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Obi Pius Ezeh (February 2, 1988) is a former American football linebacker. He was included on both the 2009 midseason and the 2009 preseason watchlist for the Butkus Award. He was the active Michigan Wolverines football career leader in tackles. In high school, he played running back on offense more regularly than linebacker on defense. He shared running duties as a sophomore and junior before becoming the starter as a senior at Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He established his school career rushing record of nearly 3,000 yards. As a senior he scored a two-point conversion to give his school a one-point victory and a berth in the 2005 Michigan High School Athletic Association state championship game at Ford Field. He was also a member of a three-time state champion high school rugby team and was invited to tryout with the United States national rugby union team. At Michigan, he redshirted as a true freshman. Then, as a redshirt freshman for the 2007 Michigan Wolverines football team, he battled for the starting middle linebacker position and appeared to have lost the position early in the season. However, after an injury he became a regular starter. He concluded the season with thirteen and twelve tackle efforts against bitter rivals Michigan State and Ohio State, respectively. He started his redshirt sophomore season with a Big Ten Conference defensive player of the week, fifteen-tackle effort for the 2008 Michigan Wolverines football team. He finished the season as an honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference selection. Just after earning 2009 midseason Butkus Award watchlist recognition, he was removed from the starting lineup and saw limited action in the final four games. After his senior season in 2010, Ezeh declared for the 2011 NFL Draft, where he went undrafted. He later signed as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins. ==High school== As a youth, Ezeh was unable to play football because he was too big for the local leagues according to Grand Rapids area officials. As a sophomore running back for the 2003 Catholic Central Cougars football team, Ezeh had several 100-yard games as well as multiple touchdown games, even though he was not the primary weapon in the backfield. Ezeh was also a member of the Cougars rugby team that placed 11th at the 2004 United States High School Rugby National Championships. As a junior running back, he opened his football season with 170 yards on 18 carries. In the 2004 district championship game, he rushed for 88 yards in the first half, but was held to 5 in the second half as Catholic Central lost 33–20. Over the course of the season he compiled 907 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Ezeh was recognized as a ''Detroit News'' Class B All-state honorable mention linebacker. He was also selected as Grand Rapids All-area honorable mention, according to ''The Grand Rapids Press''. He also helped lead the 2005 rugby team to a State Championship threepeat. In 2005, Ezeh entered his senior season as the focal point of his school's running game and was rated as the seventh best football prospect in the state of Michigan, according to ''The Detroit News''. He was also invited to tryout for the United States national rugby union team as an outside center. During the season, Ezeh was regularly among the leading rushers in the area. In the Division 4 state semifinal game, Ezeh returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and rushed for 136 yards on 24 carries. During the game, after Catholic Central scored on a quarterback sneak with 2:28 remaining, Ezeh scored on a two-point conversion to give his team a 35–34 victory. This led them to the 2005 MHSAA state championship game at Ford Field, which they lost 17–10 to Powers Catholic High School. By the end of the season, Ezeh had compiled a school record 2,914 career rushing yards, which included 33 touchdowns. During his senior year he also occasionally played linebacker, recording 34 tackles (16 for a loss). Although, he missed part of the season with an ankle injury, he totaled 1,391 yards and 10 touchdowns on 217 carries and added seven pass receptions, including one touchdown,〔 and he was recognized as a 2nd-team All-area running back. ''The Detroit News'' recognized him as their postseason number six blue chip prospect in the state, and he was selected to play in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association's annual all-star game. In February 2006, he signed his letter of intent to play for Michigan, where it was unclear whether he would play fullback, tight end or linebacker. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Obi Ezeh」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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