Ozier awarded scholarship by Graham
After Kevin Ozier caught his first career touchdown last year against Colorado, he decided to play it up for all it was worth.
No, Ozier didn't get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for celebrating, didn't taunt the opponent, didn't do anything untoward at all really.
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Instead, Ozier, a 6-foot-2, 200 pound junior receiver, made a beeline for then-ASU Director of Football Operations.
"Now can I get one?" Ozier was caught on television camera playfully asking a smiling Wrenn.
Fast-forward a few months and Ozier has the answer he was looking for, albeit from someone else.
New coach Todd Graham watched film of Ozier, who caught 11 balls for 169 yards last season, and asked Wrenn and others in the program about him.
The feedback was good, and as a result, Ozier is no longer the team's most well known offensive walk on.
"We looked at it closely and he's one of the guys who is deserving of a scholarship," Graham said. "He represents class and character which is first and foremost in the type of young man that we're looking for.
"Obviously we went back and evaluated the film and thought that with his performance on the field, along with his performance off the field, in the classroom, that he was deserving of being put on scholarship so we went ahead and did that."
Even with four senior receivers on the roster getting significant playing time last season, Ozier earned a niche due to his toughness and perimeter blocking ability. But he's also athletic enough to make plays down the field.
"We think he's a great fit for us," Graham said. "He's a guy who saw quite a bit of playing time last year and we're expecting him to step up and play a major role for us and obviously that's why we put him on scholarship."