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Kenny Iwebema (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional football defensive end. He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL draft. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Early life

While at Bowie High School in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas, Iwebema collected a total of 89 tackles 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 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 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 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 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, he tied an Iowa record with two field goal blocks. Against Wisconsin, Iwebema recorded a season-high in sacks with two as the Hawkeyes became bowl eligible.

2006

Despite being named to numerous pre-season All America 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 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. In total, he recorded 27 tackles, four sacks and five tackles for loss on the season.

College statistics

Professional career

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

References

1. "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
2. Floyd, Brian (September 3, 2011). "Arizona Cardinals Roster Cuts: One Big Wave Of Releases Used To Get To 53". SBNation.com. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
3. "Help Center - the Arizona Republic".

External links

• Iowa Hawkeyes bio

• 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