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Ifeadi Odenigbo, Northwestern Wildcats football, No. 7

Ifeadi Odenigbo was one of the top recruits in the class of 2012, a bona fide passrushing monster that turned down elite powerhouses across the country. There's oodles of potential, and it doesn't matter if he doesn't do it big in 2013.

By Rodger Sherman
Jonathan Daniel

ONE! DAMN! WEEK!

Ifeadi Odenigbo is our person today, but let us more rejoice that there is only one week til football. Also, sorry this is so late -- I had work in the morning and then was told there was a Jay-Z concert that turned out to be just a bunch of people standing on a street in Brooklyn. Bummer. I can confirm there is a crapton of content coming for you in the next week. Also, "Crapton" sounds like a British last name if you pronounce it differently. Moving on!

Ifeadi is one of two elite recruits who wears the No. 7 for Northwestern. Sorry Matt!

Origin myth

Coming from a Nigerian family that didn't understand football, but he made the team at Centerville -- that's around Dayton -- as a sophomore after his parents told him he need to get a 3.5 GPA to play the sport. And was a damn beast. 6'4, 210 pounds, and a runner on a pretty damn good track team? Tough to stop. He had 10.5 sacks as a junior, 8.5 as a senior, when he was the all-region, all-area, and all-state player of the year. Let's watch him do things!

OH IFEADI. STOP HURTING THEM. It's crazy to see somebody capable of bowling over linemen and running faster than quarterbacks. I don't know how they exist, but I'm terrified they do and hope I never make anybody mad.

Anyway, Ifeadi was a damn fine recruit! He was a consensus four-star, the No. 51 player on the ESPN 150. ESPN had him as the top player in Ohio, and 247's composite ranked him as the No. 65 player in the country as well as the No. 4 outside linebacker. At just 210 pounds, many saw him as too light for a DE, but his athleticism was just too much to pass up. He had offers from the kit and kaboodle -- Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Alabama, USC and half of the B1G. But for some reason, he chose Northwestern the January before signing day.

At Northwestern

Ifeadi said he was too light to play last year at 210, but Northwestern decided to burn his redshirt one game into the season. He'd hurt his shoulder in his only game, though, and he'd earn a medical redshirt. It turned out to be okay -- Dean Lowry was a pretty solid true freshman defensive end, and of course, uh, Tyler Scott.

Anagram of choice

Discovering the Wildcats' true inner selves through spelling

Ifeadi Odenigbo, anagrammed, is

A DIGNIFIED OBOE

Most oboes are dignified, I feel like. He joins Deonte Gibson as NU anagram oboes.

Relevant musical selection

"One Week," Barenaked Ladies

HELL YEAH.

Ifeadi Tweets

Ifeadi Odenigbo has either the worst or the best twitter of any Northwestern athlete. You'll see what I mean:

How he can help

Damn, you saw those passrushing skills. He came to college too skinny, but now he's 235, 26 pounds above his freshman weight. If he's added moves and strength to his natural athleticism, he should be one of the better pass-rushers in the B1G in a few years. For now, though, in 2012, he'll take a back seat. Tyler Scott is a monster, capable of bull-rushing damn near anybody, and Dean Lowry quickly showed his capability as an all-down defensive end. Odenigbo might not even fit as a third-down end, as Deonte Gibson seized that role for himself. But hopefully he can show his skills in some way this year, but it isn't an issue if he can't. And next year there will be an opening there, and he'll be in position to step up. Remember, he's still relatively new to the game. Potential is the word here. Depth chart projection We ain't got him starting, but like we just said, that's not a problem.

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