The 6-foot-2, 227-pound Seymour senior linebacker has nothing personal against signal-callers — he was even one back in his midget football days following in the footsteps of his older brother and father.
In fact, when it comes to the football field, Osiecki is an equal opportunity punisher for all.
Quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, maybe even an unsuspecting diminutive kicker if you are the one with the football in your hands, then Osiecki has his eyes locked on you — and he's going to bring you down.
"From the minute he steps on the field he looks to attack," Seymour linebackers coach John Johnson said. "He wants to find the ball, go get it and kill people. That's basically how it is."
And that's how it's going to remain for another season in the Naugatuck Valley League. Osiecki might have signed up to attend UConn next year, making a verbal commitment to the Huskies in March, but until then, he will continue to deliver the blows in the Valley.
"Nightmare," was the first word out of Ansonia head coach Tom Brockett's mouth when asked about Seymour's No. 47. "He's a great player. He's such an impact player and he's always around the football." In two seasons for the Wildcats, Osiecki did not build a resume as one of the top recruits in the state for being mild and meek.
Brockett's team knows first-hand since
"He is a REAL football player," Seymour head coach Paul Sponheimer said, "instead of a quarterback." A star is born When Osiecki first made the move from a 150-pound eighth-grader to a freshman on the varsity football team, he really didn't care where he lined up, but he carried a dark secret with him.
Osiecki's father, Sandy, was a star quarterback at Ansonia High School in the mid-1970s before playing at Arizona State and with the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL. Older brother Ryan also went the QB route, first at Seymour and now at Louisville.
Mike Osiecki thought he might be the next in line even though he preferred running the ball to passing it during his QB days on the Pop Warner midget squad.
"I wanted to be the quarterback my freshman year, but coach Sponheimer told me that I would have a better chance starting at linebacker and fullback," he said. "I always played linebacker and he just wanted me there. It really didn't matter where I played as long as I got on the field." Another Osiecki at quarterback would have broken Johnson's heart.
Despite seeing only game-day action on special teams as a freshman, Osiecki practiced with the defense during the season and had his position coach salivating to put him in the lineup.
"We were preparing for Woodland and he made three or four plays and I remember turning to coach Sponheimer and saying, 'He's our middle linebacker for the next three years,'" Johnson said. "I saw enough in those first couple plays — he just has a nose for the football. The instincts, you can't teach." With the path to playing time being the quarterback of the defense, Osiecki tackled the task of getting bigger and stronger in the off-season.
A stack of dumbbells and anyone with two slices of bread and some deli meat became his best friends.
"I really couldn't play because I was too small (as a freshman)," he said. "(That summer) I would eat like 10 sandwiches a day and I would be in the weight room for three hours." The plan might not have quite made Osiecki the chiseled specimen he is today, but he had enough size and speed during his sophomore season to lead the team with 86 tackles, including 64 solo stops.
"Anybody who comes from eighth grade to here, it's a great step up," Sponheimer said. "I think it takes a while for all high school athletes to understand tired and work through tired. The ones who learn the discipline to work through tired become the Mike Osieckis of the world. The ones that say 'I'm tired' and shut down — you won't see them at a Division I level." Happy at home Another season, another 100-plus tackles and Osiecki might have parlayed that into even more offers. In addition to UConn, Boston College and Rutgers had already expressed interest in him, and schools such as Michigan and West Virginia were rumored to be sniffing around, too.
UConn football coach Randy Edsall and the Huskies were not the only ones pleased when Osiecki made an early decision on his future.
"He's the most heavily recruited I've ever had," said Sponheimer, who enters his 29th and final season at Seymour. "The happiest person was my wife only because she's been through a lot of recruiting. The phone rings constantly and some of those people in the far west don't realize the different time schedules, so she was a happy camper he committed early." In the end, the Huskies just had too many positives to prolong the inevitable and Osiecki decided to join former Seymour teammate Mike Hicks, a junior starting guard at UConn, in Storrs.
"UConn, there's something about their coaching staff and everything," Osiecki said. "I just like it up there. It's a great school and a great program." But playing for a Big East title and a bowl berth are something down the road. This fall, the third-year starter at linebacker, who also plays running back, has the defending state champion Wildcats on his mind all the time.
"Now that people see I am going to UConn, I want to give it everything I've got," he said. "I've never really held back, I just go all out. Plus it's my senior year and I want to win. I want another one of those (state titles)." The drive and the work ethic are two things Osiecki has never lacked at Seymour. The coaching staff has even tried to tone down Osiecki's workouts. For a while he would go home after a couple hours of practice, eat dinner and then sneak into the basement to do another workout.
"He's got the hunger, I guess is the best way to put it," Johnson said. "He doesn't get satisfied." Sponheimer will not have to worry about having another Osiecki coming around — younger brother Jack plays quarterback and linebacker at the midget level — or what to do with him.
When Mike Osiecki leaves, Sponheimer will go with him and settle into retirement. Neither one of them wants to coast off into the sunset. "I've more recently become even more of a Mike Osiecki fan because his work ethic has stepped up immensely," Sponheimer said. "His leadership has stepped up immensely. He is to the point of, what he is doing on the field, he can now demand it of others because nobody can say 'he's telling us to do it, but he's not doing it himself.' "Mike Osiecki has grown into quite a young man." He has also become quite a football player. Not bad for a former quarterback.
On Saturday: Foran's Jake White.
The Osiecki file
WHO — Mike Osiecki
WHAT — Seymour High senior running back/linebacker
Height/weight — 6-foot-2, 227 pounds College choice — UConn
RESUME — Collected a team-high 161 total tackles (115 solo stops, 46 assists) last season. Rushed for 759 yards and 13 touchdowns. Also caught 11 passes for 180 yards and four TDs. Has 247 total tackles in two seasons at middle linebacker, including 179 solo stops. Older brother Ryan is a quarterback at Louisville, father Sandy Osiecki played at Arizona State and with the Kansas City Chiefs. Admires the Baltimore Ravens' Ray Lewis and Chicago Bears' Brian Urlacher. Favorite all-time player is former Bear Dick Butkus.
QUOTABLE — "I think I read the ball well, I read fast and I don't hesitate. Plus, I like to hit people." — Mike Osiecki
— WILLIAM S. PAXTON
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