From another board:
Rams sign Louis Ayeni, a UDFA in 2004, Colts camp in 2004
Info on him;
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Feature story from The Den, September 13 vs. Miami (Ohio)
Sept. 13, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Former Michigan State head football coach Duffy Daugherty once said, "Football is not a contact sport, it's a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport." Much like the phrase 'where there is smoke, there is fire' one could make a parallel claim that 'where there is football, there is injury'. If there is one person on the Northwestern roster who knows that, it is Louis Ayeni.
After a stellar high school career at Woodbury High School in Woodbury Minnesota-- one in which Ayeni was named first team all-state at running back by every publication in the state, MVP of the state championship game and a bevy of other accolades-- Ayeni surprised most recruiting analysts by choosing to play at Northwestern. The reason he headed to Evanston: a chance to play running back, and play early.
He was able to do just that. As a true freshman, he rushed for 168 yards the backup to all-Big Ten and current Arizona Cardinal running back Damien Anderson, but started on the special teams and racked up a team-high 295 yards on kickoff returns.
For the most part, Ayeni's goal of being the feature back in the NU offense seemed on track. He was on the field as a freshman, showing off what made him one of the top high school backs in the nation. Most importantly, he was on the field, a place he would not see much of in the next few years.
Heading into spring practice in 2000, Ayeni was still second on the depth chart behind Anderson, but was closing the gap between the two backs with his ability to make defenders miss. However, he was slowed by what he considered merely a 'nagging pain' in his hip. The nagging pain turned out to be a stress fracture in his hip. Ayeni was forced to sit out the first six games of the 2000 season. Unfortunately, though, that was only the first chapter of Ayeni's injury-ridden book.
Despite the six-game absence, head coach Randy Walker could ill-afford to keep such a gifted player off the field much longer and Ayeni found himself standing underneath the opening kickoff in the Alamo Bowl against Nebraska. However, Ayeni did not find himself standing anywhere for very much longer. After being tackled on the 25 yard line by a Nebraska defender, Ayeni attempted to hop up from the Alamo Dome turf like he had done after any other tackle, but something was terribly wrong.
"Being a running back, your first instinct is to get up immediately, but I had a hard time getting up. Honestly, I don't know how I got off the field."
It would the last time Ayeni was on the field for close to 20 months. When it was all said and done, the play had left him...
-05-27-2005, 03:00 PM
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