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NC State's Ikem Ekwonu makes announcement about his future plans

photos -jpgby:Ashton Pollard•01/01/22•

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Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, one of NC State‘s finest is headed to the NFL.

Offensive lineman Ikem “Ickey” Ekwonu, who is projected to be a first-round selection, will forgo his senior season in favor of going to the league. He tweeted a message of thanks to his coaches, teammates, family and the Wolfpack faithful on Saturday.

Ekwonu has the seventh-best run-blocking grade from PFF and was a unanimous all-American tackle, just the third player in program history to achieve the feat.

NC State’s season was cut short after UCLA had to pull out of the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. The bowl was unable to find a replacement team, and NC State is counting it as a win, so they finished 10-3. Their biggest win of the season was a 27-21 double-overtime win over Clemson.

Ekwonu’s twin brother, Osita, is a linebacker at Notre Dame. His parents are from Nigeria, and his full first name is Ikemefuna, which translated means “my effort will not be in vain.” They hail from the Charlotte, N.C. area.

UCLA Team-wide vote rumor debunked

Chip Kelly’s UCLA Bruins were forced to drop out of the bowl matchup with the Wolfpack after a slew of positive COVID-19 test results, and shortly thereafter, rumors circulated on Twitter that the Bruins voted against playing the game.

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported that UCLA’s defensive line room was “decimated,” and subsequent rumors claimed that the Bruins, when polled about whether they want to play NC State shorthanded, had a majority vote saying no. Unsurprisingly, that rumor had no validity to it.

“No truth to the rumor that there was a players vote at UCLA about whether they played in the Holiday Bowl tonight or not,” Feldman reported Tuesday. “There was never a vote, and the school wouldn’t do that on a medical player safety decision, per source.”