Former Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah inexplicably fell to the Cleveland Browns in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft earlier this year. In his preseason debut on Saturday, he likely made more than one NFL GM regret letting the uber-athletic linebacker fall so far. JOK was all over the field earning rave reviews from the Cleveland and national media.
First up, we have JOK blitzing and picking up the sack early on in the game.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah living in the backfield ?@NDFootball
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 15, 2021
pic.twitter.com/UlX4JkJrjM
Later on, JOK reads the screen coming and absolutely blows up the running back.
The local Cleveland media has taken notice of the linebacker that Notre Dame fans became used to seeing fly all over the field for the last 4 years.
He made his first appearance at linebacker with 8:36 left in the second quarter and collected his first sack two plays later against quarterback Gardner Minshew II, cleaning up the play after defensive end Joe Jackson staggered Minshew. The Jaguars had a mix of first and second-team O-linemen on the field for the play.
Owusu-Koramoah came close to blocking a Jaguars punt in the first half, too, and ran untouched through the line of scrimmage in the third quarter to tackle running back Dare Ogunbowale for a two-yard loss, showing the athleticism the Browns coveted when they traded up for him.
Cleveland.com – 8/15/2021
JOK missed some time in camp due to COVID protocols which caused some to lower their expectations for him. It sounds like those expectations are on the rise after his pre-season debut.
Owusu-Koramoah finished with eight tackles, including a sack and another two for loss.
Owusu-Koramoah missed the first five practices of training camp with COVID-19 and had not threatened Wilson’s starting status through the club’s first 13 full-squad practices.
So expectations for Owusu-Koramoah’s rookie season were adjusted.
Well, those expectations ought to be reset again because Owusu-Koramoah made his presence felt in Jacksonville, and it’s likely the start of a serious push for the starting job, especially if Mack is sidelined for a while.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah shines, Mack Wilson hurt in preseason opener – 8/15/21
If I recal correctly, it wasn’t “inexplicable” why he was passed over. There was a medical concern.