Dec. 14, 2005
Washington, D.C. - Georgetown University senior football player Michael Ononibaku (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) was named a first team Division I-AA All-American today by the American Football Coaches Association. It was the second All-American honor that the Hoya defensive end earned this week, as he was named to The Sports Network's second-team squad on Monday.
Ononibaku capped off his four-year career on the Hilltop by earning first team Patriot League honors for the second-straight year. Ononibaku leaves Georgetown as one of the most decorated defensive players in program history. He was a three-time Patriot League selection, as he earned second team honors as a sophomore in 2003, and was a preseason All-America Honorable Mention selection by The Sports Network this season
This is the second-straight year Ononibaku has earned postseason All-American honors. After leading the Patriot League in tackles for loss and tying for the league lead in sacks in 2004, he was named to Don Hansen's Football Gazette NCAA Division I-AA First Team Defense All-America team last year.
One of the team's captains, Ononibaku finished the 2005 season third on the team, and 10th in the Patriot League, in tackles with 81 (39 solo), a 7.4 per game average. He led the conference in both sacks, with 8.5 (seven solo), and tackles for loss, with 15.5 (13 solo). He finished the season ranked among the top-25 in the country in tackles for loss. In conference games, Ononibaku led the league with 10.0 tackles for loss in seven games, and third in the league with 4.5 sacks.
Ononibaku also finishes his career second all-time at Georgetown in sacks with 29, and sixth all-time in tackles with 212.
He was one of three Patriot League players to earn All-American honors, joined by Colgate senior linebacker Jared Nepa and Holy Cross specialist Steve Silva.
Ononibaku was also one of three conference players to earn national honors from The Sports Network. Silva was named to the first team as a specialist, while Lafayette's Maurice Bennett was chosen as a first team linebacker.
Most recently, Ononibaku was selected to play in the East Coast Bowl, a postseason all-star game featuring top players from Division I-AA, II and III.
