The Case for Jack Ikegwuonu

Yared-Yam

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Now I do believe he is just a sophomore, but that doesn't stop me from taking a good ol' fashioned gander at the stud CB from Wisconsin.

Height - 6'1
Weight - 201
Name - Awesome
***-kicker - Yes

He's got 5 INT's in his playing days at Wisconsin.

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Awkward picture, but it gets the point across.

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Here's some tidbits from an article about him a while ago.

It's a serious question and Jack Ikegwuonu is trying to give a serious answer, although you could never tell it by the ear-to-ear smile plastered on his face.

That smile never seems to go away. It'll hide for a while when he's gasping for air, checking the clock over and over as he counts the plays until practice is over.

But then it's back, growing wider and wider as Ikegwuonu, a sophomore cornerback for the University of Wisconsin football team, counts all the blessing in his life.

"Great supportive family and friends," he said. "Health. I've battled through injuries, but I've always seemed to get healthy in time for every game.

"Good things that happen to me on the field. School is going well. I just really don't have anything to look at and say, 'Man, this stinks, I just have bad luck.' Everything right now is good."

Which brings us to the original question: What, Ikegwuonu is asked, is the worst thing that's ever happened to him?

Ikegwuonu smiles - of course - as he thinks. And thinks. And thinks.

He's stumped. He's 20, yet has never even attended a funeral - ever. He's also living his childhood dream, a Madison boy playing for the Badgers - and playing well.

"Really, I don't have anything," Ikegwuonu, a former standout at Madison Memorial, finally says. "I look at what I have, I think about my friends from high school that wanted to do what I do, and I just feel that I have to make the most of my opportunity for the people that would love to be doing this. I consider myself lucky."

=======

There are times when Ikegwuonu's smile gets him in trouble.

"Sometimes," he said, "coaches question my focus or my intensity or whether or not I'm ready to play."

It's not uncommon for UW secondary coach Kerry Cooks to get in Ikegwuonu's face during practice. It's just Cooks pushing a player he feels has enormous potential.

"One thing that guys with a lot of ability tend to do is get lazy," Cooks said. "One thing I don't want him to do is ever feel like he's got everything locked up or he knows it all."

It'd be easy for Ikegwuonu to fall in that trap. After all, like he said, good things are happening to him, especially on the field. The title "shut-down corner" is reserved for special players, but Ikegwuonu appears well on his way to earning that label.

Each week, the UW coaching staff matches up Ikegwuonu with the other team's top receiver. Each week, Ikegwuonu, who has yet to allow a touchdown pass on his watch this season, answers the call.

You see, behind that smile is an intense competitor.

"He's smiling, he's kind of carefree, but he's not lackadaisical," Cooks said of Ikegwuonu, who is tied for fifth in the Big Ten with eight passes defended. "When he comes to work, he comes to work. There's nothing wrong with having fun and being relaxed out there, and he comes and takes care of his business. I don't have a problem with that.

"I guess it would bother me more if he wasn't a guy who came to work," Cooks added. "Be who you are, as long as you bring your hard hat to work every day. And he does that."

There will be a time, Ikegwuonu realizes, when his demeanor may have to be altered. His goal is to make it to the NFL, which is called the No Fun League for a reason.

That's why Ikegwuonu is trying to cram as much fun as he can into his college years.

"My intensity level is probably going to have to pick up. I'm probably going to have to get a lot more serious. Football's going to probably become more of a job and more of a way of life if I want to get to where I ultimately want to be," he said. "Right now, I have other things going on. Football isn't the only thing. It's obviously the most important thing, but it's not the only thing."

Sorry for the long read, but it's totally worth it B's & G's.

Does he remind you of anyone? Yeah. Heinz Ward on defense.
 

cyoung

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Yes he helped in the beating of Iowa and i see he has talent but right now as a sophmore I dont see him with the Packers...maybe when he is a senior.
 

cyoung

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Yared-Yam said:
Yes he helped in the beating of Iowa and i see he has talent but right now as a sophmore I dont see him with the Packers...maybe when he is a senior.

Or junior.

Never know maybe he will be injured, maybe he will win some award. Maybe he wont be drafted at all, maybe he will be a first rounder. What I'm saying is that nobody knows what will happen but I see a very good defensive back but not NFL material yet.
 
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Yared-Yam

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Never know maybe he will be injured, maybe he will win some award. Maybe he wont be drafted at all, maybe he will be a first rounder. What I'm saying is that nobody knows what will happen but I see a very good defensive back but not NFL material yet.

Heresy.

I guess we'll see in a few years
 

longtimefan

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EEKKKKKKK

Arrested

DeKALB, Ill. -- Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu and his twin brother, who plays for Northern Illinois, are accused of breaking into an off-campus apartment and trying to steal an Xbox game console, authorities said Thursday.


Ikegwuonu and Northern Illinois safety William Ikegwuonu face residential burglary and criminal trespass charges, authorities said. The 20-year-olds were arrested Saturday, according to DeKalb police Lt. Jim Kayes.


The felony charge of residential burglary carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
 

PackFanInSC

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EEKKKKKKK

Arrested

DeKALB, Ill. -- Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu and his twin brother, who plays for Northern Illinois, are accused of breaking into an off-campus apartment and trying to steal an Xbox game console, authorities said Thursday.


Ikegwuonu and Northern Illinois safety William Ikegwuonu face residential burglary and criminal trespass charges, authorities said. The 20-year-olds were arrested Saturday, according to DeKalb police Lt. Jim Kayes.


The felony charge of residential burglary carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Never know maybe he will be injured, maybe he will win some award. Maybe he wont be drafted at all, maybe he will be a first rounder. What I'm saying is that nobody knows what will happen but I see a very good defensive back but not NFL material yet.


Maybe he IS NFL material now!! Try the Vikings, Raiders or Bengals.
 
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Yared-Yam

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If this does anything for his school eligibility he may declare himself for the draft.

He red-shirted his freshmen year so he's been out of high school for 3 years now, so don't tell me he can't.
 

Drich318

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too bad he'll be in the state pen for a while. What an idiot. You have so much talent, and deicde to brake into a person's apartment and steal an XBOX. WHY!!!!??????!!!!!!!??????
YOU JUST COSTED YOURSELF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
 

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