Ricky Valenzuela: The One That Almost Got Away
by Zachary Pretzer

Through a few games after the midpoint of this season, he led the North Coast Athletic Conference in total receiving yards and receiving yards per game, and was second in receptions and fourth in receiving touchdowns. In addition, he is one of the leaders in all of Division III in receiving yards and yards per game; however, when junior wide receiver Ricky Valenzuela first step foot on Oberlin’s campus, he was still a prospective student unaware of what lied in store for him as a member of the Oberlin College football team. Even further, he wasn’t sure that Oberlin was the best school for him to attend.
“During my trip here, I initially felt it wasn’t the right place for me - I was already homesick on just a weekend trip,” Valenzuela said.
Thankfully, his thoughts occurred at the beginning of the trip, and his weekend stay was enough to convince him that Oberlin was his best choice. However, it was more than just coincidence that brought this diamond in the rough to Oberlin, Ohio. Before transferring to Oberlin, Valenzuela was a two-year member of a junior college team in Modesto, Calif., and as chance would have it his head coach was good friends with Oberlin Head Coach Jeff Ramsey, who is now in his second year at Oberlin and already has two victories under his belt.
“My junior college coach and Ramsey are friends, so one day Coach Ramsey called and we started talking about Oberlin,” Valenzuela said. After a fairly long period of talking over the phone, Valenzuela finally made the trip to Ohio, viewed the school and met Ramsey in person. “He [Ramsey] made the visit very interesting, and I just wasn’t thinking about football — school was more important in my decision to come to Oberlin,” Valenzuela added.
Ramsey was just one of many coaches of all divisions interested in adding Valenzuela to their fall rosters, but the Yeomen skipper stressed that it was the combination of strong educational opportunities and a rapidly building football program that brought him to Oberlin.
“I explained to Ricky that I knew he would receive a top-notch quality of education, and that if he came here, not only would he have the ability to play right away but he could even be an All-American,” Ramsey said.
Without question, Valenzuela could be an All-American candidate, as he set the pace in receiving this season. Success is hardly a new thing for him, though. Prior to coming to Oberlin he was the leading receiver in catches and yards in his two seasons at Modesto, which was ranked one of the top five junior college football teams in Northern California. However, Valenzuela’s achievements for the Yeomen thus far have hardly come without adversity.
“After the first day of practice I called my mom and had a plane ticket ready to go home, but I ran into a few teammates, including [senior co-captain linebacker Sam] Hobi and they convinced me to stay. Everything here was completely different and new to me here. At Modesto, it was almost like playing in high school — I was living at home and playing football with some of the same teammates I had had for almost eight years.” Valenzuela said. He added, “Being away from home has been rough, but although it’s been a difficult road so far, I’m happy where I am.”
After Oberlin’s first win in their last 44 games on Oct. 20, a day in which the Yeomen convincingly pummeled Kenyon College 53-22, Valenzuela is certainly now more than happy to be a part of a young, talented and growing football program. Making the victory absolutely special for him was the fact that his mom, aunt and sister were in attendance at Dill Field that Saturday to see history in the making. After all, Ricky is just one of a strong tradition of football standouts and fans in his family.
“My family is really into football, and they are my biggest supporters. My brother plays on the defensive line at the University of Oregon, and he’s only a freshman, and my dad was an All-American at Long Beach State [after transferring from Modesto]. He was drafted by the Cowboys, but traded to Seattle for Randy White, who was also a defensive lineman,” Valenzuela said.
In addition, his fans aren’t solely limited to his family. Said sophomore running back David Lightfoot, “Ricky’s a ‘D1’ athlete playing ‘D3,” and first-year kicker Steve Willever, “He’s got the best pair of hands I have ever seen.”
Said senior punter Bob Montag, who played at tight-end his first three years at Oberlin, of Valenzuela, “He’s one of the most amazing and smartest receivers I have ever seen – which says a lot considering I played with [former Yeomen standout receiver] Felix Brooks-Church, who set quite a few of Oberlin’s receiving records. Although he didn’t have any catches, and the stats might not show it, he played a big part in our win against Kenyon by drawing attention to himself and opening up the running game.”
And, in addition to his players, Ramsey also had had high praise of Valenzuela. “Firstly, Ricky’s an all around good guy. On the football field, he has a great feel for the game. He has the ability to find the open spots, beat the defender in man-to-man and most importantly pick up the ball,” he said.