Arnold Ebiketie Should be Familiar with Crucible of Playing in Philly

The edge rusher played three years at Temple before taking on a grad transfer year at Penn State and is poised to be a first-round pick, perhaps of the Eagles

INDIANAPOLIS – It’s no secret that Philadelphia can be a notoriously difficult city in which to play.

Arnold Ebiketie should already have a feel for it. 

Before finishing at Penn State as a graduate transfer for his final season, he played three years at Temple, and, while that’s a whole different ballgame than playing for the Eagles, he at least is familiar with the mentality of playing in a city that isn’t always brotherly love.

“We played in the same stadium,” he said on Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine when edge rushers took to the podium inside the Indiana Convention Center.

“I was right there when the Eagles won the Super Bowl. It was great being in Philly at that particular point in time. I definitely do follow the Eagles.”

Ebiketie could be doing his following inside the Eagles’ locker room. He has put himself in a position to be a first-round draft pick, and perhaps that will be with the Eagles, who own picks 15, 16, and 19 when the 2022 NFL Draft commences on April 28.

“I think I’m versatile enough to play different positions,” said Ebiketie when he took the podium inside the Indiana Convention Center at the NFL Scouting Combine on Friday.

“They need me to drop in coverage, they need me to be in a 4-3 system where I have to rush most of the time, depending on what system I’m in, I think I feel comfortable doing a little bit of everything.”

Ebiketie, who met with the Eagles at the Senior Bowl but said he did not meet with them at the Combine, is one of three edge rushers the Eagles could give serious consideration to in the draft who came to the sport later than most.

He grew up in Cameroon playing soccer and didn’t arrive in the United States until he was 13 when his father, who was in the military, was sent to Washington DC. He began playing football as a sophomore in high school outside of DC.

“I think my passion for the game came from the fact that I love competing,” he said. “Every time I go out there, I like to give my best, and the lessons that the game teaches you are enough to feel good or bad. You learn something out of it. That’s where it came from for me, just going out there competing and the process that comes with it.”

Competition, of course, is music to the ears of Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni.

Ebiketie’s story is similar to Purdue’s George Karlaftis, who grew up in Greece and came to the U.S. when he was 13 after playing water polo.

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Michigan’s David Ojabo was born in Nigeria, moved to Scotland when he was 7, then arrived in the U.S. at 15. He played basketball and soccer.

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At 6-2, 250, Ebiketie had 9.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss at Penn State last year. He had six sacks in 16 games at Temple with 10.5 tackles for loss.

“I think the coaching staff that I had, Coach (John) Scott, Deion Barnes, those guys, they kind of help me put together some of the pieces that I was missing into my game,” he said. “And I think once I got that, kind of call it the perfect seasoning. It kind of put everything together. That’s where the production came from.”

Ebiketie was about 200 pounds when he first began playing, but his frame filled out through high school.

“My dad actually started liking football before I did,” he said. “He was kind of one of the first people to encourage me to try football. I started watching the game with him. So, at the time in high school, when my high school coach kind of approached me and asked me to try to join the football team, my dad was kind of the one that pushed me to do it. He asked me to try, you never know. And I did. I was a good decision for me.”

Philadelphia already has a superstar player from Cameroon. That, of course, is Joel Embiid of the Sixers, a player Ebiketie said he has never met him but hopes to one day.

That day could come sooner than later if the Eagles call his name on draft night.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.