Silver and Black Report

Isaiah Ekejiuba was signed to the Oakland Raiders practice squad on September 6, 2005. This after the Arizona Cardinals released him prior to the regular season.

I asked Ekejiuba how he felt about being released and what he thought about his football career at that point:

“I didn’t think I was going to go too much further than that. From the time I was in camp [in Arizona], it was my understanding that a lot of un-drafted guys don’t make it you don’t make it to camp and when you get released, it’s hard to get picked-up.”

Then the Silver & Black called and Ekejiuba recalled his first thoughts regarding his next landing spot.

“When I got released, I didn’t know what to do. Then I got a call from my agent and he said how I would feel about going to Oakland. And we just had played against the Raiders two weeks prior to that so I said, ‘Oh man, out in Oakland?’ You hear all the stuff about Oakland and hear I am.”

What ‘stuff’ did you hear about Oakland?

“You hear all the stuff about the penalties, how they going to cheap shot you all the tough and scrappy type guys. You hear people say, ‘get ready for a bar fight.’ That’s the impression I had, I knew about the Raiders. And as a kid growing up, you hear about the Raiders, you know about Al Davis, the greatness of the Raiders. It was crazy when I finally came out here and I saw what everyone’s been talking about.”

His cautious nature after being un-drafted and hearing all the stories about how hard it is for such players to make it in the league had Ekejiuba wondering if this was the team he could latch on to.

“I didn’t know how long I was going to be out [in Oakland]. I stayed in a hotel for most of the year because I didn’t know when I had to pack up and leave again.”

Ekejiuba hasn’t left. And during his 48 games in Oakland, the 27-year old has established himself as one of the better special teams players in the conference. I asked him what does it take to be a standout on special teams?

“I think, one, you need to have an extra gear because there are some plays that you are running 70-yards and then you have to turn around and run another 70-yards in full speed. If you have heart, you have to be willing to go just a little harder than the next guy. Because you have to see, if anyone tells you on special teams they are not tired, maybe it’s the field goal unit, but if you are playing in the core of the special teams, there is a lot of running, it is very physical so you need to have the mind-set that yeah, this is going to hurt, I’m not going to enjoy this but you have to outlast whoever you are playing against. You have to have that mentality that every play, you are going to last one second longer than this guy and you are going to win out a lot that way.”

He continued, “You are not going to win every battle you have in football. That’s just life. You try to go out there and have heart play harder and a little longer than the guy opposite you.”

Many of the players at the glory positions in the NFL envision the perfect play or have dream scenarios that they play out in their head. Ekejiuba gave us some insight about what would be his perfect play:

“Obviously, it would be a kickoff. Kickoffs are unique because you run a very long way and you want to hit something – somebody. So ideally, if I run down and I can beat my blocks, and I have a vision of splitting a double team [laughing], split the double team, and have a returner cut back into my lane. One of those hits where you blow them up on the ball and it comes loose.”

And to cap the play off, “Take that [fumble] and score with it. If you could score covering a kick, then your unit is pretty good.”

Its not often a special teams player gets into the end zone. When asked about how he would react if he hit paydirt, and what celebration he would unveil, the reserved talent said, “I don’t stand in front of a mirror and try to learn new dances and stuff like that. It would have to be a spur of the moment thing. To me, that’s what it should be.”

In 2008, Johnnie Lee Higgins made a splash with his incredible returns. What was it like being a part of that and having a front row view during some of those notable plays?

“It was great watching Johnnie Lee. Watching him grow. Early in his career he had maybe a little trust issue within himself, where I don’t think he trusted himself completely. But this past year it’s been great watching him, just the returner he has become. People hear Johnnie Lee Higgins, and you know whom they are talking about.

He is someone that has the potential to score on you on any given play. And its wonderful seeing someone like that, somebody who is so young, just unsure about himself, now really making a splash.

That is what special teams are about; creating a short field for your offense and a long field for your defense. And when [Higgins] is returning touchdowns like that, the offense can just keep resting. It’s great watching people like that [Higgins’ play].

He always brings energy. You play with someone like that, I don’t know how you can’t get excited.”

Ekejiuba will now be lead by John Fassel, as he takes over for Brian Schneider as special teams coordinator. What are his impressions of the second year Raider staffer?

“It’s not really a new coach. He was there last year as an assistant and he worked very closely with us and coach [Brian] Schneider. They shared a lot of ideas, they were real close. These are two guys that loves what they do.

I don’t think, in my opinion, there isn’t going to be any drop-off from last year in terms of the effort and the time put in at preparation because coach Fassel will work as hard as coach Schneider did, they like to win and they have good ideas and how to use their guys. So we have a lot of the guys coming back this year, so you know when we put that unit together after a year of knowing each other, I think we are going to go up there and show some guys some things.”

Log on to SBReport.net in the coming days for part three of the exclusive interview with Isaiah Ekejiuba, where he talks about: Tom Cable’s hiring, Raider fans, his three-year contract and negotiations with the Silver & Black and his teammate Marquis Cooper.

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist