Nishad Strother earned his college scholarship in the weight room. In June before his senior year in 2018 he won the Hard Hat Award as MVP of the ECU Big Man Camp and the Pirates offered him the same day.
His high school coach Caleb King told Sammy Batten of bonesville.net, “He really developed himself in the offseason. He committed himself to the weight room and added 100 pounds to every single lift this offseason. His bench press is over 315 pounds and he’s over 280 on the power clean. He’s done a great job in the weight room and that’s translating to the field.”
The Havelock Rams were 14-2 his junior season and made it to the 3A state championship before losing to Charlotte Catholic. Nishad started at left tackle on an offense that cranked out 48.6 points and more than 400 yards of total offense per game.
But it was as a senior that Strother made his big leap forward. The team started 3-0 that fall and King said, “He has been unbelievable so far this season. His effort has been unbelievable on each play. He’s running downfield, engaging people and staying in the fight."
Strother was 6-3, 290 as a high school senior, a two-star prospect from a town of 22,000 in the southeastern corner of North Carolina. “Nishad had incredible footwork for someone his size, even at that stage,” King said.
With the ECU Pirates Strother started 30 games over three seasons, including his last 13 in a row. He's steady, dependable, 6-3, 326 now as a graduate transfer. The effort and willingness to hustle are still there, the kind of lineman who looks for someone to block when the guy in front of him drops off into pass coverage or the quarterback takes off on a scramble. At left guard he has the power to drive a defender off the ball and the mobility to get out in front of a running back on the outside or the second level.
In May he earned a degree in Marketing, and the first thing he decided to market was himself. After visiting Arizona and a few other schools, he decided to sign with the Ducks just after the conclusion of spring practice.
Between the high school recruiting class and the portal, Dan Lanning and his staff have added 40 new players to the team this off season, including four experienced athletes on the offensive line in Strother, Ajani Cornelius, Junior Angilau and JC transfer George Silva.
The upgrade was vital because the team lost four starters on the line at the end of 2022. Alex Forsyth, Ryan Walk, TJ Bass and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu all completed their college careers. This spring, returning offensive guard Marcus Harper and Texas transfer Angilau were limited by injuries, so the addition of Strother, a three-star prospect in the transfer portal according to Rivals.com, is a nice bit of added insurance. He hasn't been spectacular playing in the AAC against teams like Memphis, Tulane, Houston, UCF and Cincinnati, but he's a mature player who clearly loves the game.
Here he is speaking to reporters during fall camp last August:
No comments:
Post a Comment