During Super Bowl 50 one might have asked themselves, who is Kony Ealy and why have I never heard of this guy? On Sunday Ealy had three sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble in football’s biggest game of the year. The talented defensive end attended the University of Missouri, and he was a part of D-Line Zou as Mizzou likes to be known. Considered a four star recruit when he went to college, Ealy attended the University of Missouri from 2010 to 2013. The six-foot-four, 275 pound defensive end was redshirted in 2010 so he could learn from players like Aldon Smith and Jacquies Smith.
In his first season actually playing Ealy didn’t see a lot of time, as the Tigers likes to continually rotate their defensive line players in, so he only recorded one sack and 17 tackles during the 2011 season. The next season, in 2012, Ealy saw a bit more playing time and he racked up 37 tackles and 3.5 sacks. His final season at Mizzou, 2013, was his best season as he was a key factor in Mizzou going to the SEC Championship game and winning the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma State. In 2013 Ealy recorded nine sacks, one interception that he returned for a touchdown, as well as 6 passes defensed, and 43 total tackles. At the end of his junior year in 2013 Ealy declared for the NFL draft and he was regarded by some as a first-round pick, and possibly a top-10 selection.
Ealy was largely forgotten about as a defensive end because a lot of the attention that year was focused on the other defensive end from Mizzou, Michael Sam. Sam had 48 total tackles and 11.5 sacks in 2013, but this article, however, is not about him or how anyone feels about him coming out. It’s nothing personal against Sam, but it appears most people that Sam always seemed to have his biggest moments when Ealy was lined up on the other side of the defensive line. This article’s purpose is to give a guy (Ealy) credit where credit is due, and hopefully bring some attention to Ealy, who was largely forgotten about by non-Mizzou fans. Sam and Ealy provided the Tigers with a phenomenal pass rush, but somehow Ealy was forgotten about for the most part and Sam had all the media coverage.
One could make the argument that Sam had the better stats, which he did. Again this is not to pick apart Sam who was a great player at Mizzou but to shine light on the other side of the line at Ealy. Ealy deserves to be noticed and after his Super Bowl performance he might finally receive it. Yes, Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware both had good games as well. Obviously Miller had a great Super Bowl performance (and 2015 postseason) and he gave Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton a lot of trouble throughout the entire game. And Miller was rightfully named the Super Bowl 50 MVP for his efforts. But Ealy tied a Super Bowl record by tallying three sacks against the Denver Broncos Sunday night. Ealy’s three sack performance has hm tied with the likes of Reggie White and Darnell Docket, which is pretty darn good company to be in.
Will Ealy become a super star in the upcoming NFL seasons? It is hard to tell. Throughout the 2015 season Ealy only had five sacks all and 2 passes defensed with just three tackles. He also shared the field Sunday night with Denver’s Shane Ray who took over for Ealy at Mizzou once Ealy left for the draft. But with Ealy’s play at Missouri, his performance in Super Bowl 50 and the talent coming out of Missouri (Ray and Markus Golden of the Arizona Cardials, who was also Ray’s and Ealy’s teammate at Mizzou) it might be time for football fans to take notice of Kony Ealy.
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