Ravens draft Nakamura
Posted by ampontan on Saturday, May 17, 2008
MORE THAN 30 JAPANESE played on teams in the now-defunct N.F.L. Europe, a league with the dual objective of player development and generating interest in American football in that part of the world. Also, Kinoshita Noriaki got a summer-long trial with the Atlanta Falcons during exhibition season last year, but was cut from the squad before the regular season started. That’s the closest any Japanese or ethnic Japanese has ever come to playing in a football game that counts in the National Football League in the United States.
That might change this year. In the recent N.F.L. draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected Haruki Nakamura, a safety (defender) from the University of Cincinnati in the sixth round. Nakamura is not a native Japanese, but he’s close–his father was from Japan. Ryozo Nakamura, who died when Haruki was five, had an eighth-degree black belt in judo (a very high level) and traveled around the world as an instructor. One of his stops included Egypt to train the Egyptian military. He finally went to the U.S. to work with the American national judo team, and stayed to marry a Japanese-American woman with a fourth-degree black belt in judo herself.
Judo runs in the Nakamura family. Everyone in the family except Haruki has been a national champion. In fact, his two brothers combined for 10 national judo championships between them, and brother Yoshi also was twice selected an All-American in wrestling.
Ironically, his father didn’t want anyone playing football because he thought it was too dangerous, and Nakamura had to sneak around when he finally started playing in the sixth grade.
Nakamura turned out to be a natural for the sport, however. He was a three-year starter at Cincinnati, and as the senior captain and defensive signal caller last season, led the Bearcats in tackles with 95. He also had four interceptions and recovered four fumbles while his team won 10 games, the last being the PapaJohns.com Bowl. He is known for what one website called “eye-popping hits” and intense pre-game preparation.
Aggressive defense is the calling card of the N.F.L.’s Ravens, and they were thrilled to select Nakamura. The team’s secondary coach Mark Carrier said, “When I watched him play, he was always moving, always in motion…He plays with a sense of urgency. He is good, physical, plays smart and is aggressive. You like watching him play because he looks like he is having fun.”
Nakamura’s hometown newspaper in Ohio, The Chronicle-Telegram, ran a profile on him last year:
A lot of people assume that because I’m not that big of a guy, I wouldn’t be a physical player,” said Nakamura. “It’s true. I’m not 6-2 and 225 pounds. But in my eyes, that’s part of the fun. I like surprising people.”
Here’s a report from NFL.com
Classic over-achieving blue collar free safety who simply makes too many plays to not get a shot at the next level. While Nakamura lacks the elite straight-line speed of some of the other higher profile athletes at the position, he plays with instincts, physicality and an ability to step up his level against top competition. Nakamura’s versatility as a return specialist just adds to his value.
And one from SI.com
POSITIVES: Productive, hard-working college defender with limited upside. Intelligent, displays good instincts, and quick diagnosing the action. Physical, works to get involved, and a willing volunteer in run defense. Displays a burst of straight-line speed, takes good angles to the action, and wraps up when tackling.
NEGATIVES: Undersized, has tackles broken, and struggles getting off blocks. Lacks top sideline-to-sideline range as well as speed to the flanks.
To understand how good he is (and how much the Cincinnati fans loved his play), take a look at this YouTube tribute video they put together. Nakamura is number 13. To see what the Ravens saw, watch how he throws his body to stop a running back from scoring a touchdown at about 1:25, and the hits that start at about 3:00.
