Donovan Olumba (born September 26, 1995) is an American professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He played two seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) and

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

Early years

Olumba attended

Salpointe Catholic High School Salpointe Catholic High School is a co-ed Catholic high school in Tucson, Arizona run by the Carmelite Order. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson. History Salpointe Catholic High School is named for Arizona's first Bishop, Jean ...

, where he played only one season of Varsity Football as a wide receiver and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from Division II Alderson-Broaddus University. He played 3 seasons as a

, competing in 30 games, while posting 63 tackles, 25 pass deflections, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 blocked kicks and 6 interceptions, including 2 returns for

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s (47 and 99 yards). He also had 13 punt returns for 143 yards and one

. In 2016, he transferred to Division I

after his junior season, where he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. He played only one year in 2017 and was named a starter at

, after being third-string on the depth chart. He registered 21 tackles and 7 pass deflections.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Olumba was signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

on April 29, after the hiring of

Kris Richard Kris Richard (born October 28, 1979) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the defensive backs coach for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach f ...

as the new defensive backs/passing game coordinator, when the Cowboys changed their defensive philosophy and started to look for taller and more rangy

s. He was waived on September 1 and signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on January 15, 2019. He was released on August 31. He was signed to the

on September 2. He was promoted to the active roster on December 28. He appeared in the season finale against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

as a backup. He was released on March 18, 2020.

Cleveland Browns

Olumba signed with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

on March 21, 2020. Olumba was waived by the Browns on September 5, 2020. Olumba signed to the Browns' practice squad on January 12, 2021. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 25, 2021.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Olumba signed with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the

on June 10, 2021. He was released in

Los Angeles Rams

On August 6, 2021, Olumba signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. He was waived on August 30, 2021.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On October 3, 2021, he was added to the roster of the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

in the

. On October 12, 2021, he was released from the practice roster. On January 26, 2022, he was added to the roster. On May 19, 2022, he was released.

Edmonton Elks

On September 1, 2022, he signed with the

in the

. He appeared in 2 games and had one interception. On May 10, 2023, he was placed on the retired list.

References

External links

Portland State Vikings bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olumba, Donovan 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Tucson, Arizona American football cornerbacks Alderson Broaddus University alumni Portland State Vikings football players Dallas Cowboys players Cleveland Browns players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Los Angeles Rams players Edmonton Elks players