Williamstown’s Donovan Ezeiruaku became a breakout star at Boston College, then dominated at Senior Bowl workouts

MOBILE, Ala. — Donovan Ezeiruaku sat down at his assigned podium during the Senior Bowl’s media day on Wednesday, and flashed a wide smile. He had been dreaming of this moment since he wrote it down on his goal sheet when he was 7 years old: to be an NFL player and compete on a stage like the one set in Mobile. Ezeiruaku would be showcasing his talents in front of NFL evaluators against some of the best players headed for the 2025 NFL draft.

The Boston College standout, who ranked second in the nation in sacks with 16½, was more than 1,000 miles from his Williamstown hometown last week, but he wears his South Jersey pride like a badge of honor.

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“It’s special because people don’t hear about Jersey football,” Ezeiruaku said. “They don’t think it’s a lot going on over there, but it’s a lot of guys coming out of South Jersey, especially. Obviously, everybody hears about North Jersey, but it’s a lot of guys coming out of that South Jersey/Philly area.”

Ezeiruaku was among the local players competing in this year’s Senior Bowl, joining LSU offensive lineman Miles Frazier, a Camden native. Among an edge rusher group headlined by Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart and Marshall’s Mike Green, Ezeiruaku still managed to make his impact felt over the course of the week.

During Tuesday’s one-on-one sessions, he utilized a double hand swipe to get past West Virginia’s Wyatt Milum, a patented move that’s a big part of his speed pass-rushing plan. On Wednesday, Ezeiruaku varied his pass-rush moves, using a jump cross chop to get past Oregon’s Josh Conerly, a standout earlier last week, then using a speed to power conversion to beat Purdue’s Marcus Mbow and Minnesota’s Aireontae Ersery during the one-on-one session. Using his power was a big point of emphasis for the 21-year-old coming into the week.

“Just using my speed off the edge to set a lot of my moves up this past week, I’ve been focusing a little bit more on power rushes, just so I could work that into my game as well,” Ezeiruaku said. “I was definitely trying to show a little bit more [of my game]. But I’m not just a speed guy off the edge, and I can put some power in there as well.”

In addition to being one of the nation’s leaders in sacks, Ezeiruaku added a lengthy list of accolades to his name after a dominant season: Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Boston College’s 13th consensus All-American with first-team honors, and winning the Ted Hendricks Award as college football’s top defensive end.

He developed under the guidance of defensive coordinator Tim Lewis and head coach Bill O’Brien, the former Penn State and NFL coach who led Boston College to a 7-6 record in his first season with the program. In 2023, Ezeiruaku said he “kind of got away from having fun,” finishing with just two sacks. But the joy in playing returned, with some help from longtime NFL coach Doug Marrone, who served as an offensive analyst in 2024. It’s worth noting O’Brien was the New England Patriots offensive coordinator in 2023, and Marrone was hired away from Boston College to join Mike Vrabel’s staff as an offensive line coach.

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“I had a coach, you know, Doug Marrone, who was [previously an] offensive line coach, but he would sit down with me during the week and he would study offensive linemen just to prepare myself and do the game plan for how I would attack an offensive lineman,” Ezeiruaku said. “I knew I had to play a lot of snaps this past year. So doing extra work, whether that’s extra running, extra defensive line drills, or extra lifting, just to stay strong throughout the entire year.”

The Senior Bowl was a reunion of sorts for Ezeiruaku. Growing up in Williamstown, he played on the Next Level seven-on-seven team with several other players from South Jersey, including Syracuse running back LeQuint Allen, a Millville native who also competed at the Senior Bowl with Ezeiruaku. That team also featured Syracuse’s Alijah Clark and Fadil Diggs, Camden natives, and Kyle McCord, from Mount Laurel.

Diggs, Clark, and McCord competed in the East-West Shrine Bowl, the other premier college All-Star game, last week, which Ezeiruaku said was “pretty cool to see.” During Ezeiruaku’s pre-draft prep in the lead-up to the Senior Bowl and next month’s NFL Scouting Combine, he has been training with his childhood teammates Diggs, Allen, and Clark at a facility in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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Ezeiruaku did not compete in Saturday’s Senior Bowl, but he has already proved he can rush the passer at a high level, not only in the ACC but also against some of the best offensive linemen in the draft. He certainly left a strong impression on NFL decision makers as a potential early Day 2 pick in the draft in April.

“You’re going to get a defensive end, outside linebacker, edge rusher that can be on the field all four downs. I pride myself in stopping the run game and I know I can pass rush,” Ezeiruaku said. “That’s also why I came out here this past week as well. Just put a little bit more emphasis on stopping the run.”