What a ride it’s been for Kevin Ozier.
The redshirt senior wide receiver will be one of the 15 players honored on Senior Night when ASU plays rival UA on Saturday night.
Ozier had an unorthodox career at ASU. He joined the team as a walk-on in 2009 and didn’t start seeing action until the 2011 season. Ozier spent this season as a leader in wide receiving coach DelVaughn Alexander’s group as well as getting meaningful playing time.
“It’s a long journey,” Ozier said. “I might write a book about it.”
Ozier admitted this season could have gone better for him. Although he went into the season with the most catches, receiving yards and touchdowns of all returning wideouts, Ozier still hasn’t been a top target in 2013, especially because of the emergence of redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jaelen Strong.
Through 11 games, Ozier recorded just 18 catches for 287 receiving yards and one touchdown.
“I wanted more catches,” he said. “Any receiver wants the ball on every play. … I don’t get the ball every play, so I just got to make the best of the opportunity I’m given.”
But he’s just thankful he’s along for the ride.
Ozier spent his first two years with the scout team and had to climb his way up to the depth chart. He won the strength and conditioning program’s Hard Hat award for his training, but Ozier still struggled to balance football with being a full-time student. He reportedly had to live in his car at one point and added on a part-time job to pay for his tuition and make other ends meet.
“You just have to be humble and stay focused and know that everything is going to get greater later,” Ozier said. “There are a lot of times where I have to struggle financially and everything, and I have to have a job and work and school. It was stressful at times, but I just had to keep my eye focused on the light at the end of the tunnel.”
The burden went away when ASU coach Todd Graham rewarded Ozier with a scholarship two months after Graham first joined the program at the end of 2011.
“He’s a great leader and a great person,” Graham said. “He’s a guy that’s going to win in everything he does in life. Really proud of Kevin.”
Thanks to the scholarship, Ozier said he no longer needs to work a job to pay for his tuition. For the past two years, he was able to focus strictly on football and his classes. Ozier is expected to graduate in December with a degree in sociology and education.
“It’s just a lot of stress gone,” he said.
Ozier has 50 catches for 780 yards and seven touchdowns for his career, but he’s not done just yet.
With three critical games left on the schedule, Ozier hopes he can catch the attention of NFL scouts. He also said his focus right now is helping the team win the Rose Bowl, the only bowl game he would settle for.
Yet, Saturday’s game against UA could be the last time Ozier and the rest of the ASU seniors suit up at Sun Devil Stadium, with a chance to play one more game at home in the Pac-12 Championship Game if the Sun Devils defeat the Wildcats. Ozier predicts the moment will probably be bittersweet when it comes, but it won’t take long for him to accept it.
“As long as we go out with a bang and win, I’ll be fine,” he said.
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
