Kenny Iwebema (born February 6, 1985) 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 wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Early years

While at Bowie High School in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas, Iwebema collected a total of 89

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

and 15 sacks. During his senior season, he collected 48 tackles, 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss as he earned first-team all-conference and honorable mention all-state honors. He was a three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

in football and also earned two letters in track playing discus. He was also named second-team all-conference as a junior and was

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

as a senior.

College career

2004

After redshirting in 2003, Iwebema saw action in all 12 games. However, his playing time was limited as he only recorded three tackles. Two of those were against

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and the other was in the season-opener against Kent State.

2005

2005 was Iwebema's breakout season, as he recorded 47 tackles, seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss. His play was so dominant that he was named first-team all-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

by league media and honorable mention all-Big Ten by league coaches. In the game against Iowa State, he recorded a season-high nine tackles. Three weeks later, against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, he tied an Iowa record with two field goal blocks. Against

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 ...

, Iwebema recorded a season-high in sacks with two as the Hawkeyes became

bowl eligible Bowl eligibility in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level is the standard through which teams become available for selection to participate in postseason bowl games. When a team achieves this state, it is described as "bowl-eligible". ...

2006

Despite being named to numerous pre-season

All America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

teams, Iwebema took a step back in 2006. Injuries plagued him late in the season and he did not see action in the season-opener against

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

due to violating team rules. Against Syracuse, Iwebema recorded a career-high 11 tackles. He also recorded two tackles for loss, two quarterback sacks and a forced fumble as the Hawkeyes won the game in double

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

. In total, he recorded 27 tackles, four sacks and five tackles for loss on the season.

Career Collegiate Statistics

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

On April 27, 2008 in the 2008 NFL Draft the Arizona Cardinals selected him in the fourth round with the 17th pick (116th overall). After becoming a free agent following the 2010 season, he re-signed with Arizona on August 22, 2011. He was released on September 2.

Medical scare

On April 30, Iwebema had a chest x-ray as part of a normal team physical. The x-ray revealed a shadow that doctors were worried might be an aortic aneurysm. Subsequently, Iwebema had both a CT scan and

PET scan Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including blood flow, ...

done. They found a mass the size of a baseball which had metastasized at an advanced rate since Iwebema's rookie physical which had shown nothing amiss. The tumor was diagnosed as being a non-malignant

Teratoma A teratoma is a tumor made up of several different types of tissue, such as hair, muscle, teeth, or bone. Teratomata typically form in the ovary, testicle, or coccyx. Symptoms Symptoms may be minimal if the tumor is small. A testicular ter ...

. Iwebema had surgery on May 18 to remove the mass. So as to avoid possibly sidelining him for the upcoming season, a robotic

laparoscope Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medl ...

was used to remove the mass.

References

External links

Iowa Hawkeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwebema, Kenny 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Arlington, Texas Nigerian players of American football American sportspeople of Nigerian descent American football defensive ends Iowa Hawkeyes football players Arizona Cardinals players