Cornerback Ekpre-Olomu Injures Knee in Practice, Out for Playoffs

Multiple media outlets�including Comcast Sportsnet are citing sources within the University of Oregon. It appears that senior CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu injured himself in Tuesday’s practice and has likely torn his ACL and will miss all of the playoffs effectively ending his career at Oregon. It appears this is an injury Olomu suffered during Tuesday’s practice. If this proves to be true the Ducks lose the consensus All-American CB going into arguably the largest game he would have played in for the Ducks.

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If in fact this ends the season for the All-American, he’ll leave Oregon as the highest regarded defensive back in program history. Ifo has 244 total tackles and 9 interceptions. In his last two years at Oregon he was largely avoided by opposing quarterbacks. �Though being viewed as an undersized corner there was little dispute that he would go in the first round if he had left for the NFL after last season. His time at Oregon was the most successful run by any Oregon team.

Olomu’s�decision to return to Eugene for the 2014 season surprised just about everyone. The talking heads all seemed to agree he would land somewhere in the first round of last years draft. When discussing his decision to return Olomu said “I should be able to finish my degree by next fall, possibly by the end of the summer. Football is only one phase of who I am; my degree will be forever. Secondly was my ability to make an impact and become a top (draft) pick, and I felt staying one more year would only help me.”

Clearly from this comment the completion of his degree was important but he did have an eye on his draft stock and that certainly was part of the decision to return. This certainly won’t help Ifo’s stock in the draft, but it’s hard to imagine it will have an impact on his longevity at the next level. In an interview with scout.com John Neal, Oregon defensive back coach is�quoted as saying�”He’s one of those guys who will play for a long time because of his conditioning.”

The Ducks will likely lean on experienced players including Troy Hill and Erick Dargan to fill the void. Oregon faces Florida State in the Rose Bowl in the College Football Playoff First Semifinal on New Year’s Day. (2pm PT, ESPN)