Derek Ibekwe, ILB, New Mexico State: 2019 NFL Draft

2017 (RS-Junior)
Took a medical redshirt.

2016 (Junior)
Saw action in seven games with two starts… Picked up 17 tackles with nine solo and eight assisted… Season-high seven tackles at Idaho (10/15) with a tackle for loss… Missed five games of the season due to injury.

2015 (Sophomore)
Played in 12 games and started nine… Garnered a team-high 93 tackles with 41 unassisted and 52 assisted… Racked up 6.5 tackles for loss and had 1.0 sacks at ULM (12/5)… Had one forced fumble against UTEP (9/19)… Amassed three double-digit tackle efforts with 12 against UTEP, 13 at New Mexico (10/3) and 14 at Georgia Southern (10/17)… Had a season-high 2.0 tackles for loss at New Mexico… Collected 58 tackles during conference play, which included 24 unassisted and 34 assisted… Garnered 3.0 tackles for loss in league games with 1.0 at Georgia Southern (10/17), 1.0 against Arkansas State (11/28) and 1.0 at ULM.

2014 (Freshman)
Played in 12 games with 10 starts… Garnered 102 tackles on the season, which included 46 unassisted tackles and 56 assisted tackles… Totaled 4.0 tackles for loss… Earned Sun Belt All-Conference honorable mention… Amassed four games with double-figure tackles… Had a career-high 14 tackles against Cal Poly (Aug. 28) which he matched at Troy (Oct. 11)… Collected 1.0 tackles for loss against New Mexico (Sept. 20) and 1.0 tackles for loss at Troy… Had one quarterback hurry at Idaho (Oct. 8).

High School
Totaled 79 tackles with six tackles for loss and five sacks… Also collected one pass break-up, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery… Ranked 78th in the Texas Lone Star Rankings Class of 2014 by rivals.com… Selected to the USA football vs. Canada under-19 game and was also chosen as Defensive MVP of district 23-4a… As a junior, racked up 56 tackles, two sacks and one quarterback hurry… Also had a touchdown reception as tight end… Was part of the Texas Top-100 watch list class of 2014.

May not come across a politer young man during the NFL Draft process. Very respective and has a demeanor that resonates to place others before himself. Nigerian decent earned him the nickname ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ but often hear ‘D-Wrec’ nowadays. He focused on getting a scholarship so his parents would not have to pay tuition. He reached his goal. 

Ironically his calm nice demeanor is not the case on the field. Ibekwe packs a punch and not sure if I’ve seen a guy who brings more when the initial hit commences. Run-and-hit linebacker who shows good vision seeing the play unfold before he launches towards the intended target. Excels with the play in front of him and not going to miss a tackle. He secures the ballcarrier and extends himself to make diving tackles count. Natural strength and burst to the ball.

The lateral movement and coverage skills are going to be the focus of what Ibekwe needs to prove in my opinion. Has the pro-typical size teams desire and was the quarterback of the New Mexico State defense. Looks to be a two-down linebacker with limited range and cover skill but again he was not asked to drop much in college.

His two-down run-and-seek ability is going to capture the attention of the watchful eye. Ibekwe is a punisher.