Aboushi Drafted by Hometown Jets

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Staten Island native Oday Aboushi will be coming home to the Big Apple. A senior offensive lineman at the University of Virginia, Aboushi was taken with the 141st overall pick (fifth round) in the National Football League Draft this past weekend. “I don’t think I can put into words how excited I am to be a New York Jet, to be with my hometown team,” Aboushi told the Washington Post. “Everybody is ecstatic, excited. It was a tough couple of days right now, anxiety running high, excitement, people walking around anxious. To finally get the call, especially being a hometown team like the Jets, couldn’t be [more] perfect.”

A Palestinian-American Muslim, Aboushi has started every game at left tackle for Virginia for the past three years. In 2012, Aboushi earned first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors, and was selected to the Senior Bowl as one of the top players in the country. However, he is not considered to have the agility to stay at left tackle in the NFL and will likely be shifted to either the guard or right tackle position. ESPN.com states about Aboushi, “He is smart and shows an above-average inline power base to get movement on defenders. Aboushi has a chance to develop into a starter on the interior due to his short-area quickness and toughness…” Aboushi himself adds, “I’m going to play any position, wherever I’m needed to play, whatever is going to help the team be better and help the line come together as a group.”

A practicing Muslim, Aboushi observed Ramadan during every training camp at Virginia. And he comes from a very accomplished family. Of his nine siblings, three are attorneys, two are physicians, one is a college professor, one is an accountant and yet another is a nurse. Oday certainly has some significant footsteps to follow.

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