Injured Oregon defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu sends thank you message to fans

Oregon defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu’s playing days for the Ducks are finished, but that didn’t stop the senior All-American from saying a final goodbye to Oregon fans.

On Friday night, two days after reports indicated Ekpre-Olomu would be out for the rest of the year with a knee injury, the Oregon athletic department released a video of Ekpre-Olomu confirming his injury status and thanking fans for his experience at Oregon.

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Ekpre-Olomu, a senior out of Chino Hills, California, was a unanimous Associated Press All-American selection at corner back and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the best defensive back in college football. Ekpre-Olomu had two interceptions and 43 tackles for the 12-1 Ducks this season. In his four years with Oregon, Ekpre-Olomu has accumulated nine interceptions and 161 total tackles.

Ekpre-Olomu reiterated in the video that, despite the injury, he doesn’t plan on leaving his teammate’s side.

“It doesn’t stop here,” he said. “We’re just going to keep on moving forward and I’ll be with you guys in spirit.”

Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich confirmed Thursday that Ekpre-Olomu would not participate in the College Football Playoff.

“He’s already been Ifo in terms of leadership and already made a difference in kind of how he handled getting dinged up, but just a tough, tough dude and I expect our team to respond exactly how they’ve responded to everything else,” Helfrich said.

Oregon will play Florida State in the Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

Follow Joseph Hoyt on Twitter @JoeJHoyt

Read more here: http://dailyemerald.com/2014/12/19/injured-oregon-defensive-back-ifo-ekpre-olomu-sends-thank-you-message-to-fans/
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