Chinedum Ndukwe

Chinedum Ndukwe

Chinedum Ndukwe during his tenure at Notre Dame.
No. --     Free Agent
Safety
Personal information
Date of birth: March 4, 1985 (1985-03-04) (age 26)
Place of birth: Charlottesville, Virginia
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Weight: 224 lb (102 kg)
Career information
College: Notre Dame
NFL Draft: 2007 / Round: 7 / Pick: 253
Debuted in 2007 for the Cincinnati Bengals
Career history
Cincinnati Bengals (2007–2010) Oakland Raiders (2011)
Career highlights and awards
N/A
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2011
Tackles	259
Sacks	7.5
INTs	7
Stats at NFL.com

Chinedum "Nedu" Ndukwe (pronounced CHIN-eh-doom n-DUQUE-ay) (born March 4, 1985) is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame.

He has also played for the Oakland Raiders.

College career

After graduating from Dublin Coffman High School, Ndukwe went on to start as safety for the University of Notre Dame for his Junior and Senior seasons. He played in 46 games with 25 starts, made 157 tackles and took one opposing player's shoe off the field with him.^{[citation needed]}

One of Chinedum Ndukwe's most notable games came as a senior in 2006, when he laid a crushing hit to Georgia Tech's All-American wide receiver Calvin Johnson.^[1] During his tenure at Notre Dame his fellow Dublin Coffman graduate, Brady Quinn was his roommate. Ndukwe had a double major: Marketing & Psychology.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Ndukwe was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round (253rd overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. Ndukwe made an immediate impact by playing in 14 games and starting two in place of an injured Dexter Jackson at strong safety. Ndukwe finished the season with 35 tackles, two sacks, three interceptions, six pass deflections, a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown, and one forced fumble. He finished the season by being one of four Bengals to log an entry in every statistical column on the defensive stat sheet for the season. Ndukwe missed the second and third games of the season due to a hamstring injury suffered against the Baltimore Ravens. In a December 23 contest against the Cleveland Browns, Ndukwe totaled two interceptions off quarterback Derek Anderson. His first interception was returned 44 yards to the five yard line, setting up a Bengals' score. His next interception came off of a pass intended for tight end Kellen Winslow that Ndukwe grabbed in the endzone. He also recorded 12 tackles, which was second-best on the team. In a November game against the Ravens, Ndukwe intercepted a Kyle Boller pass in the endzone in the fourth quarter.

In the season finale against the Miami Dolphins, Ndukwe got the ball and returned a fumble 54 yards for a touchdown that put the Bengals ahead 28-10 in the fourth quarter. After the touchdown, excited commentator Joe Woeste claimed Ndukwe was a future Hall of Famer.^[2] Ndukwe could have missed at least 4–6 weeks after injuring his knee in training camp practice. He was competing with Dexter Jackson, for the starting safety role; however, in 2009 the Bengals cut Dexter Jackson leaving Ndukwe as the starting strong safety.^[3]

He became a free agent after the 2010 season.

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders signed Ndukwe on October 18, 2011, only to be waived on November 10.

Personal

Ndukwe also with fellow teammate Daniel Coats, Marvin White, Nate Livings and a few other Bengals participated in the Cody Holp charity fund Basketball Game at Tri-County North High School in Lewisburg, Ohio on March 1, 2008. Ndukwe is the youngest of the three sons, his oldest brother Kelechi is a Lieutenant Surface Warfare Officer in the United States NAVY, currently serving onboard the USS FITZGERALD. The middle brother, Ikechukwu, is an offensive tackle in the NFL who is currently a free agent.

In 2008 Ndukwe attended the Harvard Business School, followed by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009 for the NFL Business Management Program. He is an owner of the Rookwood Bar & Restaurant in Mount Adams (Cincinnati, Ohio). The building was listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Places in December 1972, as it was the birthplace of the world renowned Rookwood Pottery Company. Ndukwe sits on the Board of Directors for the NuWay Foundation and is committed to numerous charities in both Cincinnati and Columbus. His donation in 2008 saved the football season for a youth football team in one of Columbus' inner-city neighborhoods.

References

1. ^ YouTube - Ndukwe crushes Calvin Johnson
2. ^ ESPN - Hashmarks By Matt Mosley
3. ^ Ndukwe: I'll keep working

External links

• Official Web Site of Chinedum Ndukwe
• Chinedum Ndukwe on Twitter
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
• Bengals Player Bio
• Official Blog

Persondata
Name	Ndukwe, Chinedum
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 4, 1985
Place of birth	Powell, Ohio
Date of death
Place of death