Ifeatu Christian-David Melifonwu (born May 2, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

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

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

of 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). He played

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 ...

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

and was drafted by the Lions in the third round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

Early years

Melifonwu attended Grafton High School in

Grafton, Massachusetts Grafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,664 at the 2020 census. The town consists of the North Grafton, Grafton, and South Grafton geographic areas, each with a separate ZIP Code. Incorporated in ...

. He played defensive back, running back and wide receiver in high school. A standout athlete, Melifonwu also played basketball, ran track, and even played a year of lacrosse. Melifonwu committed to

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

to play college football.

College career

Melifonwu played at Syracuse from 2017 to 2020. After redshirting his first year in 2017, he played in 29 games over the next three seasons. He finished his career with 88 tackles, three

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

and one sack. After his junior season in 2020, he declared for the

Professional career

Melifonwu was drafted in the third round, 101st overall, by the

in the 2021 NFL Draft. Melifonwu signed his four-year rookie contract with Detroit on July 23, 2021. On September 22, 2021, Melifonwu was placed on injured reserve after suffering a thigh injury in Week 2. He was activated on November 29. On June 1, 2022, Melifonwu started snaps as both a

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 ...

and a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

Personal life

His brother,

Obi Melifonwu Henry-William Obiajulu Melifonwu (born April 5, 1994) is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at UConn. He was selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. Early years Henry W ...

, is a former NFL player and currently plays in the USFL.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioSyracuse Orange bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melifonwu, Ifeatu 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Boston American football cornerbacks American football safeties Syracuse Orange football players Detroit Lions players People from Grafton, Massachusetts American people of Igbo descent Players of American football from Massachusetts