A lot could happen between now and September—particularly injuries—but I suspect Nakamura is going to become an N.F.L. pioneer and make the Ravens this year as a special teams player, i.e., playing on kickoffs, kickoff returns, punts, and punt returns. He’s just the kind of guy the Baltimore fans appreciate.
infimum said
Closest? Japanese blood has already been IN the league. Johnnie Morton‘s grandmother is Japanese.
ampontan said
Infimum: Nice to see you again! But, I think you know what I meant by this post. 1/4th is a little bit of a stretch…
BTW, there is a guy who played for KC, I think his name is Scott Fujita, who is Caucasian but was adopted by a Japanese family and considers himself Japanese.
infimum said
Do you know that
Wally Yonamine was a 49er? The 49ers then belonged to the AAFC, so that probably doesn’t count in your “definition”, does it?
ampontan said
I spent about a half hour trying to find other Japanese in the NFL before writing that post, and no one else seems to know about Yonamine or includes the AAFC in the definition. All sorts of people made a big deal about the guy who tried out for the Falcolns, however.
Ken said
Safety would be one of a few positions that Japanese brethren can become regular in NFL.
It is hard for them to compete with original Americans on power and speed constitutionally.
I wish someone is picked as QB by making most of smartness as mentioned above in the future.
Anyway, I hope Nakamura get many Japanese fans and official game is held in Japan.
tornadoes28 said
He better hit damn hard if he has any chance playing in the NFL with his size.
Go Raiders.
James A said
Japanese have proven themselves to be good (American) football players in the past. Japan’s team in the American Football World Cup did very well. They lost the final game to the US, but it was a pretty close game (23-20). They played OT even.
Ken said
The American Football World Cup was nowhere near the level of the NFL. Japan did well, but that’s not pro football.
Anyway, best of luck to Nakamura! It looks like he has the work ethic and heart, which can make up somewhat for size. The Ravens don’t have to play the Patriots this year anyway, so it’s not like they’re gearing up for any tough games…
Ken said
Actually, I just checked the Ravens’ schedule again, and they are playing the Patriots in the first preseason game – it doesn’t count but it’s important for rookies and other guys trying to make the team. So, if he makes it that far (good chance), he’ll have to guard Moss or Welker to stay on the team. If he can do that, or even – (gasp) pick off Tom Brady – he just might be able to prove himself early.
Patrick said
John Jackson, a standout offensive lineman for 14 years in the NFL from 1988-2001, most of the years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, has a Japanese mother and was born in Japan.
Scott Fujita has been a standout linebacker for Kansas City and New Orleans the past several seasons. He is white, was born and raised in the U.S., and I think your claim that he considers himself Japanese to be more than a little far-fetched, regardless of the ethnicity of his adoptive parents. He might have said such a thing once upon a time, but it would merely be lip service to show his appreciation for the people who raised him.
The American Football World Cup is an utterly minor competition. If you know anything about American football, to stage a competition using the low-level American players who are not among the several hundred every year who have a chance to get drafted or sign FA contracts to make a team, speaks volumes about the level of competition. This is not meant as a criticism of the efforts of the Japanese players, it`s meant more as a reality check of what this so-called world cup really is.
My guess is that you will see a handful of Japanese in the coming years get more legitimate chances at making NFL teams, the numbers game is on their side-i.e. the size of team rosters, the injury factor etc.-but the chances will be few and far between.
To my mind, the Japanese have to make a decision about which sport they want to improve in: American football or Rugby. With soccer taking away more and more of the already dwindling supply of young people from baseball in recent years, the pool of available “prospects” to improve the prospects of the Japanese at the game of American football is very small. Then you siphon off guys between two very different sports like American football and rugby, which both require so many players, well, then I don`t think the future is very good at all for Japanese playing American football as a team sport, for specific individuals with superior skills, well, maybe.
It`s sad to say, but Nakamura may very well have a hard time finding NFL people who will take him seriously. If you are not black, and especially trying to play one of the skill positions, the odds are against you, regardless of your physical attributes.
He will also have a really tough time making the Ravens` roster out of training camp because of the incumbents ahead of him and the fact the Ravens drafted another safety last month with more talent than Nakamura. The key for him is to stay healthy and keep working hard because, even if you get cut from your original team, the numbers game with all the injuries over a 16-game regular season usually means someone will come calling between September and December.
Anyway, the best of luck to Nakamura and I hope he gets a real chance to prove himself with the Baltimore Ravens.