Article on Donny O in the Edm Journal

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http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/football/edmonton-eskimos/Eskimos+offensive+lineman/8478644/story.html  

 

 

EDMONTON - There’s a good reason why Don Oramasionwu became a consistent force on the Edmonton Eskimos’ defensive line last year.

The six-foot-two, 289-pound nose tackle is a massive guy with a huge barrel chest and quick feet.

“Over his last three or four years, he’s really worked on his body,” said Eskimos defensive line coach Leroy Blugh, who played with Edmonton from 1989-99. “He’s kind of unique. There’s not too many guys I played with who were that big who could still move that well. He moves very well for a very big guy.”

Oramasionwu, or Donny O as he’s sometimes called, said he was always in the weight room during the off-season.

“If you’re not improving yourself, you’re getting worse, so I just work hard on improving my body and improving my conditioning,” he said.

Oramasionwu, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Tuesday, doesn’t think he’s any bigger this season than he was last year, although he may have a little more muscle and may be a bit stronger.

“I’m probably more cut (his physique), my endurance is up,” he admitted.

Oramasionwu made 25 defensive tackles, three for losses, and five quarterback sacks last season while rotating through the two interior line positions with Ted Laurent and Almondo Sewell.

“We all played the exact same amount. We pretty much cycled in every three or four plays,” Oramasionwu said. “We’re probably going to do the same thing. We’re all interchangeable and we have fun in there just beating up interior O-linemen.

“We’re a year more together, so we’ll be more improved than last year.”

Oramasionwu was upset during the off-season when rumours out of Winnipeg suggested the Eskimos were trying to deal the five-year veteran back to his hometown, where he started his CFL career with the Blue Bombers in 2009.

“There was something, but coach (Kavis Reed) called me and said that they were exactly that, just rumours, so I was able to concentrate on coming back here,” said Oramasionwu. “Everybody has trade rumours going around at one point in your career, true or false. I just had to focus on making myself better and helping this team win.

“I love playing here, so you can’t let that affect you. You’ve got to keep training hard and be the best player you can be.”

ncowley@edmontonjournal.com

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