Haruki Nakamura didn?t seek out football.
Growing up in Elyria, Ohio, he only got involved in the sport after his older brother, Yoshi, convinced him to join a local recreational league against his mother?s wishes.
Karen Nakamura was against her children playing sports outside of the family?s specialty: judo. Karen is a fourth-degree black belt, Yoshi is a first-degree black belt and wrestled at the U.S. Olympic Trials, and Haruki?s father, Ryozo, was an eighth-degree black belt.
But Karen ultimately made the right choice letting Haruki wear shoulder pads when he wasn?t donning a gi.
Haruki is slated to be a key reserve safety and special teams contributor for the Ravens, who selected the 5-foot-10, 210-pound former University of Cincinnati standout in the sixth round of this year?s NFL Draft.
“My family is so strict and it was all about judo and any other sport was forbidden, especially football because it was so violent,” Nakamura said. “My brother thought my personality would be a great fit for it and it certainly was.”
Nakamura doesn?t have the traditional height or weight of many NFL defensive backs, but has made up for it with his aggressive approach on the field. Nakamura attributes his competitive spirit to his mother, who raised him and his three siblings after Ryozo Nakamura died from lung cancer when Haruki was 5 years old.
“I get my goal-driven attitude from my mother,” Nakamura said. “She?s a very dedicated person, especially to her family, making sure that whenever we needed something that we had the best opportunity possible.”
As a senior at Cincinnati, he led the Bearcats with 95 tackles to go along with 1.5 sacks, four interceptions and four fumble recoveries last season.
Nakamura was one of several players drafted by the Ravens who are expected to play on special teams, including Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski, whose locker is next to Nakamura?s at the Ravens? Owings Mills practice facility.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh calls the pair his “MMA guys” ? referring to Mixed Martial Arts ? as Zbikowski, who also played special teams in college, is an accomplished boxer. Harbaugh, however, said he expects them to be more than just tough guys.
“We?re not going to have the luxury for those guys just to play special teams,” Harbaugh said. “One of those guys is going to be our number three safety and the other is going to be number four or number five. If one of our safeties goes down or we get in certain personnel packages then they will have to play defense too. There?s no one-dimensional players in the NFL.”
