As a quarterback, Erik Ornduff is used to making quick decisions on the field. Apparently, the 2016 Live Oak High graduate is equally quick when it comes to making next level decisions. On Jan. 5 in Durango, Ornduff signed his letter of intent to play at Fort Lewis College in Colorado.
Ornduff started his first day of class last week at Fort Lewis, and sounded ecstatic as he talked with the Times via phone.
“Durango is a really nice city with a lot of friendly people,” he said. “I think I’m going to like it here.”
Ornduff comes in as a mid-year transfer, meaning he had already met the academic requirements out of high school to attend a four-year university. Even by mid-year transfer standards, Ornduff signing with Fort Lewis was a whirlwind. Ornduff, who played his one and only season of community college football at Gavilan College in 2017, had been in contact with Fort Lewis shortly after the season ended in mid-November.
This happened after Ornduff sent out over 200 emails along with his game film to colleges throughout the country. Even though Ornduff talked with a couple of Division II schools, only Fort Lewis maintained serious interest. Throughout the process, Ornduff communicated with Fort Lewis offensive coordinator Clayton Johnson, who like Ornduff attended Live Oak and Gavilan before coaching Ornduff’s older brother, T.J., at West Valley College.
So the connection was there, and it was only a matter of if Fort Lewis would have enough scholarship money remaining to give Ornduff an attractive offer for him to take.
“He showed interest and told me to stay patient, that they needed to sign other people first,” Ornduff said. “I met with coach Johnson and he told me they had some money left over and was willing to offer me to come as a mid-year transfer.”
On Dec. 20, the university offered Ornduff a scholarship. Last Friday, Ornduff signed his letter of intent in Durango, where he’ll be living for at least the next 3 ½ years. It wasn’t an easy decision; however, Ornduff is confident he made the right choice.
“It was either come out here or wait and see if I could get a higher offer (after my sophomore year) or from a school that was closer,” he said. “But when (former Gavilan) coach (Mike) Dovenberg decided to leave, that kind of helped my decision to come out and sign. With Gavilan not having a head coach at the moment and not knowing what would happen next season, this gave me some certainty.”
Out of high school, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Ornduff took a grayshirt year at the College of San Mateo, which is one of the premier community college football programs in the nation. Even though Ornduff didn’t end up playing at CSM, things couldn’t have worked out better. For one, he didn’t use a year of eligibility.
And two, Ornduff said he learned more about playing the quarterback position in one year at CSM than he had in four years of high school. CSM’s quarterback coach, Matt Pelesasa, played at Western Kentucky University and was instrumental in Ornduff learning the nuances of the position.
“From proper footwork to going through reads to how to prepare, he pretty much taught me everything,” Ornduff said. “My year at CSM was one to perfect my craft and raise my skill level.”
That helped Ornduff last season at Gavilan, which had an ignominious season on and off the field. The Rams finished 0-10 after the roster was thinned out due to injuries and a recruiting violation that led to the dismissal of 17 players.
“It was a disappointing season going 0-10, and I felt like my stats could’ve been better,” he said. “But overall, I felt my first year of college football was a successful season, especially with all of the drama and injuries we had.”
Fort Lewis is a Division II program that finished 5-6 last season. Ornduff can’t wait to get his career at Fort Lewis started.
“Coach Johnson said he liked my film and the fact that I can throw and run,” Ornduff said. “They ran a similar kind of offense that Gavilan did, so that will help in my transition here.”
Ornduff felt a wide range of emotions as he left Morgan Hill to drive to Durango on Jan. 3. His mom, Tina, and longtime girlfriend, Mikaela Turnipseed, made the drive with him.
“It’s the next part of my life, and I’m looking forward to the experience,” Ornduff said.
