Indiana University Athletics
Ishola Keeps Eye on NFL Prize During Camp
5/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
May 10, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Former IU defensive end Ben Ishola, a free agent acquisition by the Miami Dolphins, recently completed his first action in the National Football League (NFL). Ishola is looking to earn a spot among the Dolphins' defensive line rotation over the weekend, as NFL Rookie minicamp practice began on May 5.
Ishola enjoyed his time during minicamp, as he went up against not only rookie free agents, but also veteran signees.
"The camp was very exciting," Ishola said. "I definitely felt anxious to begin, as I had seen a lot of these guys play on television. There were 60-70 people there. It was great to actually play against NFL guys. It was a great experience, but was tougher than I had expected. They had a big emphasis on conditioning, and everything was in game speed."
While enjoying his time as an NFL player, Ishola continues to keep his thoughts on the next job ahead.
"I am just taking it one step at a time," Ishola said. "I am really looking forward to the next step which is offseason training. I will work on building up my strength and conditioning. Most importantly, I need to learn a new defensive system. After that, the next step will be fall camp. I can't look too far into the future, though. I just need to do my best at the next thing I do, and everything else will fall into place."
Ishola started all 11 games of his senior season at Indiana. He opened the year with five tackles at Central Michigan and followed that with a career-high six stops against Nicholls State. Ishola closed the year with 27 total tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss.
Ishola played in 10 contests for the Hoosiers in 2004 and was a huge part in IU's win at then-No. 24 Oregon as he registered two sacks. He posted a season-high five tackles, all solo, against Michigan State and had a pair of solo tackles versus then-No. 23 Minnesota. Ishola finished the year with 12 solo tackles and two assists.
