Coach's Corner: Moses Oladejo
To learn more about Cal's newest commit, Moses Oladejo, Cosumnes Oaks head coach Andrew Bettencourt took the time to talk to us about his outside linebacker. Bettencourt became the head coach at the Elk Grove HS in 2019, leading them to an 8-4 record and the second round of the CIF-SJS playoffs.
The interview below has been transcribed and edited for clarity.
TT: What kind of player is Moses?
AB: Overall, he is a very versatile athlete. He possesses the ability to rush the passer with extreme intensity. He also adapted in squeezing down, playing against the triple option and filling runs. What makes him unique is his ability to change directions and to fluidly run to and from. That could even transition (him) smoother to inside backer sometime in his career. His ability to change directions and to be versatile at multiple things has created for him an opportunity to be successful at this level, and not only will it continue to create at the next level, but the one after that.
It doesn’t hurt that he has an abnormal, long wingspan. He’s everything you look for, 6’4”, 233 (lbs.), 7-foot wingspan and runs with his knees up, those are things that you look at and check the boxes off.
TT: You can see the wingspan aspect on film, seeing him knock down passes, was that a reason for you guys putting him at outside backer, or was that just something he was comfortable with?
AB: We run a 3-3-5, which is very interchangeable to a 3-4, sometimes what looks like an even front and do a 4-2, (wingspan) helps by all means. When we first got here, he was light, only 185 lbs, we met with him, watched him, and we put all our kids through a combine to get an idea for where we were going to be. We knew with his wingspan that he would create difficult angles for quarterbacks and he has levers. He can lock out a tackle and create separation, he can turn and run, or get his arms up deflect passes. It obviously helps in the receiving game for him, where he can go up above the rim and get the ball as a receiver. That wingspan is going to be his biggest asset, and the more he grows and learns what to do with it, it’s going to impact his play, which is going to impact the game.
You look out of some of these guys who have recently come out (of HS and college football) with these crazy long wingspans, genetically they’re different at their positions, and he creates that at that linebacker position and in general at the linebacker position. It’s hard to pass on him because he’s so long, and then when you do throw on him when he’s in zone coverage, he can turn and run, and he has extremely long arms and limbs to be able to make up, where he may lack what a receiver has in speed, he makes up in reach.
TT: What have you seen from him that he’s developing in his game and what could he use improving on going into his senior year?
AB: The biggest thing, we’ve always given our players a step program as to what they’re trying to attain. The first one for him was physically changing his body, getting the weight put on him in a healthy way, putting it on in a positive way, muscle-wise, speed-wise, and he’s done all that going from 185 to 230, he’s done it healthy. Physically, he looks imposing, like he can go play right now. There’s not many 6’4”, 230 kids that look like him.
This year, our goal for him was to put the gas down, because he has so many gifts that he is just now learning to use, that he started to learn last year, we want him to not think about it and just do it, just have fun with it and let it go. The more he does that, the more he’s going to grow. He’s learned a ton, and that’s probably the best thing I can say when colleges called me. I tell them the kid is willing to learn anything and everything. You teach him something, he tries to adapt it and perfect it. You tell him something, he takes it and runs with it, and that’s what is going to be his biggest asset going into college and competing as a freshman at Cal. What’s going to help him is not thinking so much and just doing it, letting him trust his technique, trust your eyes and going after it.
TT: It’s funny about the size aspect, he was at one of Cal’s spring practices and he looked to be about as big as any of their inside linebackers without pads on…
AB: We always preach ‘mind, body, soul,’ that’s in everything, that’s what we preach at Cosumnes Oaks. He took care of the body part, we preach that because your body is only going to go as far as you push. The mind part is learning the game of football, trusting your eyes, the biggest thing we’ve pushed him for this year is trust your eyes, and the body takes care of the rest, it’s muscle memory, it’s habits, and the best habit you can have is having good eyes, trusting your eyes.
