Chidi Francis Iwuoma (born February 19, 1978) is a former American football cornerback who is currently a scout for BLESTO. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played college football at California.

Chidi Iwuoma
No. 40, 29, 28
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1978-02-19) February 19, 1978 (age 46)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:189 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:Pasadena (Pasadena, California)
College:California
Undrafted:2001
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:85
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Iwuoma has also played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans. He won Super Bowl XL over the Seattle Seahawks with the Steelers.[1]

Early life

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Iwuoma's parents were Nigerian immigrants. Chidi Iwuoma attended Pasadena High School in Pasadena, California.[2] He then attended the University of California, Berkeley where he played football. At California, Iwuoma returned kicks and punts while also playing cornerback.[3]

Chidi Iwuoma is a member of Iota Phi Theta fraternity.[4]

Professional career

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Detroit Lions

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Iwuoma signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent following the 2001 NFL draft.[5]

Pittsburgh Steelers

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Iwuoma primarily played on special teams while with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers following the 2005 season. Iwuoma was elected the special teams co-captain for two consecutive seasons.[5] In 2006, he underwent shoulder surgery but returned in time for pre-season camp. During the pre-season he suffered a concussion and was released on September 6.[6]

New England Patriots

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Iwuoma signed with the New England Patriots on October 4, 2006.[7] He was released on October 31.[8]

St. Louis Rams

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A few weeks after his release from the Patriots, Iwuoma signed with the St. Louis Rams on November 14.[9] He was released again on November 28.[10]

Return to Pittsburgh

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On December 5, 2006, with four games remaining in the season, the Steelers re-signed Iwuoma.[11] Iwuoma ended his 2006 season with the Steelers but dislocated his wrist.[12] He was re-signed on March 16, 2007, as an unrestricted free agent.[5] The Steelers waived Iwuoma as a final cut on September 2.[13]

Tennessee Titans

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He was signed by the Titans on December 26, 2007.[14] He became an unrestricted free agent after the season.[15]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2001 DET 13 1 12 11 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
2002 PIT 13 0 17 13 4 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2003 PIT 15 0 14 11 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2004 PIT 14 0 21 17 4 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2005 PIT 16 0 15 12 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2006 PIT 2 0 3 2 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NWE 3 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007 TEN 1 0 2 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
77 1 85 69 16 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 0

Playoffs

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2002 PIT 2 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2004 PIT 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2005 PIT 4 0 5 3 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007 TEN 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 0 6 4 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

After professional career

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Iwuoma worked with the University of California's Athletic Study Center from 2009 to 2012, where he served as assistant director of Student-Athlete Development. In May 2013 he joined the Steelers as their designated BLESTO scout.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Chidi Iwuoma". NFL. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  2. ^ "Chidi Iwuoma". Cal Golden Bears. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  3. ^ Green, Jared (September 1, 2000). "Stepping out of the shadows, into the spotlight". The Berkeley Daily Planet. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  4. ^ "National Pan Hellenic Organizations | Iota Phi Theta | Prominent Members". Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  5. ^ a b c "Steelers Re-Sign Chidi Iwuoma". WPXI.com. March 16, 2007. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  6. ^ "Steelers sign St. Pierre, cut Iwuoma". The Pittsburgh Tribune. September 7, 2006. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  7. ^ "Patriots sign veteran free agent CB Chidi Iwuoma; Sign first-year OT Sean Bubin to practice squad". Patriots.com. October 4, 2006. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  8. ^ "Patriots release CB Chidi Iwuoma and C Brian Barthelmes". Patriots.com. October 31, 2006. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  9. ^ "Panthers' Foster suffers elbow injury". USA Today. October 20, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  10. ^ "Transactions". New York Times. November 29, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  11. ^ Bouchette, Ed (December 5, 2006). "Steelers release Staley; add Mays, Iwuoma to roster". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  12. ^ "Steelers place Brown, Iwuoma on injured reserve list". Pittsburgh Tribune. December 20, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ Dulac, Gerry (September 2, 2007). "Haynes, Okobi top list of cuts". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  14. ^ "Titans sign former Steelers DB Iwuoma". Pittsburgh Tribune. Associated Press. December 20, 2007. Archived from the original on December 28, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  15. ^ Ketchman, Vic (February 25, 2008). "This year's free-agent bargains". Jaguars.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  16. ^ "Steelers Hire Chidi Iwuoma as BLESTO Scout". Steelers News. Steelers.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.