. But at the end of the day, the freshman year still hasn’t been played, so I’m just going to try to leave it all on the field.”
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Jesse Morrison contributed to this article
