Jack Ikegwuonu (born January 7, 1986) is a former

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 ...

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 was drafted by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in the fourth round of the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

. 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 ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Early years

Ikegwuonou was born in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

to medical professionals, Patty and Fidelis Ikegwuonu, and raised in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. He attended and played football at

James Madison Memorial High School Vel Phillips Memorial High School is a public high school in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was established in 1966 and is part of the Madison Metropolitan School District. The school is named after Vel Phillips, an American attorney, pol ...

. Ikegwuonu earned first-team all-state honors as a split end and defensive back, All-Midwest Region honors, and All-Area accolades. He was named the Big Eight Conference Wide Receiver of the Year, Big Eight Conference Defensive Back of the Year, and team MVP twice. In addition to football and basketball, Ikegwuonu played center field for his school's baseball team.

College career

2005 season

Ikegwuonu garnered a Freshman All-American honorable mention by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

''. He shared left cornerback duties starting at that position against Illinois, Penn State and Auburn adding another starting assignment at nickel back against Hawaii. Wearing jersey #27, Jack Ikegwuonu recorded 23 solo out of 26 tackles with two stops for a total of 6 yards in losses. He was responsible for deflecting 3 passes and intercepted 3 others for 63 yards in returns and one touchdowns.

2006 season

Ikegwuonu was selected as an All-Big Ten Conference first-team choice by the league's coaches and media, adding second-team honors from the media. Although he was suspended briefly after his December arrest, he was allowed to play in the Citrus Bowl. He started all 13 games at right cornerback, switching to jersey #6 from #27 and recording 38 solo out of 41 tackles with 3.5 stops for a total of 14 yards in losses, caused a fumble and recovered another for a 50-yard touchdown return. He was responsible for deflecting 11 passes and intercepted two passes for 28 return yards.

2007 season

Ikegwuonu was selected as an All-Big Ten Conference first-team choice by the league's coaches and media. He started all 13 games at right cornerback, recording 19 solo out 24 tackles with a league-high fifteen pass deflections and one interception for a 2-yard loss. He saw his main pass coverage assignments catch 38 passes for an average of 15.76 yards and five touchdowns. Ikegwuonu elected to forgo his senior college season to enter the

, but he injured his knee in January 2008 while preparing for the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

College statistics

Source:

Professional career

Ikegwuonu was selected by the

in the fourth round (131st overall) of the

after being projected as high as a first-round draft pick. He missed the entire 2008 season because of a knee injury during the 2008 NFL Combine and on July 22 was placed on the Physically-Unable-to-Perform list. He was waived on September 5, 2009. He was re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 7, 2009. After cornerback

Joselio Hanson Joselio Basilio Hanson (born August 13, 1981) is a former American football cornerback. He began his professional career by signing with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2003, and has also spent one year of his career in NFL E ...

was suspended for four games for failing a drug test before the start of the 2008 NFC Championship game, Ikegwuonu was promoted to the active roster. He played in his first regular season game in the NFL on November 22, 2009 against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. He was waived on November 24 after the team signed Geoffrey Pope off the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

practice squad.

Personal life

Ikegwuonu was charged with residential burglary and criminal trespass in

DeKalb, Illinois DeKalb ( ) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 according to the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian- French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died ...

on November 26, 2006. He was found not guilty on all charges. In November 2014, Ikegwuonu and his twin brother were arrested in Madison, Wisconsin, for allegedly committing five armed robberies. Police said money from the robberies was primarily used to purchase heroin. In March 2015, Ikegwuonu and his brother pleaded guilty. Ikegwuonu was sentenced to 9.5 years in prison.Ed Treleven
Ikegwuonu brothers given prison terms, but offered encouragement
. ''Wisconsin State Journal'', June 20, 2015.

References

External links

Draft bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikegwuonu, Jack 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Madison, Wisconsin American football cornerbacks Wisconsin Badgers football players Philadelphia Eagles players