Benjamin Ebenezer Obomanu (born October 30, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in the 7th round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League 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 ad ...

. Obomanu played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the Auburn Tigers.

High school

Obomanu attended

Selma High School Selma High School is a public secondary school in Selma, Alabama. It is the only public high school in the Selma City School System. History Selma High School was formed in 1970 in response to court-ordered integration, merging the former white ...

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. About ...

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

College career

Obomanu played football for Auburn from 2002-05. 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 land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

) of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...

fraternity. He attended the University of Alabama School of Law beginning in Fall 2015.

College statistics

Professional career

After being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks 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 Sunday Night Football may refer to: * ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games by NBC since 2006 * ''ESPN Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games from 1987 to 2005 by ESPN * ...

game against the New Orleans Saints. Obomanu caught a 17-yard Matt Hasselbeck 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 that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

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 African-American players of American football Auburn Tigers football players Players of American football from Alabama Sportspeople from Selma, Alabama Seattle Seahawks players New York Jets players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people