Valerian Ume-Ezeoke
# Valerian Ume-Ezeoke

Valerian Ume-Ezeoke // (listen) (born February 14, 1993) is a former American football center. He is now a graduate assistant for the UMass Minutemen football program. He played college football at New Mexico State University.

## Early life

Born the son of Anthony and Tina Ume-Ezeoke, Valerian attended Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland, Texas, where he was a member of the Patriots football team. Ume-Ezeoke played both offensive and defensive line for the Patriots, earning an All-State as a sophomore and junior.

### Recruiting

Ume-Ezeoke committed to New Mexico State University on September 2, 2010. He choose New Mexico State over football scholarships from the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado State University, and Tennessee State University.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :

| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | $40^‡$ | Commit date |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Valerian Ume-Ezeoke C | Garland, Texas | Lakeview Centennial High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 267 lb (121 kg) | –- | Sep 2, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 36 (C) Rivals: –- (C), –- (TX) |||||||
| ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 21, 2016. |||||||

## College career

Ume-Ezeoke came in played in 8 games as a true freshman, starting six of those games. As a sophomore, Ume-Ezeoke started all 12 games for the Aggies. Ume-Ezeoke was named to the Rimington Trophy watch list as a junior, again starting all 12 games for the Aggies. As a senior in 2014, Ume-Ezeoke was once again added to the Rimington Tropher watch list and earned All-Sun Belt Conference First Team as an offensive lineman.

## Professional career

Prior to the 2015 NFL Draft, Ume-Ezeoke was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the twentieth-best center in the draft.

Pre-draft measurables :

| Height | Weight | Arm length | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 302 lb (137 kg) | 32.12 in (0.82 m) | 5.45 s | 1.75 s | 3.10 s | 4.82 s | 8.15 s | 30 in (0.76 m) | 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m) | 25 reps |
| All values from 2015 Pro Day Results |||||||||||

### Atlanta Falcons

On May 6, 2015, Ume-Ezeoke signed as an undrafted free agent with the Atlanta Falcons. Ume-Ezeoke was cut during the first round of Falcons' cuts on August 30, 2015.

### Arizona Cardinals

On January 5, 2016, Ume-Ezeoke was signed by the Arizona Cardinals to a future/reserve contract. On May 4, 2016, he was cut by the Cardinals.

### Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 1, 2016, Ume-Ezeoke signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On August 20, 2016, the Steelers waived/injured Ume-Ezeoke and was placed on injured reserve.

