Persistence pays off

It’s always been said that if you really want something, you have to work hard to get it. All J.T. O’ Sullivan has ever wanted was to play in the National Football League, but even more than that, become a starting quarterback for a team in the NFL. He is now the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, which have enjoyed a 2-1 start to this season, but saying that it has been easy for O’ Sullivan to get to this point, is a big understatement.

THE LOCAL START

O’ Sullivan’s career started off in high school as he attended Jesuit High School in Sacramento, CA. He had a good career in high school, but not something to ride away from home about, literally, as there were no big-time national colleges giving a look his way for a scholarship. The only colleges showing interest in O’Sullivan were the two nearby schools to his home, UC Davis and Sacramento State, and in order to continue his football career in college, both schools game him the proverbial line, you have to pay to play.

So, he was convinced by his high school coach, Dan Carmazzi, to check out the local, at the time Division II College, UC Davis. O’ Sullivan ended up attending Davis where, as a freshmen, he would have to red shirt and play 3rd fiddle, backing up Kevin Daft and Ken Kearns. Being a backup didn’t sit well with the young man from Jesuit, as he knew he had a bunch of talent. While red shirting O’ Sullivan worked his tail off, so that when the next season came around, it would be no competition as to who would be starting quarterback for the Aggies of UC Davis. There would continue to be no competition for O’ Sullivan throughout the rest of his time at Davis, and when it finally came time for his departure at the end of the 2001 college football season, he had amassed every quarterback record in Aggie history.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

After a college career gone great, O’ Sullivan was now thinking about the big leagues. He declared himself for the NFL Draft in 2002, and was drafted in the sixth round by the New Orleans Saints. Once again, like his first year in college, O’ Sullivan was forced to add the bench as a residence, as he never saw the field in his two years with the Saints.

O’ Sullivan was eventually traded from the New Orleans Saints to the Green Bay Packers at the beginning of the 2004 season. He took some time in the off-season to get ready for his new team, as during the summer he played in NFL Europe (NFL’s version of minor league), and had the 2nd best passer rating in the league. It’s not like that would propel him to the starting role in Green Bay though, as they still had the legend, Brett Favre calling the shots. However, O’Sullivan did get to see his first action in the NFL that year, as he was summoned in to take a knee to end the game. The pack would let J.T. O’ Sullivan go after the 2004 season, and from then on it was a mountain made of a mo-hill process as he would be between making and breaking 5 different NFL rosters for the next 3 years.

In 2007, O’ Sullivan was scooped up by the Detroit Lions, where eventually, he would play in his 2nd NFL game, throwing a 7-yd td pass to Calvin Johnson. In Detroit, O’ Sullivan was under tutelage from one of the smartest offensive minds in the NFL, Mike Martz, the creator of the “Greatest Show on Turf” back with the St. Louis Rams. Mike Martz was canned after a 7-9 season in Detroit, and so too was J.T. O’ Sullivan. Martz was later signed by the San Francisco 49ers to be their offensive coordinator. J.T. was a free agent looking for a home.

A month after Martz’s arrival, the offensive coordinator swayed the 49ers into signing one of his old protégé’s from a year ago in Detroit. That protégé was J.T. O’Sullivan.

Upon arrival, O’ Sullivan already knew that the 49ers had two quarterbacks already worthy of starting: Alex Smith, the first overall pick of the 2005 NFL draft who was recovering from a season in which was spent on injured reserve, and Shaun Hill, who after getting a chance to start for the also-injured 2nd string QB Trent Dilfer, went 2-0 as a starter for the 49ers in two of their last three 2007 NFL contests. That didn’t bother him, as we used to being a backup in his previous 6 NFL seasons, it just made him work harder. O’ Sullivan worked hard with the receivers in the off season, and in Pre-season, he wowed both offensive coordinator Mike Martz, and head coach Mike Nolan.

He’s been a blessing in disguise for my 49ers as it never seemed as if we were going to do any better than Alex Smith. The hard work from O’ Sullivan has paid off, and as the starter for our season has allowed my 49ers to be back in the mix in the NFC.

Way to go J.T., keep up the season and take the 49ers to the playoffs!