Notre Dame football: Could Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah land in top-10 of draft?
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football program is losing a star in linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who could shoot up draft boards in the coming months.
Next season, the Notre Dame football team is going to have to replace some big-name players, including quarterback Ian Book, the all-time winningest signal-caller in school history. On defense, there will also be some huge shoes to fill, but none bigger than those of star linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
Since arriving in South Bend, JOK has continued to get better every season, and he capped off his career with the Notre Dame football team by leading his squad to a second College Football Playoff berth. Also, Owusu-Koramoah racked up plenty of honors, including being a first-team All-American, while bringing home the Butkus Award.
For those who do not know, the Butkus Award is given out to the best linebacker in the country, and Owusu-Koramoah was definitely that this season. As he looks towards the next phase of his playing career, he should be one of the more sought-after draft prospects this April.
Rated No. 9 on Mel Kiper’s Big Board
Owusu-Koramoah officially went to Twitter this week to say goodbye to the Notre Dame football program, so any hopes of him returning to South Bend went out the window. Once that was done, ESPN’s Mel Kiper released his Big Board, which is his list of the top prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft.
Not only was JOK listed on said Big Board, but he was ranked as the No. 9 prospect, which begs the question, could he actually be a top-10 pick in April?
The answer is, why not? Last year, Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons, who is a guy who flies all around the field like JOK, went No. 9 overall to Arizona. Like Simmons, Owusu-Koramoah is built for the pro game and will have no problem improving any team he lands with.
While quarterbacks usually go in the top-10, and there are plenty of teams up there who need one, there are also teams that are set at quarterback. Cincinnati is set, Denver has said they are sticking with Drew Lock, and teams like Detroit and Philadelphia could stick with what they have at quarterback as well.
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The Wild Card to me is the team picking at No. 10 overall, the Dallas Cowboys, who need a ton of help on the defensive side of the ball. Linebacker is one of their biggest weak spots, and in JOK, they would be getting the kind of three-down backer that could help them improve on defense immediately.