Ikegwuonu may miss 2008 season
Wisconsin junior CB Jack Ikegwuonu tore his anterior cruciate ligament earlier this week training for February’s scouting combine. An MRI confirmed the ACL tear and discounted suspicion that Ikegwuonu had also torn the medial collateral ligament and incurred damage around the kneecap.
A two-time all Big Ten first-team selection and one of the best cover corners in the country, Ikegwuonu declared as an early entry for the draft and had been projected as a Day One pick. An instinctual and physical press corner, Ikegwuonu had more than held his own against three of the Big Ten’s best receivers, Indiana’s James Hardy, Michigan’s Mario Manningham, and Michigan State’s Devin Thomas, all of whom could also fit into the first-round.
Ikegwuonu’s deficiencies include inconsistent tackling, poor technique in zone coverage, and also tracking the deep ball, although more importantly, character concerns have been raised in response to a November ’06 arrest for residential burglary and criminal trespass, for which a trial is still ongoing.
On the heels of this devastating and ill-timed injury, Ikegwuonu’s draft status may still be salvaged, as he is represented by miracle worker Drew Rosenhaus, who in 2003 managed to get then “damaged” RB Willis McGahee selected in the first-round.
Ikegwuonu is scheduled to undergo surgery in the next few weeks and will still attend next month’s Combine.