There’s not many coaching staffs in high school football, we have nine coaches on our varsity team, eight of them played division 1 football, six of them played in the NFL, that’s pretty rare. We all try to give as much as we can to our boys, and Moses just soaked it up. Between learning coverages from our DB coach who played at USC and in the league, then playing for our outside linebackers coach Cody Galea, who played at San Diego State, played for the Colts, (Moses) took in everything.
Now, when I watch Cal, obviously Angus (McClure) is there and coach Wilcox is there, it’s a good spot for him. Wilcox has always had really good defenses. We met with him, and it’s a good fit. I do believe Cal will find the right spot for him. I think an odd front would be perfect for him as an outside linebacker, but I also believe that they’ll use him, potentially if he continues to grow, he’ll put his hand in the dirt like a Jadeveon Clowney, like Carl Granderson (DE for the New Orleans Saints who played for Grant Union HS in Sacramento), long, lanky, looking at the measurable stuff like that. He may naturally grow to 6’6”, 275 and look like Chase Young.
He was 6’2”, 180 lbs when I got (to Cosumnes Oaks in 2019) and he wanted to play wide receiver. I said ‘put your arms out.’ He put his arms out, I looked at his shoulders and how broad they were, I said show me a picture of your brother, your mom and your dad, he says ‘here you go’ and I said ‘buddy, you’re going to be an outside linebacker. You may be able to play the inside depending on how well you read, how well you react, outside you have a little more time to process and then go.’ I did tell him that he’ll play tight end, we’ll still throw you the ball, because every kid growing up is like ‘throw me the ball coach, throw me the ball!’ Actually, with him, he’s like ‘run the ball behind me,’ he’s like ‘coach, I’ll seal the edge, run behind me,‘ that’s him, he never came to the sideline to tell us to throw it up (to him), he’d come to the sideline to say ‘run it behind me.’ As an offensive coordinator/head coach, that’s a breath of fresh air.
I think he could potentially hit 6’5”, he may cap out at 6’4”/6’5, 265, you look at Chase Young/Joey Bosa coming into the league, they’re only 260s/270s and their bodies are changing, and Cal may end up with a D-end, they may end up with a middle linebacker, that’s the beauty of him, and the kid is an incredible human being…
TT: That’s exactly what I was going to ask about next, what kind of person is Moses?
AB: He’s an incredible human being, he’s intelligent, he’s compassionate. These are things that, as a young coach, I’m 32 years old and with what we’re going through in our world, with the pandemic and human rights, he values unity. He values human rights, taking care of people, treating people how he wants to be treated, and it’s incredible. I don’t take any credit for it.
We get on Madden once or twice a week to play, I still think he cheats (laughs), but we’ve got some good wars going on right now. He likes to scramble around with Lamar Jackson and Pat Mahomes and throw it deep. I still argue that he doesn’t know football yet..
TT: That’s been cheap ever since Michael Vick in Madden 04…
AB: It is completely the Mike Vick in 04, he runs around and I can’t catch him, he ends up beating me with 200 yards rushing with a quarterback and deep balls. But he’s a remarkable human, he’s going to do big things in the world outside of football. That was part of the reason why I was so excited he had Cal (as an offer), the education that comes from Cal, what it means for that kind of prestigious institution, I told him it goes a long way. Cal, like Stanford, is the Bay Area, you don’t just have Berkeley for your internships, because you go to Cal, you could get a massive job out of San Jose, the East Bay, the North Bay, it opens up massive things for him. And because of who he is, as a man of character, that in itself is going to pay him for the rest of his life.
He’s around my son all the time, I’ve got a two and a half year-old son. It’s a ‘yes sir, no sir,’ when he sees my wife, sees my family, or when coaches come around, and it has always been that way, doesn’t matter who it is. He’s also got a great sense of humor, which some people lack right now. That and a sense of compassion, those things are going to help him for a long time.