On a chilly Saturday night at Pierce College’s John Shepard Stadium, the game between the Brahmas and the Santa Monica College Corsairs was filled with football greatness on the sidelines. It was former wide receiver Terrell Owens, who was on hand to watch one of his disciples play the game that he dominated for decades.
During the past summer Owens met Pierce College wide receiver Wendell O’Brien who was coming off a decent freshman campaign but was still looking to prove that he could be a player quarterbacks could look for to make a play.
Owens who now resides in Calabasas has been working out at Pierce for the past two years.
O’Brien saw Owens and after a strong workout, the legend who is second all-time in receiving yards agreed to put the young Brahmas sophomore under his wing.
“He wanted to pick my brain about some of the things that I have done,” Owens said. “He’s a hard worker and definitely a guy that wants to learn and wants to get better.”
Owens provided wisdom for Wendell at the beginning of the season when O’Brien wasn’t getting the touches he needed.
“Early in the season he was kind of frustrated because he wasn’t in the offense and he wasn’t getting the ball,” Owens said. “I just told him don’t count the number of plays. Just make the plays count.”
Owens’ advice paid off for O’Brien in the end. During the last game of the year he had his best game against the Corsairs, with five receptions for 41 yards.
“It’s been a blessing, he has helped me out a lot mentally and physically,” O’Brien said. “He has helped me a lot with my game and my mentality going into the season. He really believes in me.”
O’Brien first met Owens while working out with current Pierce quarterback Edrees Ahmadi. When the opportunity to work with Owens O’Brien jumped on it.
“I worked out with him the first day and one thing he said he liked about me was I was working,” said O’Brien recalling the first time he met Terrell Owens who was 17 years old at the time. “I was young and I just kept working. That really inspired him.”
O’Brien would continue to workout with Owens on an almost day to day basis for the rest of the summer.
“He taught me tricks like getting off on my start on my routes,” O’Brien said. “When he first met me he said I run NFL routes. He just wanted to polish me off in those areas, but the main thing he helped me out with was my mentality. Just going out, being a dog and playing my heart out every single time.”
Brahmas wide receivers coach John Austin has witnessed the changes in O’Brien since he has worked out with Owens and credits him with turning Wendell into a bonafide star.
“The biggest change that I have seen in Wendell’s game is that he has better hands,” Austin said.
“He has always been a good route runner but never was consistent at catching the ball. T.O. has helped him with that and Wendell has gone from being just a guy in the rotation to one of our primary starters. He is one of the most improved players on our team.”
