University of North Texas Athletics
Ejiya's Strong Senior Season
10/26/2018 9:00:00 AM | Football
DENTON – The Mean Green have taken a major leap in terms of their defensive performance, and right in the middle of that success is redshirt senior linebacker E.J. Ejiya.
The Minnesota native has had a breakout senior season for the Mean Green, who enter play Saturday against Rice at 6-2. Ejiya is the team leader in several categories, and his play has been creating some buzz with NFL scouts.
Ejiya has 77 total tackles and 15.0 for loss, which is the second-most in the nation through eight weeks of play. His 7.0 sacks are third in Conference USA and he, along with fellow linebacker Brandon Garner, is rocketing up the career tackles for loss chart in the program record books.
After leading the team in tackles (109) and sacks (6.5) last season, Ejiya took steps this past offseason to continue to grow as a player. A lot of that was done in the weight room, but other aspects were key in his continued development.
"I watched a lot more film and had a much more detailed approach with my technique and angles," Ejiya said of what he did this past offseason. "Those put together with a better understanding of the defense have allowed me to execute the calls more effectively."
The senior has recorded eight or more tackles in seven of the eight games this season, including a career high 14 last week at UAB. He's also recorded a tackle for loss in every single game, including 3.0 at Arkansas and another 3.0 against Incarnate Word.
That type of production from the team's defensive captain has gone a long way for a defense that is allowing 19.0 points per game just a year after it allowed a 35.0 points per game clip. No team has topped 30 against the Mean Green yet this season, and it has been the defense that has kept North Texas in position to win games, whereas last season that was not typically the case.
So much of that drastic turnaround can be attributed to defensive coordinator Troy Reffett, while Ejiya's improvement can be traced to Reffett and Ejiya's position coach, Jeff Koonz.
"Coach Reff and Coach Koonz have done a great job developing me not only as a football player, but as a man," Ejiya said. "Every position coach has evaluation meetings after the spring and goes over our strengths and weaknesses. They broke everything down to me and I took it to heart to make strides to get better and better every day."
Ejiya is on pace for 115 tackles in a 12-game season, and when including a potential bowl game, that number swells to 125. Should he reach that mark, Ejiya would rank fourth in single-season tackles in program history.
He has the opportunity Saturday to add to his total on senior day at homecoming in front of friends and family.
"Playing in a high-atmosphere place like Apogee Stadium gives us all the energy we need to perform," Ejiya said. It's an amazing opportunity to play my last Saturday home game in my favorite stadium in the country. It's also going to be a lot of fun to enjoy my last moments with the seniors that I've gotten so close with these past three years."
North Texas hosts Rice Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. from Apogee Stadium. Tickets are still available and can be purchased here.
The Minnesota native has had a breakout senior season for the Mean Green, who enter play Saturday against Rice at 6-2. Ejiya is the team leader in several categories, and his play has been creating some buzz with NFL scouts.
Ejiya has 77 total tackles and 15.0 for loss, which is the second-most in the nation through eight weeks of play. His 7.0 sacks are third in Conference USA and he, along with fellow linebacker Brandon Garner, is rocketing up the career tackles for loss chart in the program record books.
After leading the team in tackles (109) and sacks (6.5) last season, Ejiya took steps this past offseason to continue to grow as a player. A lot of that was done in the weight room, but other aspects were key in his continued development.
"I watched a lot more film and had a much more detailed approach with my technique and angles," Ejiya said of what he did this past offseason. "Those put together with a better understanding of the defense have allowed me to execute the calls more effectively."
The senior has recorded eight or more tackles in seven of the eight games this season, including a career high 14 last week at UAB. He's also recorded a tackle for loss in every single game, including 3.0 at Arkansas and another 3.0 against Incarnate Word.
That type of production from the team's defensive captain has gone a long way for a defense that is allowing 19.0 points per game just a year after it allowed a 35.0 points per game clip. No team has topped 30 against the Mean Green yet this season, and it has been the defense that has kept North Texas in position to win games, whereas last season that was not typically the case.
So much of that drastic turnaround can be attributed to defensive coordinator Troy Reffett, while Ejiya's improvement can be traced to Reffett and Ejiya's position coach, Jeff Koonz.
"Coach Reff and Coach Koonz have done a great job developing me not only as a football player, but as a man," Ejiya said. "Every position coach has evaluation meetings after the spring and goes over our strengths and weaknesses. They broke everything down to me and I took it to heart to make strides to get better and better every day."
Ejiya is on pace for 115 tackles in a 12-game season, and when including a potential bowl game, that number swells to 125. Should he reach that mark, Ejiya would rank fourth in single-season tackles in program history.
He has the opportunity Saturday to add to his total on senior day at homecoming in front of friends and family.
"Playing in a high-atmosphere place like Apogee Stadium gives us all the energy we need to perform," Ejiya said. It's an amazing opportunity to play my last Saturday home game in my favorite stadium in the country. It's also going to be a lot of fun to enjoy my last moments with the seniors that I've gotten so close with these past three years."
North Texas hosts Rice Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. from Apogee Stadium. Tickets are still available and can be purchased here.
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