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Around SBN: Beyond The Boxscore's Week 17 MLB Power Rankings

HoF Round of 32: Deltha O'Neal vs Nnamdi Asomugha

 

Nnamdia



This matchup features two Cal defenders, one of whom blossomed in the pros, the other who was just all-out fierce throughout his career. For each athlete, you can vote in the poll; it closes a week from today.  After the jump, you can read the athlete profiles written up by our commenters, and discuss in the comments your memories of each athlete and which one deserves to move on. (Check out the full bracket here. To check out the original nomination thread, click here. For those who want to track the CGB Hall of Fame posts exclusively, click here or right next to the timestamp where it says "Hall of Fame".)

Star-divide

Deltha O'Neal

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via photos1.blogger.com

O'Neal's NFL career is well known, but it might surprise some of you young ones how much of an impact he had with the Bears.

Tony Macaroni: What some may not know is that Deltha entered the program as a reserve tailback and got pushed into duty as a freshman when the other backs went down with injuries. He had a serious fumbling problem (I heard that Bobby Shaw encouraged him to carry a football around with him as he went to class). He fumbled the opening kickoff in the ‘96 Big Game, setting up the first of what seemed like 20 Stanfurd TD’s. But Holmoe eventually moved him to CB, and he was instantly a force to be reckoned with. He had eight (!) interceptions his senior year, four of which he returned for touchdowns. He was also a rediculous return man, his two return TDs accounting for Cal’s only points in the 1999 Big Game.

dballisloose: And in that 1999 Big Game, it should be noted that Stanford was trying to kick AWAY from Deltha, absurdely so to the point where they would kick all but 2 out of bounds….the 2 that he fielded (and maybe the years are making me exagerate that he only fielded the 2) he took all the way, and those of us in the stands would prepare for the kicks with our thumbs and index fingers together in a triangle, cheering "Deltha, Deltha, Deltha".

I think Deltha may be the most impactful Cal player ever. Ever. 

Nnamdi Asomugha

R-Rated Superstar wrote a balling post on Asomugha. Incredible stuff from him.

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via graphics.fansonly.com

Nnamdi Asomugha is the true embodiment of a California Golden Bear. On the field, Asomugha propelled himself to become one of the top secondary players in football while at the University of California. Playing safety at Cal, Asomugha was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2003 with the 24th overall pick where he then became a cornerback. What a cornerback he would turn out to be.

Since the first day, Asomugha has had to prove the doubters wrong. Many questioned whether or not he was worthy of the high selection, but he silenced all of them for good. After his eight-interception season in 2006, Asomugha earned the reputation of a being a shut-down cornerback. In 2007, one scout told Pro Football Weekly that Nnamdi Asomugha was thrown at "less than any defender in the last ten years." The following year, Nnamdi saw even less action. Opposing quarterbacks tested the top-notch corner a mere 27 times. Asomugha allowed only eight receptions all year. He’s a unanimous All-Pro selection on every team and has earned the right to be called, undoubtedly, the best cornerback in the National Football League. He is, without question, the undisputed leader and the heart of the Oakland Raiders.

Nnamdi-asomugha_medium

via i2.cdn.turner.com

Nnamdi Asomugha graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Finance in 2006. More importantly, philanthropy has been a huge area of focus for the pride of the Silver and the Black. He has been partners with the East Oakland Youth Development Center since 2004. He emphasizes the importance of education, hard work ethic on and off the field, a positive attitude, and a healthy diet.

In 2006, Asomugha launched an annual high school college tour program. Each year, he teams up with the East Oakland Youth Development Center to take students from Bay Area high schools on college tours across the country. Additionally, Asomugha distributes backpacks to the incoming freshmen each year at Narbonne High School in Los Angeles. He also outfits the football and basketball team with shoes, a mandate he wrote into an endorsement contract he signed with Nike.


Not only does Asomugha help within his community, he also helps in his mother’s homeland of Nigera, since he’s born of Igbo descent, an ethnic group in southeastern Nigeria.

Education and community service are his mainstays. Asomugha serves as Advisory Board Chair for his family’s foundation, the Orphans and Widows In Need (OWIN) Foundation. Through OWIN, Asomugha and his family provide food, shelter, medicine, vocational training, literacy efforts, and scholarships to widows and orphans victimized by poverty or abuse in Nigeria.

 

Asomugha_and_president_clinton_medium

via upload.wikimedia.org


To top all of that off, Asomugha met with former president Bill Clinton to discuss the importance of global service and student activism at the Clinton Global Initiative University.

