Due to a scheduling conflict with offensive line meetings, Jaguars guard Uche Nwaneri never got to watch special-teams practices in training camp. Now that he has seen for himself the electricity that Deji Karim brings to kickoff returns, Nwaneri’s eyes light up.
“Seeing him this past two preseason games, [Karim] is a firecracker,” Nwaneri said. “He’s just as explosive as when Maurice [Jones-Drew] was back there doing it.”
One of the frequent criticisms heard about the Jaguars the past couple years is that this team lacks genuine pizzazz. Without Jones-Drew, critics say there’s nothing much about them to generate excitement.
But when you watch the 5-foot-8, 209-pound Karim — a poor man’s Jones-Drew with a similar body type — how can Jaguars’ fans not feel some kind of adrenaline rush as he catches a kickoff?
After the NFL Draft, I asked general manager Gene Smith to identify a Jaguars pick outside of Tyson Alualu that he was most excited to acquire. He immediately replied: “Deji Karim.”
Legally, it’s actually Abul-Gafar Olatokumbo Ayodeji Lamar Karim, but his Nigerian name was shortened to Deji, which means “pure happiness.” That fits perfectly because in the team’s 15-year existence, I’m not sure it’s had a player who smiles more often than Karim.
So far, he’s given the Jaguars a lot of joy because No. 35 keeps cutting the field in half for the offense. Four of his nine returns in preseason have gone for over 40 yards, with a 47-yarder nullified by an illegal wedge penalty.
To be fair, it’s not all just Karim. Montell Owens, the Jaguars’ godfather-like presence on special teams and Karim’s “bodyguard,” credits the arrival of unrestricted free agent Kassim Osgood for upgrading the return game.
“You don’t expect nothing less but a big play on special teams with the caliber of guys we have,” Karim said. “I look good, but those other guys are the ones doing the work.”
Karim, who injured his left thumb Saturday against the Dolphins and had an MRI on it Monday, had to learn the hard way about doing the work. Being an academic slacker in high school almost derailed his football career.
His high school teammate, St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, went to Oklahoma on a scholarship, but Karim’s grades were so bad that no big-time school would touch him.
“I wasn’t mature at that point in my life,” Karim said. “A bunch of schools came to visit my junior year, saw my grades and said, 'What’s this kid doing?’ ”
Forced to attend junior college, Karim started paying as much attention to school as he did his playbook. He graduated early from Northeast Oklahoma A&M, then enrolled at Southern Illinois, where he led all Football Championship Subdivision schools last year with 1,694 yards rushing.
The Jaguars drafted him to bring juice to a blasé kick return unit. When Karim is fielding kicks, there’s a sense of anticipation on the sideline.
“When you start to have some of that, your guys get excited about blocking for somebody, knowing you could be the block to spring [Karim],” coach Jack Del Rio said.
It’s too early to know whether he’s the second coming of Jones-Drew. But if you’re the Jaguars and starving for star power, Deji Karim delivering all those happy returns has the look of something special.
