Ebenezer Ekuban Jr. (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive end in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys,Cleveland Browns, andDenver Broncos. He playedcollege football for theNorth Carolina Tar Heels. He is distinguished as being the firstGhanaian to play in the NFL.

Ekuban started playingAmerican football during his junior year atBladensburg High School. As a senior, he was a two-way player attight end anddefensive end, recording 28 receptions for 546 yards, 5touchdowns, 76 tackles and 11 sacks. He was also an honor student.

He accepted a football scholarship from theUniversity of North Carolina. As a freshman, he was a backuptight end and played in the final 8 games, making only one reception for 4-yardtouchdown.

As a sophomore, he appeared in 10 games, tallying 5 receptions for 62 yards. Against theUniversity of Houston, he had a season-long reception of 22 yards and a 4-yardtouchdown.

As a junior, he was moved todefensive end. He played in 10 games (2 starts), collecting 40 tackles (9 for loss), 5 sacks, 12 quarterback pressures, 2 passes defensed and one forced fumble. Against theUniversity of Maryland, he made 9 tackles (4 for loss) and 3 sacks.

As a senior, he became a full-time starter, registering 96 tackles, 7 sacks (led the team), 3 quarterback pressures, 4 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles, one blocked kick and a school record 23 tackles for loss. AgainstClemson University, he had a career-high 16 tackles (4 for loss), 2 sacks and one forced fumble. He received second-teamAll-American andAll-ACC honors. He also made the Dean's List and received the Jim Tatum award for the ACC's top student athlete, because of his academic achievements.

Although theDallas Cowboys had invested their first draft choice in selecting adefensive end in three of the previous five drafts, they were still looking to replace the production ofCharles Haley andTony Tolbert. With only two years of total experience atdefensive end, the team thought that Ekuban was coming into his own, so they traded to theSeattle Seahawks the 22nd (Lamar King) and 140th (Floyd Wedderburn) selections, in exchange for the 20th pick, in order to select him in the first round of the1999 NFL draft.^[3]

The Cowboys wanted Ekuban to become the pass-rushing bookend to former Tar Heel teammateGreg Ellis. As a rookie, he played in 16 games, posting 33 tackles (3 for loss), 2.5 sacks (tied for sixth on the team) and 10 quarterback pressures. He started the final 2 contests in place of an injured Ellis and was named to theNFL All-Rookie team.

In2000, he started the first 2 games, before being moved back to a reserve role behindAlonzo Spellman. Although he missed 4 games with a dislocated right toe he suffered in the fourth game against theSan Francisco 49ers, he still led the team with 6.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. He also had 25 tackles (4 for loss) and 7 quarterback pressures.

In2001, he was named the starter atright defensive end, but suffered a herniated disc in the season-opener against theTampa Bay Buccaneers and had surgery on September 17. He returned to practice on a limited basis on November 9, but still suffered pain and was forced to be placed on theinjured reserve list on December 21. He finished with one tackle and one quarterback hurry.

In2002, he registered 15 starts, 43 tackles (2 for loss), one sack, 20 quarterback pressures and one forced fumble. Although he played a key role in the defense, he was still one of just five startingdefensive ends in theNFL with one or no sacks.

In2003, he had 1.5 sacks in the second game against theNew York Giants, but would later find himself in new head coachBill Parcells' dog house. He was eventually deactivated in the thirteenth game against thePhiladelphia Eagles, withEric Ogbogu taking his starting position in that contest and against theWashington Redskins. This led to a brief public confrontation between the two in the media. He recorded 30 tackles (3 for loss), 2.5 sacks, 12 quarterback pressures and 2 forced fumbles.

At the end of the year, the Cowboys did not make an attempt to re-sign him, preferring to instead signfree agentdefensive endMarcellus Wiley.

On March 10,2004, he signed with theCleveland Browns as afree agent, reuniting with defensive coordinatorDave Campo, who was his head coach with the Cowboys.^[4] Playing alongsideGerard Warren andCourtney Brown, who were also considered first round disappointments, he went on to have a strong season with 54 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 2 fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and a career-high 8 sacks in 16 games (11 starts).

In2005, new head coachRomeo Crennel looked to change thedefensive line personnel, in order to implement a new3–4 defense. On March 30, Ekuban along withdefensive tackleMichael Myers, were traded to theDenver Broncos in exchange forrunning backReuben Droughns.^[5]

In2005, with the Broncos also signingfree agentCourtney Brown, as well as obtaining Ekuban, Myers andGerard Warren in separate trades with the Browns, the local media referred to the Broncos newdefensive line as the "Browncos", since all four starters were also the Browns starters the year before, under newdefensive line coach Andre Patterson.^[6] He registered 41 tackles, 4 sacks (tied for the team lead), 2 passes defensed and one forced fumble in 16 games (4 starts).

In2006, he had 78 tackles, 7 sacks (second on the team), 2 passes defensed and one forced fumble in 15 starts. Ekuban missed the entire2007 season due to a rightAchilles tendon tear, suffered in the second preseason game against his former team, theDallas Cowboys.^[7]

In2008, he was re-signed to a one-year $3.12 million contract, to compete withJarvis Moss andJohn Engelberger for theleft defensive end position. Ekuban was the last remaining "Brownco", as Warren was traded to theOakland Raiders the year before and Brown and Myers were waived in previous years. He finished the season with 49 tackles, 5 sacks (tied for the team lead), one pass defensed and one fumble recovery in 15 games (10 starts).^[8]

In2009, new head coachJosh McDaniels implemented a3-4 defense and decided not to re-sign him, since he was not considered a good fit for the scheme.

In the fall of 2010, Ekuban assisted the football staff atRegis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado as an assistant coach. He also was hired by theDenver Broncos to serve in their player development department.

Ekuban has been said to have "the perfect name for an evil wizard" byBioWare video game writer Brad Prince.^[10]

• 1976 births
• Living people
• American football defensive ends
• North Carolina Tar Heels football players
• Dallas Cowboys players
• Cleveland Browns players
• Denver Broncos players
• American people of Ghanaian descent
• Sportspeople of Ghanaian descent
• Ghanaian players of American football

• Articles with short description
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• Use mdy dates from June 2024
• Use American English from November 2023
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