President Clinton’s youth initiative designed to challenge college students to take action on some of the most pressing global issues in areas such as education, poverty and global health

 

Here are some of the awards that Nnamdi Asomugha has been noted for off of the football field.
Outstanding Community Service Nomination (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Commitment to Excellence Award (2006)
Commitment to Excellence Award (2007)
Home Depot Neighborhood MVP (2007)
Sports Illustrated 2008 Sportsman of the Year (2008)
"Do Right Men of 2008" by Essence Magazine (2008)

Here are some videos on the best cornerback in the NFL.
Nnamdi Asomugha Highlights
Nnamdi Asomugha: Pro Bowl Special
Nnamdi Asomugha Photo Montage

 Time to vote!

Poll
Who goes on to the HoF Sweet 16, Deltha O'Neal or Nnamdi Asomugha?
Deltha O'Neal
136 votes
Nnamdi Asomugha
104 votes

240 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 13 comments |

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Comments

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Really tough call on this one.

Back during the Holmoecaust, Deltha was really stood out because he was pretty much the only real big play maker on the team. I vividly remember his scores in that Big Game, which was one of the earliest Big Games I went to.

Asomugha is the man in the Raiders right now, no doubt about that. He is and will always be one of the best cornerbacks to come out of Cal. However, from my perspective Deltha is a more notable guy since he was on a team that was at rock bottom and had nowhere to go at all, but acted out on the field like that was not the case.

"Today's weather, excessively violent with a chance of dismemberment. Tune in later for our 5-day forecast!"
~ Three Dog - Fallout 3

by Swamphunter on Jul 10, 2009 12:31 PM PDT reply actions  

Agreed

In the NFL, Nnamdi >> Deltha
At Cal, Deltha >> Nnamdi

Since this is a Cal-specific Hall of Fame, I went with Deltha. Then again, I would have no problem with anyone choosing Nnamdi on the basis of all the good-citizen stuff. Very tough call, indeed.

Go Bears!

by California Pete on Jul 10, 2009 12:34 PM PDT up reply actions  

I agree with your analysis. This is a tough call, but I think I’m going to place slightly more emphasis on college production since this is more about Cal rather than post-Cal stuff.

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Jul 10, 2009 1:07 PM PDT up reply actions  

Anybody who lived through the 1999 season is going to go with Dealtha. He WAS that team. On Defense. On Special Teams. On Offense (i.e. Special Teams).

Supreme Leader Ayatollah TwistNHook!

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Jul 10, 2009 4:18 PM PDT up reply actions  

I went with Nnamdi.

Agree with Cal Pete on this one as follows:
In the NFL, Nnamdi >> Deltha
At Cal, Deltha >> Nnamdi

However, two things made me go with Nnamdi.

1.) O’neal has made a series of questionable/illegal decisions since leaving cal. He is a black mark on the university to an extent. Nnamdi, in contrast, is an outstanding citizen that gives back to the community etc. That is just my understanding of the two based on public perception – we don’t really know either of these guys.

2.) My buddy was a walk on WR at cal and during practice Deltha used to regularly ask him to take off plays so Deltha didn’t have to work. That’s some pretty shitty work ethic. Guess it caught up with him in the NFL.

by 33SwisherSweet on Jul 10, 2009 12:42 PM PDT reply actions  

I didn't know what to do here

If you’re looking at the pro career, Nnamdi > Deltha. If you go strictly by the Cal career, Deltha > Nnamdi. Deltha was a Pac-10 defensive player of the year on a BAD team, for cryin’ out loud. But on the other hand, there is something to be said for Nnamdi working hard and becoming a 1st round draft pick. And I remember Nnamdi for being an important member of the 2002 team, which was the beginning of the Tedford turnaround.

What to do?

I went with Nnamdi. At the end, I simply invoked the wise young rollonubears method:
I love Nnamdi more.

Praise be to Tedford!

by Ohio Bear on Jul 10, 2009 2:35 PM PDT reply actions  

Cool story.

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Jul 10, 2009 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions  

My favorite athlete in all of sports, Nnamdi Asomugha, is getting owned.

Yeah, of course, this is a Cal Hall of Fame and not anything else, so I am not surprised.

The Ultimate Opportunist

by Rated-R Superstar on Jul 10, 2009 7:38 PM PDT reply actions  

O'neal was beeter in college

Awesomemuah (its a joke calm down people) is better in the NFL

Stop.......... Hammertime!!!!!

by MR. Bigshot 123 on Jul 10, 2009 10:12 PM PDT reply actions  

Delta O’neal was arguably the greatest Cal football player of all time…

by Missing Barry on Jul 13, 2009 8:54 AM PDT reply actions  

Voted for ONeal. Had the better Cal career. He was our offense in 99.

by j.lee on Jul 13, 2009 4:57 PM PDT reply actions  

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