Who is Xavier Omon?

Answer 1

He is a collegiate running back for Northwest Missouri. Xavier Omon Demonstrates Strength of Heart The engaging smile and easy going personality of former Lawrence, KS resident, Xavier Omon, belies the heartache he's endured in his life. Xavier, or Xavy, as friends and family just completed his senior year as running back for the Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, MO. He was the first Division 2 football player to have rushed for over 1500 yards for 4 consecutive years of College Football. Xavier and his Bearcat team have made it to the finals of the D2 championship for three consecutive years (2005-2007), only to lose in the championship game. The team lost to Grand Valley State University in 2005 and 2006 and to Valdosta State in 2007.

Omon is like most typical college students and uses the social network, Facebook, to express himself and communicate with friends. One of the most compelling statements he makes is: "There is a lot about me that I can't put in this little box.... I am a young man that has been through a lot, but have used what some would call setbacks to make me stronger... My mom is the only person that could possibly motivate me, she is such a strong person and I can't wait until the day I can repay her for all she has done for me. That's my heart.... I am best when my back's against the wall; when people are doubting me ...." When Omon was only 10 years old, his oldest brother, 17-year old Demetrius, was killed in a car accident in 1994. In 1999, his 23-year old uncle, Bryan Shorter also died in a car accident. A year later, in 2000, Omon's next older brother, 18-year old Effiong, died by suicide. In 2003, his maternal grandfather, Melvin Shorter, died. Omon credits the support of high school coaches, his mother and step-father, Delorise Omon-Brown and Anthony Brown, as providing much needed support during these hard times. He also has an older brother, Rafael and a younger, sister, Raina, who have shared these life-altering events with him as well as a large extended family. He also has a 2 year old nephew, Keiyn Omon who he is very proud of.

Omon has loved football from the time he was old enough to play little league football here in Lawrence for a Boys and Girls Club team called the Bulldogs starting in third grade. One of Omon's coaches at the time was Ramon McAnderson. Brandon McAnderson (Kansas Jayhawk running back) and Xavier were teammates on the team Ramon McAnderson coached. Xavier's devoted step-father, Anthony, was always there cheering him on and encouraging him. Anthony had also played high school football in Albany, Georgia but a leg injury kept him from going on to the next level to play ball. Anthony and Omon's three older brothers, two of them now deceased, helped him develop the mental and physical toughness needed to play football at the college level and to survive a life peppered with more tragedy than most people experience in a lifetime. Xavier now wears the #2 on his football jersey in honor of his two oldest brothers. They are never far from his mind on or off the football field. Delorise jokes there are a lot of people in that uniform with Xavier: his brothers, his uncle Bryan, his step-father, Anthony and his grandpa, Melvin Shorter. She thinks Xavier has quite a cheering section in heaven and on earth. After every touchdown he scores, Omon points up to heaven to dedicate it to his cheering squad on high. Omon is projected to be drafted in the 2008 NFH draft. He completed a broadcasting degree from NW Missouri State in December 2007. Xavier reports that his mother again strongly influenced his decision to choose journalism as a major because she talked about being a journalist. He also believes "it would be easy for me to stay involved in sports even after I was done playing if I majored in broadcasting. I love sports and I always want to be close to it even if I don't get to play the game." In Omon's apartment in Maryville, a list of his goals was hanging on the wall to remind him of what he wants out of life. He wants to play football at the next level, he wants to buy his mom and step-father a house so his mom will never have to work again and he eventually wants to be a good husband and father. Xavier emphasizes that his primary motivation in going to the NFL is so "my mom would not have to work again. I will be fulfilling a dream my older brother, Demetrius never got to accomplish and I would be getting to make my mom happy. She's worked so hard, done so much and been through so much that she deserves that (not working anymore) and more, I just want to try to repay her for what she has done for me." Omon can probably best be described by his own words in his Facebook profile, "Xavier is thinking a true hero isn't measured by the amount of his strength but by the strength of his heart." Omon broke and set many NCAA records in his senior year in college on the football field, but he'd already rewritten the record book for being a good son, grandson, brother, cousin and friend. By Alia Ahmed