Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods ready to turn JOK loose
Jul. 29—Unless he can rip his "28" brown jersey down the middle when a big play is needed, revealing he is wearing a skin-tight blue top with a red "S" emblazoned on the front under the jersey, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will have a difficult time meeting expectations this season.
Owusu-Koramoah is the second-year linebacker from Notre Dame whom Browns general manager Andrew Berry traded up seven spots in the second round of the 2021 draft to select. The Browns sent the Carolina Panthers picks 59 and 89 for picks 52 and 113 and drafted JOK 52nd overall.
"He's a good player," Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods said before the Browns practiced July 29. "He's very, very athletic and very explosive. When he puts his foot in the ground, he can go from Point A to B right now. His ability to match up in coverage and his ability to make plays in space is unique."
Owusu-Koramoah finished second on the Browns with 74 tackles last season despite missing three games with a sprained ankle. He broke up four passes, forced two fumbles and had 1.5 sacks.
Woods was careful last season not to overburden Owusu-Koramoah as Wu got familiar with the speed of NFL players and Woods' coaching style. Woods plans to add to JOK's chore chart this year. In fact, he wants more from all his linebackers.
"You always want to activate your playmaker," Woods said. "At the same time, you have to make sure you're doing the right thing for the entire defense. We'll always have ways to blitz him and ways to put him in certain positions in coverage.
"We'll do a little bit more of that this year. That's just natural for any rookie going into his second year, but we definitely want to take advantage of his talents."
Football is not 24/7/365 for Owusu-Koramoah, and that is fine with the coaches.
JOK's father was born in Ghana on the continent of Africa. Owusu-Koramoah visited Africa twice in the past offseason as part of "NFL Africa: The Touchdown" in an effort to introduce American Football to young Africans.
"For me, the first trip was a personal camp," Owusu-Koramoah said before practice July 29. "I wanted to teach the body, mind and spirit connection. The second camp was more so providing opportunities for a lot of young men across the diaspora. So we had guys from South Africa, East Africa, North Africa and that was a phenomenal experience because it opened it up a little bit more for the NFL, and it opened it up for those guys there that are really glad to have that opportunity."
Owusu-Koramoah won't turn 23 (Nov. 4) until midway through the season. The quickness Woods alluded to allows JOK to get away with mistakes he is working hard to eliminate.
"If you're going to make a mistake, make it fast," JOK said. "Half of the time, a couple of those highlight plays that you all see, it was probably a mistake on me. So when you make a mistake, make it fast and you'll learn from it after."
The Browns were minus three in takeaway/giveaway last season. They intercepted 13 passes and recovered six fumbles. They threw 14 interceptions and lost eight fumbles.
"That's in our DNA," Woods said. "We want to take away the football. We haven't done a good job the previous two years.
"We talk about our linebackers. We want them to look like the animals that they hunt. We want our linebackers to resemble running backs because those are the guys they have to defend."
Owusu-Koramoah is ready for the challenge.
