Joel Iyiegbuniwe
Joel Iyiegbuniwe (born October 12, 1995) is an American football linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Kentucky.
![]() Iyiegbuniwe in 2017. | |||||||||||||||
No. 45 – Chicago Bears | |||||||||||||||
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Position: | Inside linebacker | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | Chicago, Illinois | October 12, 1995||||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 226 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | South Warren (Bowling Green, Kentucky) | ||||||||||||||
College: | Western Kentucky | ||||||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2018 / Round: 4 / Pick: 115 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020 | |||||||||||||||
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Early years
Iyiegbuniwe attended South Warren High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Although as a senior he only played in four games, he tallied 23 tackles and one interception along with six touchdowns. As a junior he made 64 tackles with three interceptions along with four touchdowns.[1] Iyiegbuniwe committed to play football for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in December 2013, choosing them over Indiana State and Southern Illinois.[2]
College career
As a true freshman in 2014, Iyiegbuniwe played in the first three games of Western Kentucky's season before a knee injury ended his season. He elected to take a medical redshirt.[3]
In 2015, as a redshirt freshman, Iyiegbuniwe played in all 14 of Western Kentucky's games, recording 19 tackles and one sack.[4]
In 2016, Iyiegbuniwe, now a redshirt sophomore, once again appeared in all 14 games. He made 64 tackles (10 for loss), 3.5 sacks, three pass deflections and one forced fumble.[5] He was awarded 2016 C-USA Honorable Mention.[6]
As a redshirt junior in 2017, Iyiegbuniwe played in all 13 games, recording 117 tackles (11.5 for loss), two sacks, one pass deflection and three forced fumbles.[7] He was named to the 2017 C-USA First Team.[8] After the season, he declared for the 2018 NFL Draft.[9]
Professional career
![](../I/Joel_Iyiegbuniwe.jpg.webp)
Iyiegbuniwe was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round (115th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.[10]
References
- "Joel Iyiegbuniwe". Western Kentucky University Athletics. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "South Warren LB/RB Joel Iyiegbuniwe verbally commits to WKU". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "TOPPER EXTRA: Iyiegbuniwe makes impact in breakout season". wkuherald.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "Joel Iyiegbuniwe 2015 Player Statistics". cfbstats.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "Joel Iyiegbuniwe 2016 Player Statistics". cfbstats.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "FB: 2016 All-Conference Teams". Conference USA. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "Joel Iyiegbuniwe 2017 Player Statistics". cfbstats.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "FB: 2017 All-Conference Awards". Conference USA. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "Western Kentucky's Joel Iyiegbuniwe declares early for draft". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- Mayer, Larry (April 28, 2018). "Bears select Iyiegbuniwe in Round 4". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- "Nigeria dominates Africa's 2018 NFL draftee list". ESPN. April 23, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2018.