Rising 3-star CMU commit J.J. Calip transferring to Olentangy Orange for senior season
Rising 3-star CMU commit J.J. Calip transferring to Olentangy Orange for senior season
Calip excited to play for the local school; working on improving his game in the slot
Change has always been constant in J.J. Calip’s life and he has never hesitated to seek out a better life situation. He knows not to look back because opportunities can evaporate in an instant.
The rising three-star running back has enrolled at Olentangy Orange High School for his senior year. He will be playing for the school that is closest to where he resides as he lives with his grandmother in Lewis Center.
“I just want to win and learn and the Orange kids made me feel comfortable,” Calip said.
Calip is very appreciative of everything the teachers and coaches have done for him during his time at Worthington Kilbourne. He said this move just makes the most sense for him logistically. He believes the move to the local school will allow him to get more exposure and become a more versatile player.
The speedster has been working on improving his ballcarrier vision, agility, conditioning and footwork this offseason through specialized workouts with former Ohio State cornerback Doran Grant. He also trains with Derick Alexander of H.O.P.E Fitness.
Calip said he estimates about 30% of his workouts are for high school and the rest are mostly college preparation. He wants nothing more than to be successful at the next level. He had a stellar junior season and is riding that momentum into his final year. He finished with 1,759 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns, earning first team all-district and third-team all-state honors.
High school running backs typically have a harder time receiving offers than many other positions, but it’s all relative to what a player brings to the table. Most of Calip’s production at this level has come out of the backfield, but it’s not a coincidence that Division I offers started pouring in shortly after he was able to showcase his multi-positional capabilities at several college camps.
Calip emphasized that he is primarily a running back, but he wants to be able to be utilized in a Deebo Samuel type role.
College coaches are always reaching out to Calip now, a steady change from just a couple months ago. He got his first scholarship offer from Western Michigan University on Feb. 14 and that opened the recruiting floodgates. He got offers from the University of Akron and Central Michigan University the following day. He now holds 11 Division I offers and boasts a $16.1k NIL evaluation, per On3.com.
Calip verbally committed to Central Michigan on April 4 because he was supremely confident that it was the best place for him to be. He committed not long after visiting the campus for the first time. CMU Head Coach Jim McElwain and the team’s position coaches sold him with their family environment and their pitch on what he could do for them. A meeting with the NCAA’s leading rusher Lew Nichols III really sold him on the idea of being a Chippewa. His next visit there is scheduled for June 11.
Calip’s recruitment has really heated up in recent months. He is in regular contact with multiple power-five coaches and even Jackson State’s Deion Sanders is interested. A lot can change with one phone call.
Life has been far from easy for Calip. He has seen things that no teenager should have to see. He said for a significant portion of his life, he has felt like an outsider. The kids at Orange made him feel valued and he just felt a sense of belonging and peace from the first moment that he stepped onto the turf at Pioneer Field.
It seems that he is past the worst moments of his life. He won’t forget the sleepless nights at the Cleveland homeless shelters that he stayed at when he was in middle school. He has endured the pain of losing his best friend, Bahati Juma, to an act of gun violence in June of 2018.
That changed his life forever. He knew he had to escape northeast Ohio if he wanted to achieve his goal of playing football in college, so he made it happen. He moved to Worthington a few months later to live with his grandmother. He grew so much as a player and as a person in his three years at Worthington Kilbourne, but it was simply time to move on.
Calip is a humble kid and has already reached out to many of his new teammates to let them know that he just wants to win and grow as a player. He kept stressing that he is not here to take playing time, although he will likely be the most talented player on the field at any given time.
He will share the backfield with fellow senior running back Bobby Ogles. The two have already developed a great friendship and are determined to make each other better. Calip said he sees himself taking the majority of his snaps at running back, but will also spend time in the slot.
Orange went 1-9 last year with numerous close losses, but they should be much improved with Calip’s arrival and the returning talent in the trenches. Senior quarterback Michael Clouse will take over the signal calling reins and the Pioneers have an ultra-talented left handed freshman QB joining the program this fall in Levi Davis.
Calip’s pain and personal struggles serve as today’s motivation. He has never been afraid to change his living situation when presented with greener pastures and the move to transfer to Orange is simply the most recent reflection of that.