Availability Is Everything For Owusu-Kormoah
Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
When Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked during training camp on Monday what would make a great season for third-year linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Kormoah, he gave a simple answer: Availability.
“I think being able to stay on the field, which is so important,” Stefanski said from a podium at the Greenbrier. “As everybody knows, availability is key, and he’s been a little unlucky in that realm, so really taking care of his body. I know he’s got a new number, but it’s a little bit of that mindset change, too, of making sure that he’s doing everything in his power to help this team in any way he can.”
You won’t get any arguments out of Owusu-Kormoah. When pressed about Stefanksi’s remarks, he answered, “Absolutely,” without any hesitation. After a standout career at Notre Dame, Owusu-Kormoah has missed nine games in his first two years in the league due to injury, including six last season.
Heading into the 2023 season, the third-year linebacker is fully focused on staying on the field in order to contribute to a revamped Browns defense. And he’s doing it his own way.
Mary Kay Cabot from Cleveland.com reported earlier this week that JOK’s season-ending ailment was the dreaded Lisfranc foot injury. Rather than go under the knife, he opted to let the injury heal naturally. It was a personal preference for him, and it paid off. He was back in time for mandatory minicamp in June and is reportedly in good shape as the Browns’ training camp gets into full swing.
“The foot feels fine, feels good,” JOK said during his media availability earlier this week. “Spent a lot of time in the offseason, eating the right things, doing the right things, whether it’s stretching, yoga, taking the right supplements to be able to ensure the foot’s health. So it’s going well.”
The linebacker corps was the lone Cleveland defensive group that didn’t receive a marquee addition this offseason. Owusu-Kormoah’s presence will be crucial in new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s system. And JOK knows it.
“Any player that has a certain skillset yearns for a coach like coach Schwartz to be able to tap into his full potential, to put him to the right places, to send him when it’s time to send and to put him back when it’s time to go back,” Owusu-Koramoah said during his press availability on Monday. “Coach Schwartz really understands not only my skill set but the other players and personnel, not only of our team but of the other team’s as well. He can put us in certain places at certain times, so it’s good.”
In order to see himself in Schwartz’s defense, JOK said he’s been studying film from Schwartz’s time with the Philadelphia Eagles over the past few years. He said he sees a lot of himself in Nigel Bradham, who tallied 348 tackles in four years while playing for Schwartz in Philly.
And just like Philly, the Browns may have put together a dominant front four to play in front of JOK. Former Vikings stars, defensive end Za’Darius Smith and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, will shore up the line alongside defensive end Myles Garrett. The freedom a strong defensive line, and a monster DT in particular, can provide a linebacking core is invaluable. As Tomlison and his pals eat up blockers and command double teams, a special athlete like Owusu-Kormoah is left free to fly all over the field.
Simply put, in an attack-style defense with weapons everywhere, the former second round pick is a position to play a special role on a potentially special team. His health could be one of the key factors in tipping Cleveland’s defense on the dominance scale. That’s why he, Stefanski, Schwartz, and every Browns fan knows availability is everything for JOK in year three.
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