Chris O’Leary
Edmonton Journal
Don Oramasionwu will line up against his former teammates, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, on Friday night, look them in the eyes, take his first hit and get on with it.
The Edmonton Eskimo defensive tackle is going up against the only pro team he’d ever played for and against the city he grew up in, but the 26-year-old is looking forward to it.
“Winnipeg is home to me, so it’ll always be close and dear to my heart,” said Oramasionwu, more simply known as Donny O in the Eskimo Locker Room.
He spent the past three seasons with the Blue Bombers, after a Canadian Interuniversity Sport career at the University of Manitoba. He had 16 tackles and three quarterback sacks in 2011, his final run with the Bombers.
Those things won’t matter once he steps on the field, though.
“It’s football, they’re the enemies right now. It doesn’t matter who they are,” he said. “They’re my hometown, but I’m going to go out there and approach it like any other game.
“It is going to be kind of weird, but once that ball snaps the first time and I get that first hit, I’ll snap out of it and be ready to go.”
Oramasionwu has two tackles and one quarterback sack this season.
Bowman awaits news
Adarius Bowman made his way through the Eskimo Locker Room on crutches on Thursday, his left knee in a heavy-looking brace.
The team’s No. 2 pass-receiving option behind Fred Stamps, Bowman was injured late in Sunday’s game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He tore his medial collateral ligament and has at least partially torn his anterior cruciate ligament, but is waiting for doctor’s confirmation next week on the severity of the injury.
“I want to give you more (information) and I want more. Right now, I’ve got to let the professionals that know more about it go,” Bowman said. “If it was up to me, I’d go out there today. I can’t do that. Right now, I’m just trying to take it day-by-day and listen to all of these doctors and take all of the information that they’re giving me.”
Bowman, 27, who is coming off of a career year that saw him tie Stamps for the team lead with 1,153 receiving yards on 62 catches, said the injury was a tough thing to deal with.
“Right now, I’m losing the thing that I love to do,” he said. “But I’ve got a lot of faith in our doctors and this team. I’m in a good place right now, but I’m not happy about it.”
Player to watch
Eskimo SB Greg Carr gets an opportunity to shine with Bowman likely out for the season. The six-foot-six, 214-pound former Blue Bomber had 31 catches for 568 yards and four touchdowns last year. He hopes to help the Eskimos jump-start the offence on Friday night.
coleary@edmontonjournal.com
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