Nick Aliotti likes physical corners, guys who compete, able to step up and force the run. Jairus Byrd could cover anybody, but he tackled like a linebacker. Rashard Bauman, Steve Smith, Walter Thurmond, they all were every-down players who could put a shoulder to a running back, not just sit back in a zone and avoid the pile.
Bump and run back the other way: Ifo Ekpre-Olomu isn’t afraid to challenge receivers, or himself. (Geoff Thurner photo, goducks.com).
Secondary coach John Neal likes safeties who can cover and set the tone physically for a defense. Pat Chung, Keith Lewis, John Boyett, T.J. Ward, Matthew Harper, they could all find the football and make things miserable for receivers over the middle.
Every one of those guys went on to play in the NFL. And Ifo Ekpre-Olomu might be better than any of them.
Olomu is 5-10, 190, solidly built and strong. He has good speed, a ball hawk who runs well with the receiver and finds the football. A detailed scouting evaluation places him as one of the top NFL prospects at corner in the nation, and a video analysis by nfl.com names him one of next spring’s Top 50 prospects.
Scouts love his instincts and aggressiveness from the corner position. They love that he’s played all 27 games of his Oregon career, and that last season he had 65 tackles and 6 forced fumbles to go along with four interceptions and 16 pass breakups. Olomu can separate a receiver from the football, battling the PAC-12’s best for every square yard of real estate, hand-fighting, body-checking and delivering a blow whenever possible.
Nfldraftscout.com rates him the #3 available cornerback, a potential first or second round pick should he decide to declare for the draft in January.
Ifo came to the Ducks from Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California. A two-way player as a prep, he was an All-State defensive back who intercepted 13 passes in his career, a school-record eight as a sophomore. He was a consensus 4-star recruit and a Prep Magazine Star All-American.
Currently he’s a preseason ESPN All-American and on the Jim Thorpe Award watch list, earning those accolades after two interceptions against Arizona (including a 54-yard pick six), two forced fumbles against Washington, nine tackles and two forced fumbles against Stanford, and five tackles and an interception in the Civil War. Ekpre-Olomu is always around the ball, always making things happen, as active and physical a corner as the Ducks have ever had.
For the Ducks this season Ifo figures to be a leader and a solidifying force on the defense. At the beginning of last season teams threw more to his side, electing to stay away from the taller Terrance Mitchell on the other, who is also an NFL prospect. Together the two form what many people feel is the best cornerback tandem in the nation.
Both Mitchell and E-O have contributed in every game of their two-year Duck careers, Mitchell with 18 straight starts.
Another thing that stands out about Ekpre-Olomu is his poise and maturity. Here’s a glimpse at the personal side, an interview by Jen Beryrle of Comcast.
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