Aboushi learns from golden experience

Odd things can be found in dorm rooms at every college campus.

Few items, however, look quite as unique as an actual gold medal from playing football.

Yes, football, a sport that has never been associated with the Olympics.

Yet a gold medal in the sport resides where Virginia’s Oday Aboushi sleeps every evening at the University of Virginia.

The medal is something that the true freshman from Staten Island, N.Y., takes pride in owning, but the memories of playing with the United States 19-and-under junior national team in the IFAF Junior World Championship this past summer will last forever.

“It was unreal,” he said. “It was a lot of fun and it was so amazing to play for the U.S. team.

“We were in Ohio for a month to train and we had a lot of fun with it. We ended up winning the gold and it was a great experience that I am glad to have been a part of.”

The results of the games were startling, yet expected, as the U.S. team throttled its first two foes 133-0 and whipped Canada in the title game, 41-3.

“The other teams were good but we just had a really amazing team,” said Aboushi, who was joined in the event by Virginia freshman defensive back Corey Lillard. “We all really practiced hard and we put a noticeable effort into it.

“In the end, we got the wins and we got the gold.”

What did the experience do for Aboushi in preparing him for training camp and ACC football?

That depends on who you ask.

“We thought that it might, but I think that was an isolated experience,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “That was a very good experience for [Aboushi and Lillard]. They talked in positive terms about what it meant for them to represent their country in that tournament and what fun it was to meet players from around the country who were doing so and talk about what each one of them had to face.

“Frankly, if we could get some of those teams on our schedule, if we could get to play France — now I’ll probably get all the Frenchmen mad at me — but if we could get to play France … probably the experience would have more value for them.”

Aboushi, a four-star recruit that once verbally committed to Boston College, said the activities in June and July prepped him for “putting on the pads” at Virginia.

“I did want to play right away, actually,” he said. “I trained hard in the summer here and back home.

“I tried to come in as well prepared as I can and I just wanted to get rolling as fast as I can.”

It has paid off to some degree, although some would argue that his limited snap count merely wasted a full season of eligibility in 2013.

Aboushi logged “10 or 15 plays,” he said, against Duke at left tackle in the first half, spelling starter Landon Bradley. That project is expected to continue. 

“Coach was telling me before the game, ‘Be ready today,’” he recounted. “‘You are going to get your reps.’”

His teammates have certainly noticed the explosive nature that Aboushi possesses on the field and in the trenches, something that brings relief as the Cavaliers (3-5, 2-2 ACC) will need to replace right tackle Will Barker at season’s end.

“Oday is real good,” said Virginia defensive end Zane Parr. “He has a lot of potential. I am definitely looking forward to seeing him play more these next few years.

“He is looking real good in practice.”