Ten years ago, Craig Osika sold his house in Valparaiso and moved in with his parents.
He did it to go back to school to get certified to teach. He wanted to coach football.
At some point in that process, the goal became being the head football coach at Hobart.
Osika can check off that box.
Osika, a 1998 Hobart graduate, was approved as the new coach at Thursday’s board meeting. Osika follows Ryan Turley, who resigned last month after seven seasons following a November arrest for DWI.
Osika is the fifth coach since Russ Deal, an Indiana Football Hall of Fame member who followed legendary coach Don Howell. Hobart won four state titles under Howell.
“I’m excited,” Osika said. “It’s a great opportunity. It’s crazy to think they haven’t had that many coaches in their history.”
Osika has coached on and off at Hobart since 2005, when he started as a volunteer assistant. He has been a physical education and health teacher in the system for seven years.
Three years ago, Osika was named the associate head coach. He also was the offensive coordinator. The advantage for the Brickies is there won’t be a transition period with Osika.
Hobart finished 6-4 last season.
Osika said when he told the players Wednesday he was their new coach, they were “pretty jacked up. That is good.”
Osika said Hobart had a winning season in 2017 at every level from seventh through 12th grade for the second straight year.
“We’re pretty excited about what is coming back,” he said.
Osika has plenty to sell. He played tight end and linebacker for Hobart before moving on to Indiana. He finished as a center for the Hoosiers.
He signed with the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent and played in the NFL for three seasons with the 49ers and Cleveland Browns.
Osika said he’ll give up his duties as offensive coordinator and focus on running the team, something he couldn’t imagine 20 years ago when he graduated from Hobart.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think then I’d be the head coach at Hobart,” he said.
Twitter @MikeHuttonPT
![Growing up in Gary, Rayven Anderson always wanted to be an inventor. Later, she decided she leaned more into innovation. The 17-year-old West Side Leadership Academy senior taught herself coding at age 10 through YouTube videos and other online lessons. “I love code and I learned on my own,” said Anderson on Tuesday after she and nine other Gary students received STEM signing day bonuses valued at $750 in scholarship money and prizes from Boeing and the Chicago Area Business Aviation Association Educational Foundation. It marked the event’s fifth year. The students received their honors after a lunch at the […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PTB-L-STEM-SIGNING-0423-6.jpg?w=294 "Growing up in Gary, Rayven Anderson always wanted to be an inventor. Later, she decided she leaned more into innovation. The 17-year-old West Side Leadership Academy senior taught herself coding at age 10 through YouTube videos and other online lessons. “I love code and I learned on my own,” said Anderson on Tuesday after she and nine other Gary students received STEM signing day bonuses valued at $750 in scholarship money and prizes from Boeing and the Chicago Area Business Aviation Association Educational Foundation. It marked the event’s fifth year. The students received their honors after a lunch at the […]")