From basement to NFL, Igwebuike now excelling
Godwin Igwebuike’s NFL dream was stuffed into the same space as his workout equipment. The basement.
After appearing in six games over two seasons in the NFL, the 212-pound safety from Pickerington figured it might be time to consider another career path. Real estate was one option. There also was a vision to coordinate and host a faith-based music and art festival at his parents’ home in Canal Winchester.
Pro football? Well, it was a blast while it lasted. But the NFL is a business, and it seemed no teams were blown away by his updated resume: Position: Safety.
Goal: To enjoy a successful and stable NFL career and bring value to my team.
Pro experience: Signed as undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on April 30, 2018; waived seven months later; claimed by the San Francisco
49ers; waived four months later; claimed by the Philadelphia Eagles; waived three months later; claimed by the New York Jets in August 2019; waived 3 1⁄2 weeks later; signed with the Seattle Dragons of the XFL; contract terminated after five games when the league suspended operations due to COVID-19.
College: Northwestern (2014-17); two-time secondteam All-big Ten.
High School: running back and defensive back at Pickerington North; 1,985 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns senior season; Associated Press first-team Allohio; registered six interceptions, one pick-six, 79 tackles and two forced fumbles; four-star recruit.
Impressive stuff, yet entering 2021 no NFL offers were forthcoming. COVID had cut into minicamp tryouts in 2020 and teams were less willing to take risks on players along the fringes.
“It definitely was one of those situations where you have those thoughts, ‘Is it time to move on? Am I one of those guys working out but wasting my time?’ ” Igwebuike said this week from his home in Detroit. “They don’t keep a database of how many guys are doing that at this moment, but it’s more than you can imagine.”
Igwebuike was working out, meeting at the farm twice a week with a trainer, running through defensive back drills in the front yard, stretching and lifting in the basement. But he wasn’t wasting his time. Solitary walks around the 20-acre farm brought a sense of peace and purpose. Rather than look too far ahead or bemoan what was behind, Igwebuike concentrated on being where his feet were, where he stood at the moment. He began pouring his passion for music and art into an event called the “Favor Farms Festival.”
“I’ve always had a passion for sports, but also for music and art and a converging of the two into really just community,” he said. “A lot of Christian art and music gets the short end of the stick, so (the festival) brings the ability to experience quality music and art to develop community and unity.”
The first Favor Farms event happened in October 2020.
Then the phone rang.
The Detroit Lions were on the line. They offered Igwebuike a futures deal in January 2021. After two years out of the NFL, the safety was back. But not at safety. Two weeks before training camp opened, Lions coach Dan Campbell called the defensive back. Uh-oh. Was he getting released? Not exactly. Campbell said he was switching the 27-year-old to running back, a position he had not played since high school.
Igwebuike was surprised, but not shocked. A lot of stuff runs through a person’s head and heart during quiet walks in the woods, on strolls down empty country roads or along wind-swept beaches. Even at your parents’ farm. It was on one of those walks that something in Igwebuike’s spirit, a God feeling if you will, told him he would play running back again some day.
There was no mention from above of how well he would play the position. That part was up to him, and after meeting with his former coaches at Northwestern to work on run blocking and the finer aspects of the position, he has made the most of the switch by becoming an important backup option.
Igwebuike’s 7.4-yard average on 16 attempts ranks second in the league among players with at least 15
carries, and his 42-yard touchdown run against Pittsburgh in Week 10 was the longest TD run by a Lions player in a road game since Barry Sanders in 1997. He also converted a third-and-10 on a 13-yard catch that helped keep Detroit’s go-ahead drive alive in the Lions’ lone win against Minnesota. And he’s dangerous on kick returns, too, ranking sixth in the league with 556 yards.
Despite those numbers and achievements, doubt always crouches just behind the confidence, reminding Igwebuike that he is one phone call away from being back on the farm.
Fortunately, the better angels of his nature are winning the mental tug-of-war. Even after a costly fumble last week at Denver, he tries to see negatives as learning tools and not as an indictment of who he is as a person.
“I’m realizing through this game that how I respond in this game is how I’m going to respond for the rest of my life,” he said. “How do I deal with stress? How do I ground myself and deal with fear?”
A pause, and the safety-turned running back answered his own questions.
“You trust your ability when history might say otherwise,” he said. “The same things in life. We have to deal and confront different parts of ourselves, and have the understanding we can come out on top.” Well said. Don’t dwell in your basement forever. roller@dispatch.com
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