Benjamin Ebenezer Obomanu (born October 30, 1983) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He was selected by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in the 7th round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

. Obomanu played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

Early life

Obomanu attended Selma High School in

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abou ...

, and was a letterman and a starter in football and basketball. He graduated from Selma High School as a

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

College career

Obomanu played football for Auburn from 2002 to 2005. He had a career game against Ole MIss in 2003 but dropped the game winning touchdown pass in the end zone in a loss. Obomanu is a member of the Sigma Delta chapter (

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

) of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

fraternity. He attended the

University of Alabama School of Law The University of Alabama School of Law, (formerly known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama) located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the only public law school in the state. It is one of five law schools in the ...

beginning in Fall 2015.

College statistics

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

After being drafted by the

in the seventh round (249th overall) of the

, Obomanu spent the entire 2006 season on the team's practice squad. Obomanu made the Seahawks' active roster out of training camp in 2007. His first NFL touchdown came in on October 14 in a Sunday Night Football game against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. Obomanu caught a 17-yard

Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football for t ...

pass late in the second quarter. Obomanu broke his collarbone in a preseason game against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

on the 29th of August 2008 and he was placed on Injured Reserve the following day. Following Week 11 of the 2010 NFL Season, Obomanu was promoted to the #2 receiver, starting alongside Mike Williams. In a home game against the Carolina Panthers in 2010, Obomanu was injured as a result of a hit by Panthers safety Charles Godfrey. Obomanu finished the 2010 season with 30 receptions for 494 yards, 4 touchdowns, and a 16.5 yard per catch average. Shortly after the Seahawks' were eliminated from the playoffs against the Bears, Obomanu signed a new 3-year contract with the Seahawks running through 2013. On March 15, 2013, the Seahawks released Obomanu.

New York Jets

Obomanu was signed by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

on May 30, 2013. He was released on August 31, 2013. He was re-signed on September 10, 2013. He was released on October 2, 2013.

Career statistics

Law school

In the fall of 2015, Obomanu enrolled in law school at The University of Alabama School of Law. During his third year, Obomanu served as the president of the Black Law Students Association and as the student ombudsperson for the Honor Council.

References

External links

New York Jets bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obomanu, Benjamin 1983 births Living people American football wide receivers Auburn Tigers football players Players of American football from Alabama Sportspeople from Selma, Alabama Seattle Seahawks players New York Jets players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen University of Alabama School of Law alumni