“To me, it's harder when, obviously, you want to be out there,” Ouattara said. “And the games where your team maybe isn't performing as well, to me, those are the ones that hurt the most. You feel like, ‘Oh, maybe I could have helped in some way.’ But you just have to kind of flip it in your mind. Once you know you're not going to be the one out there, it's about figuring out how you can make the guy who is going to be out there the best he can be. And from there, playing a supportive role as best as possible.”
Having to play a supportive role was a first for Ouattara in his time at Vanderbilt after seeing the field in each of his first three seasons, but something that he was not unfamiliar with. Growing up with a single mom and two other siblings, he made sure he did what he could to support his family.
“My mom, in many ways, taught me about selflessness and how to care about others more than about yourself,” Ouattara said. “I think that’s a very rare trait, not just in people, but in football programs these days. There’s so much turnover and so many new faces—it’s hard to build something that’s true and genuine. And I feel like that’s the biggest trait I’ve gotten from my mom.”
Ouattara’s selflessness came in many ways, one of which was learning how to cook so his family didn’t have to. His culinary passion is something he has continued to develop while at Vanderbilt.
“I was just trying to put the least amount of stress possible on my mom,” Ouattara said. “[Cooking] is now kind of therapeutic to me. I just turn on some music and start making food. I’m able to do it more in the offseason when we have more time, but I like to have friends over and cook for a group of five, six people. That’s become a way for me to catch up with guys and stay connected with the people around me.”
In the broader picture, Ouattara’s cooking pastime is a microcosm of the relationships he has built with his teammates and coaches. The humbleness, the altruism, the sociability; all are traits that those within the program have used when describing Ouattara. And when his shoulder injury forced him away from football for a year, the team stood by him every step of the way.
“I’m forever thankful to Coach Lea, and just all of our coaches, for supporting me and believing in me when not a lot of people would,” Ouattara said. “This program, it’s an environment that is fostered very meticulously. And it makes you want to contribute to it. We have a saying, ‘Leave it better than you found it.’ And that’s about wanting people that come after you to have a better experience. And just being unselfish in that way, where you’re not just focused on your own development but also how you can help everyone around you grow.”
