Bobby Okereke
Inside Linebacker
Santa Ana, Calif.
Bobby Okereke was selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft with the 89th overall pick on Friday night by the Indianapolis Colts. An inside linebacker from Santa Ana, California, Okereke is the first Cardinal selected by the Colts since Henry Anderson in the third round of the 2015 Draft.
"Bobby has intrigued the scouts during the pre-draft process," Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw said. "His length, speed and athleticism have truly put him on the radar for a lot of teams. From day one, he will probably be a starter on multiple special teams and will be battling to get on the field as a linebacker early in his career for the Colts."
A 2018 team captain, Okereke was twice named All-Pac-12 honorable mention during his career. He played in 51 career games, totaling 240 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. He also had nine passes defended, one interception, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He added a touchdown and safety for the Cardinal.
"Bobby Okereke is an all-down linebacker," inside linebackers coach Peter Hansen said. "He is long, he is fast, he has good hip flexibility and he can flip his hips and cover in space. He can tackle in space, too. He has extremely long arms so he can keep himself clean off blockers. He will fit in really well with the Colts."
As a senior last season, Okereke was named a quarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and was on the watch lists for the Butkus and Bednarik Awards. He started all 13 games, leading the team for a second straight year with 96 tackles (52 solo). He also had 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, five pass breakups and a safety.
In 2017, Okereke played in 14 games and had 96 tackles with 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. He also had one forced fumble and returned an interception for a touchdown at Washington State. As a junior in 2016, he started all 13 games he played and made 41 tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks. He played in 11 games with seven tackles as a sophomore in 2015.