Faith Ekakitie
{{Short description|Canadian football player (born 1993)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox CFL player
|name=Faith Ekakitie
|image=
|caption=
|team=
|number=93
|position1=Defensive tackle
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1993|04|25}}
|birth_place=Brampton, Ontario, Canada
|Height_ft=6
|Height_in=3
|Weight_lbs=290
|college=Iowa
|CFLDraftedYear=2017
|CFLDraftedRound=1
|CFLDraftedPick=1
|CFLDraftedTeam=Winnipeg Blue Bombers
|playing_years1={{CFL Year|2017}}
|playing_team1=Winnipeg Blue Bombers
|playing_years2={{CFL Year|2018}}
|playing_team2=Montreal Alouettes
|status=
|import=no
|CFL=faith-ekakitie/
}}
Faith Ekakitie (born April 25, 1993) is a Canadian former football defensive tackle. He was drafted first overall in the 2017 CFL Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Ekakitie played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was also a member of the Montreal Alouettes.
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 1 1/8
| weight = 304
| dash = 5.05
| ten split = 1.81
| twenty split = 3.04
| shuttle = 4.75
| cone drill = 7.68
| vertical = 28.5
| broad ft = 8
| broad in = 5
| bench = 24
| arm span = 33 5/8
| hand span = 9 3/4
| note = All values from Pro Day{{Cite web |title=2017 NFL Draft Scout Faith Ekakitie College Football Profile |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=122845&DraftYear=2017 |access-date=December 25, 2023 |website=DraftScout.com}}
}}
= Winnipeg Blue Bombers =
Ekakitie was drafted first overall in the 2017 CFL Draft by the Blue Bombers and signed with the team on May 7, 2017 to a three-year contract.{{cite web|url=http://www.bluebombers.com/2017/05/07/bombers-select-iowa-defensive-tackle-faith-ekakitie-first-overall/|title=Bombers select Iowa defensive tackle Faith Ekakitie first overall – Winnipeg Blue Bombers|date=May 7, 2017|publisher=}} In his rookie season Ekakitie dressed for 14 regular-season games and contributed only five tackles. On June 10, 2018 Ekakitie was released by the Blue Bombers.{{Cite news|url=https://www.tsn.ca/bombers-release-2017-first-overall-pick-ekakitie-1.1109670|title=Bombers release 2017 first overall pick Ekakitie – Article – TSN|date=2018-06-11|work=TSN|access-date=2018-06-12}}
= Montreal Alouettes =
On June 14, 2018 Ekakitie signed with the Montreal Alouettes.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/14/als-sign-former-first-overall-pick-ekakitie/|title=Als sign former first overall pick Ekakitie – CFL.ca|date=2018-06-14|work=CFL.ca|access-date=2018-06-14|language=en-US}} Faith Ekakitie suffered a torn Achilles during practice on June 26, 2018, causing him to miss the entire 2018 season.{{Cite news|url=http://3downnation.com/2018/06/29/faith-ekakitie-suffers-torn-achilles-will-miss-entire-2018-season/|title=Faith Ekakitie suffers torn Achilles, will miss entire 2018 season - 3DownNation|date=2018-06-29|work=3DownNation|access-date=2018-06-29|language=en-US}} He was released by the Alouettes on January 28, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://en.montrealalouettes.com/2019/01/28/january-28-transactions/|title=January 28 Transactions|date=2019-01-28|website=Montreal Alouettes|language=en|access-date=2019-01-29}}
Injury and Early Retirement
Following over a year of rehab on his Achilles, on July 15, 2019 Ekakitie announced his retirement from professional football.{{Cite web|url=https://3downnation.com/2019/07/16/former-first-overall-draft-pick-faith-ekakitie-announces-retirement/|title=Former first overall draft pick Faith Ekakitie announces retirement {{!}} 3DownNation|last=Hodge|first=John|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-17}} He stated that he hoped to pursue coaching and teaching in the future.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.bluebombers.com/players/faith-ekakitie/ Winnipeg Blue Bombers bio]
- [http://www.hawkeyesports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=359 Iowa Hawkeyes bio]
{{CFL Number One Draft Picks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekakitie, Faith}}
Category:Canadian football defensive linemen
Category:Players of Canadian football from Brampton
Category:Iowa Hawkeyes football players