Akoni-Oasasa-Awasaki

[MarionBarberThe4th]

Seems like a lot of us like him and he makes a lot of sense being a big CB/S w/ speed who can step in and help on ST as a rookie.

 

[The Natural]

this guy isnt even on google, post some more information please

 

[MarionBarberThe4th]

My bad, I havent spelled his name right once. Akwasi-Owusu-Ansah, hes from IUP. Solid in run support, perfect H-W-S. Obviously raw on D but would be useful as a retutner on gameday

 

[VACowboy]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1675324

His first name means ``Born on Sunday.'' In a few short weeks, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah will find out if NFL scouts think he was born to play football on Sundays. Owusu-Ansah, who was born in Ghana, on the west coast of Africa, is preparing for the flurry of workouts and judgments he'll have to go through in the next few weeks, under a much brighter spotlight than he is familiar with at IUP. It's too bad, though, that a torn labrum in his right shoulder will keep Owusu-Ansah from really showing off for the NFL scouts, who have flocked to IUP in recent months to watch the Crimson Hawks' All-America cornerback work out. Despite the injury, Owusu-Ansah has a body of work through four years with IUP that has garnered him all kinds of national attention. Various draft Web sites rank him from as high as a projected second-round pick to a fourth-round choice, which is quite an accomplishment for a player from what most scouts consider to be a small school. Owusu-Ansah has gained a lot of attention not just for his size and speed at cornerback, but for his special teams heroics. He scored nine touchdowns in his career on returns, including four on punts and three on kickoffs, making him an attractive prospect for NFL teams. ``Nobody can argue about his height, nobody can argue about his weight, nobody can argue about his speed,'' IUP head coach Lou Tepper said in November. ``Then he has that body of work in special teams that makes him intriguing. But he can be more than that.'' Owusu-Ansah has been invited to play in three all-star games: the Cactus Bowl, Texas vs. Nation Bowl and East-West Shrine Game. But the shoulder injury, which he suffered in IUP's final game of the season in November, will keep him from playing in them. But, he has reportedly been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in February, which will give him a chance to show his skills to all 32 teams. - Matthew Burglund, The Indiana Gazette

After two years playing behind veteran corners for IUP, Owusu-Ansah came into his own as a junior in 2008 and grabbed the spotlight as a senior. He should follow in the footsteps of former Division II standout cornerbacks Ricardo Colclough, Drayton Florence and Danieal Manning as a top-100 pick.

With eight interceptions and 10 pass breakups in 2008, teams stayed away from Owusu-Ansah last fall. His 27 tackles, two interceptions and four pass breakups were good enough for first-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-West and second-team AP Little All-American honors.

He was also all-conference as a return specialist. Owusu-Ansah returned three punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns in '09. In the previous two seasons, he had averaged 10.7 yards on 48 punt returns and 24.8 yards on 33 kickoff returns -- returning one punt and one kickoff for TDs in the 2007 season.

Scouts note his size, speed and hands on the corner and noticed his ability to play through a shoulder injury this fall (which kept him out of postseason all-star games) and his versatility. Owusu-Ansah lined up at safety quite often to take advantage of his centerfielder skills and could be used there in the NFL. Whether teams view him as a cornerback or safety, they'll value his skills. Defensive backs with size, speed, hands and return skills aren't easy to find.

Read & React: Reads his receiver carefully on the outside and is quick to jump routes once a hint is given. Reads the quarterback well and has the speed to the ball in the deep half as a safety. Baits the quarterback into thinking the seam route is open.

Man Coverage: Has prototypical size to be a press corner. Plays with aggression at the line but usually lined up 10 yards off, apparently per coaches' instructions. Shows good flexibility and very good feet in his pedal, staying low and transitioning well. Typically takes up inside position instead of backpedaling, waiting for the receiver to make his move before jumping the route; gets turned around if receiver breaks inside. Often forces quarterback to look in another direction.

Zone Coverage: Could flourish in a zone system as a free safety or corner. His size and speed give him good range, and he is strong enough to snatch the ball from the grasp of receivers. Fluid moving from the hash to the sideline. Excellent hands for the interception and is always a threat to take the ball to the end zone. Must prove he has the discipline to come off one receiver to cover another coming into his area.

Closing/Recovery: Closes on the ball in the air quickly. Gives too much cushion, but his size, closing speed and long arms allow him to stop plays or immediately bring down the ballcarrier. Jumps slant routes when playing off-man. Has the speed and change-of-direction agility to recover on stop-and-go routes. Plants and drives out of his backpedal effectively.

Run Support: Used primarily as a cover corner playing off the line, Owusu-Ansah did not often come up in run support. He will come off his man to chase down ballcarriers, though, taking good angles to prevent big plays. Has the size to be effective crashing down from the outside and generally disengages from receiver blocks, but physicality is still a question mark.

Tackling: Has the size and strength to limit yards after the catch. Has long, well-built arms to wrap up ballcarriers. Averaged roughly on tackle per game -- the ball didn't come his way often and he was not involved in many run plays. Heads toward the pile but often runs around it instead of entering the fracas. Needs to prove himself a secure tackler before teams consider moving him to safety.

Intangibles: Confident and emotional on the field. Highly successful at a lower level of competition, but must acclimate quickly to the routes run by receivers from major programs. He missed an opportunity to prove himself against the big boys in all-star games because of a shoulder injury. His return skills were formidable at the D-II level, but should translate; he hits a hole quickly, shows good vision, runs through arm tackles and has the speed to beat the angle. Displays patience to let blocks develop on interception and kickoff returns.

 

[silverbear]

I like him, because he offers you an option A and an option B-- option A is to play him as a press corner (he's physical enough, and has the recovery speed), while option B is to turn him into a free safety with unusual range...

And as has been noted, he offers you some value on special teams while you're trying to figure out which is his best position...

According to BTB, the Boys have shown some interest in Virginia's Chris Cook, who's a similar player-- he's 6-2, 210 pounds (slightly bigger than Owusu-Ansah), and runs the 40 in around 4.5 seconds (maybe .05 slower than Owusu-Ansah)... again, Chris could be tried first as a press corner, and if he lacked the quickness to handle that, could be moved to FS... on the intangibles front, Cook was a team captain, and a mentor for the younger players on the team...

Both of them should be drafted in the 3rd or 4th round range, and I'd be comfortable with either one...

 

[VACowboy]

Virginia played a lot of cover two, so Cook may need a while to get used to press coverage, but he looks the part. He's got good ball skills (better than Dowling, IMHO) and is a great tackler.

While we're talking UVA guys...

A guy to watch is Nate Collins. He's only 6-2 and 290, but his motor never stops. He had 77 tackles, 10 TFL and 6 sacks this past season. And that's in a 3-4.

 

[Phrozen Phil]

It looks like he's an intriguing player, but it might be too hard to get his name on the back of a jersey. It will also take two years for Joe Buck to learn to pronounce his name.

In all seriousness, he's got a good endorsement from more than one source, so it will be intriguing to see him at the combine.

BTW, VA, thanks for putting this out there. I appreciate solid info.