Former Oregon Ducks defensive back Ifo- Ekpre-Olomu was being touted as a first round pick heading into the 2014 college football season. Prior to the bowl game Ekpre-Olomu hit a case of bad luck when he tore his ACL prior to the College Football Playoffs, costing him the remainder of his final season.
This injury also caused Ekpre-Olomu’s draft stock to take a major hit as he went from potential first round pick to almost going undrafted completely. While there have been instances where players have suffered ACL tears and still been picked early (Todd Gurley and Cedric Ogbuehi this year are examples), medical examinations revealed that the damage was significantly worse with Ekpre-Olomu.
Cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, the Browns‘ seventh-round pick, said Wednesday that he also suffered a dislocated left knee in addition to a torn ACL before the College Football Playoff games last season.
The injuries were the main reason Ekpre-Olomu — who was projected to be a first- or second-round pick had he left Oregon after his junior season — fell as far as he did in last week’s NFL draft.
The Browns hope to be getting a steal if Ekpre-Olomu, who suffered the injuries during a non-contact drill in December, regains his form. The dislocation requires a longer rehab process than the standard ACL tear. He said he hopes to participate in team activities in the next four months.
In the long run, [the injury] will make me stronger, having to rehab every day and watching a bunch of DBs drafted before you,” Ekpre-Olomu said Wednesday.
He was the 28th defensive back to be selected in the draft.
By falling out of the top three rounds, however, Ekpre-Olomu will be able to collect on a $3 million insurance policy that was purchased by the University of Oregon, ESPN’s Darren Rovell reported last week.
I hate to see a kid suffer such a serious injury late in his college career when he could potentially go high in the draft. Especially in Ekpre-Olomu case, in which he suffered a non-contact injury during a practice; that’s absolutely brutal.
There were whispers during the draft process that the injury he suffered was much worse than what was initially thought, and it seems that those whispers were true. Hope the kid is able to recover and go on to have a long career.