Going into OTAs and training camp in advance of the 2022 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns are looking to shore up some holes and weaknesses in their roster.
Some of those holes and weaknesses happen to be on the defensive side of the football.
One player who could help there is linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
He is coming off a rookie season during which he showed some promise, but he has lots of room for improvement.
Owusu-Koramoah has had a rough offseason, but he could be poised to take a significant step forward in 2022.
Owusu-Koramoah Was A Star In College
A native of Hampton, Va., Owusu-Koramoah first committed to the University of Virginia, but he ended up playing his college ball at the University of Notre Dame.
His freshman year was spent on the Fighting Irish’s scout team, and he lost almost all of his sophomore season to a broken foot.
But he started to sprout as a junior in 2019.
That year, he registered 80 tackles (54 solo), 13.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and four passes defended for a team that went 11-2.
In 2020, Owusu-Koramoah had 62 tackles (42 solo), 11 tackles for loss, three passes broken up and two fumble recoveries, one of which he turned into a touchdown.
His production got him the Butkus Award, named after the legendary Dick Butkus and given to the top linebacker in college football.
Owusu-Koramoah was also a unanimous All-American while winning the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award.
Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing about 220 pounds, he was taken by the Browns with the 52nd overall pick in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
This past season, an injured ankle cost him three games, but he started 10 of the 14 games he played in, and he ended the year with 76 tackles (49 solo), four passes defended, two forced fumbles, three tackles for loss and four quarterback hits.
Owusu-Koramoah’s performance in 2021 made him part of Cleveland’s defensive core, and he can still become so much better in the coming years.
JOK🔥
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is PFF’s highest graded rookie defender. pic.twitter.com/VhSLVwTQAE
— Cris Collinsworth (@CollinsworthPFF) December 2, 2021
The Browns could use help when it comes to limiting opponents’ passing touchdowns, as they allowed 29 last year, which ranked 22nd in the NFL.
Forcing more turnovers would also help – they forced just 19 takeaways, which was 21st in the league.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah: Only rookie with 70+ grades as both a pass rusher and run defender last season👀 pic.twitter.com/PD0A48TYKa
— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 6, 2022
Will Owusu-Koramoah Bounce Back From Personal Adversity?
Early this offseason, the linebacker took a trip to the African nation of Ghana in order to hold a football camp for young players.
It was his way of getting in touch with his roots, as his father was born in Africa.
Spent the day at Cleveland #Browns LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s football camp in Ghana🇬🇭🏈 @j_owuu @Browns pic.twitter.com/H64GWhEryZ
— Emily Wirtz (@emilywirtzfbl) April 2, 2022
But while Owusu-Koramoah was overseas, someone very dear to him was taken away from him here in the States.
In early April, Joshua Emmanuel Owusu-Koramoah, who is Jeremiah’s older brother, was found dead inside a home that had suffered a fire.
The suspected perpetrator, Donald Ivan Scott, was found, arrested and charged with one count of murder and one count of arson.
Joshua, like his younger brother, had played college football as a linebacker, and the two were reportedly inseparable.
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