In the Spotlight: Ed Kargbo-Okorogie
10/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 30, 2001
By Anita Woolley, Media Relations Student Assistant
"I've always been the one to bring up the 'what if.'"
- Ed Kargbo-Okorogie
What if, while warming up at Cameron Indoor Stadium, you broke the backboard, hushing an otherwise relentless Duke basketball crowd? What if this was just the beginning? For Edward Kargbo-Okorogie, it was.
A senior history and philosophy double major with hopes of someday attending law school and, eventually, business school, "Kargbo" has always been a deep thinker. Though he entered Wake Forest focused on history, Ed has emerged as a renaissance man of sorts, enjoying the hypothetical questions of philosophers - the "what if's" that so many people try to avoid.
His other major, history, enables this 6-3, 219 pound chiseled student-athlete to see the world from another perspective.
But somehow, between history, philosophy and football, Kargbo has time to throw in some more reading.
"The guys call me a closet nerd," he says with a smile, then explains his fascination with world religions. "Right now, I'm on a Taoist kick."
Taoism, as understood by the senior leader who ranks fourth on the team with 37 tackles, is tranquil.
"It's about being in a flowing river, where its calm, controlled. Deep inside, it's powerful - if you throw something or someone in the water, the water will direct where it goes." Just like a linebacker flowing toward the ball.
He wasn't always a linebacker. At Strake Jesuit High School in Stafford, Texas, he also made a name for himself as a running back. A two-time all state selection, he rushed for nearly 2,700 yards. Additionally, he and a long-time pal, Wake Forest guard Broderick Hicks, led Strake Jesuit to a state basketball title in 1998. Although he came to Wake Forest on a football scholarship, Kargbo also put in some time for the Deacs on the basketball court as a freshman.
His brief stint was highlighted by one of his most memorable moments - an "accident" at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. Kargbo and fellow teammates Craig Dawson and Antwan Scott were warming up before the rowdy Cameron crowd. The fans made clear their opinion of the Wake team, so Kargbo, Dawson and Scott, "got into a little showmanship." Once the boys missed their first dunks, they tried to get fancy. Kargbo broke the backboard, shattering glass all over the floor at Duke, delaying the game for more than 35 minutes. "That was the first game I played in," says Kargbo of that day. Duke won but the crowd, notoriously brutal on opposing players, was humbled for a moment.
One moment amidst many for Kargbo who has loved sports for sports have been in his life as long as he can remember. His first word was "touchdown" when sitting in his living room one fall Sunday when Earl Campell crossed the goalline. The same boy, a little taller, says he would like to someday enter the field of sports management.
Kargbo tries to inculcate his passion for the game into the younger players and has emerged as a well-respected leader. With a clear view of the bigger picture, he associates leadership with setting an example and paying more attention to other people.
"As an underclassmen, I was focused on doing things right for me. Now, I feel that I have a grasp of what we're trying to do as a team."
Kargbo exhibits those qualities that coaches dream about in a player, but also that love for the game that makes playing worthwhile. While he hates losing, Kargbo says it can also be a learning experience.
"You also learn from that - how to handle situations like that, having thought about quitting. You learn that if you're doing everything right every day, just keep doing it, don't try to do more, don't do less."
Externally cool, calm and collected, its no wonder the inner linebacker in Kargbo-Okorogie is such a fearsome defensive strength for the Deacs.
The perfectionist in him is always looking to improve, to learn more and to become a better person, on and off the field.
Legendary coach Vince Lombardi wrote, "the spirit, the will to win and the will to excel - these are the things that endure and these are the qualities that are so much more important than any of the events that occasion them."
Kargbo-Okorogie embodies this endurance. And with one foot out the door, awaiting a world filled with the means for him to grow into a better, stronger person, his spirit pervades and his smile widens as he admits one of the few absolute truths: no matter what, "I'm trying to enjoy every single day."
And what if he could choose any career after graduation?
"I would love to play professional football forever," Kargbo-Okorogie says as he thinks about the future.
When asked about his most cherished memories at Wake Forest, aside from football, he attributes much of his success to the relationships he has established.
"That's probably what I will take away from this place." Then, he pauses and says, "well, you know, there was the backboard thing at Duke."
IN THE SPOTLIGHT is published in KICKOFF, the official gameday magazine of Wake Forest Football. The publication is on sale at each home football game at Groves Stadium. The player features from each issue of KICKOFF will be featured here on www.wakeforestsports.com, the official source for news, scores and more on Wake Forest Athletics.