How Dolphins rookie Igbinoghene rose from backup wide receiver to first-round cornerback
When Auburn coaches and Noah Igbinoghene decided that he would transition from wide receiver to cornerback before the 2018 season, they knew one thing:
He would take this very seriously.
The young man wouldn’t simply rely on his innate physical gifts and intoxicating athleticism that allowed him to set an Alabama high school state record in the triple jump and finish second in the nation in that event.
Not only did he study nuances of his new position, but he was diligent in analyzing the weaknesses of the opponent. This seriousness in approach was very much in character for a young man who was taught the importance of discipline and work ethic by his parents, both Nigerian Olympic athletes.
“He took pride in knowing the opponent and letting the position coach know, ‘I’ve identified his weakness and where the quarterback is trying to place the ball,’” Auburn defensive backs coach Wesley McGriff said in a phone conversation. “He prides himself on knowing the game. He’s got tremendous work ethic in the classroom.”
Before the NFL Combine, McGriff stayed up with Igbinoghene until midnight on several days, helping prepare his cornerback to answer the types of questions teams might ask and to diagram defensive schemes on a whiteboard.
That classroom acumen served him well when Dolphins coach Brian Flores and defensive coordinator Josh Boyer gathered the Auburn defenders in a room, the day before the Tigers’ March 6 Pro Day, installed a defensive system and then quizzed them on the details.
Beyond the physical gifts, Igbinoghene retained enough of the install to convince Flores and general manager Chris Grier that he was worthy of being a first-round corner, even though some had projected him as a second-round pick.
McGriff wasn’t surprised to see him go 30th overall.
“The biggest thing is he has a tremendous skill set and great man-to-man ability,” McGriff said. “Noah has great change of direction, great short-area quickness.”
If a cornerback gives up a big play, “some guys may be looking for help, but he’s anxious to line back up and do the next play,” McGriff said. “He has tremendous short memory to go to the next play... One of the worst things you can do is tell him you can’t do this or that. He’s going to work to prove you wrong.”
Igbinoghene, who’s listed at 5-11 and 200 pounds, played mostly on the boundary at Auburn. But with top corners Byron Jones and Xavien Howard on the roster, his best chance of playing early in Miami is in the nickel cornerback role.
Per Pro Football Focus’ Ryan Smith, Igbinoghene allowed one reception in four targets, for 6 yards, when he lined up at nickel corner in 2018.
Last season, he allowed three receptions in 11 targets, for 37 yards when playing nickel corner, which computes to a 41.1 passer rating against.
“I wanted to put Noah inside some this past year but we couldn’t afford to take him off the edge,” said McGriff, who coached at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010.
“Noah knows [nickel corner]; he’s been baptized in the meeting room. With his learning ability — he’s got a strong football IQ — he will be ready to go inside. After the draft, he said, ‘You got to get me up to speed to go inside.’”
Igbinoghene was rated a four-star wide receiver prospect by Rivals.com coming out of Hewitt Trussville High in Alabama and chose Auburn over offers from Notre Dame, Missouri, Illinois and others. But he caught only six passes for 24 yards as a freshman in 2017 and Igbinoghene and coaches determined he would get more playing time at cornerback, where he started his first game at the position, against Washington, and every game the past two seasons.
He also excelled on special teams, averaging 27.3 yards and scoring two touchdowns on 44 career kickoff returns.
And he never took a day off, figuratively or literally. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn told a story recently about Igbinoghene practicing one day and thinking he was constipated, when he actually needed his appendix removed.
STRONG BODY OF WORK
The metrics from his two years at cornerback are impressive:
▪ He allowed completion rates of 41.9 and 51 percent in his two years at cornerback. On passes thrown 10 yards or longer, he permitted only 14 completions in 37 attempts. He yielded just three touchdowns in two years against strong SEC competition.
▪ Per Pro Football Focus, Igbinoghene played the second-most press coverage reps in 2019 of any cornerback in college football — which leaves him well-prepared to play in Miami’s defensive system.
▪ Per PFF’s Smith, Igbinoghene had 18 pass breakups during the past two seasons, which was better than any of the other first-round cornerbacks. Jeff Okudah had 15, CJ Henderson 10, A.J. Terrell 8 and Damon Arnette 12.
“Noah Igbinoghene is still learning the position and needs to improve his play at the catch point, but his match-and-mirror ability and deep speed are rare; he has special movement skills teams will covet,” PFF’s Austin Gayle said.
▪ PFF ranked him fourth among all SEC cornerbacks in run defense last season, not surprising considering his physical style.
“I don’t know why, but for some reason when I moved [positions], I remembered being a receiver and I knew how mad I was when a physical corner got in my face and was physical with me,” he said. “So, I kind of transitioned that, because I knew a lot of wide receivers don’t like that and can’t handle that. That’s exactly why I do that.”
One clear area for improvement: Corralling more interceptions. Though he had those 18 passes defended, he came down with only one college interception.
“I am willing to bet this: his ball production is going to increase,” McGriff said. “I said, ‘Noah, you’ve got to get your ball production up.’
“If you look at his tape the beginning of last season and the end of the season, you can see him trending up in terms of getting to the top of the route and turning his head and playing the football.”
Igbinoghene is relishing the opportunity to play with Howard and Jones.
“It’s crazy because those are two corners I’ve looked at for a very long time,” he said. “I know they don’t know that, but those are probably the top two cornerbacks in this whole league. Just to come in and learn from them, that’s just a blessing in disguise.”
Igbinoghene is the son of two Olympic track athletes from Nigeria.
His mother, Faith, won a bronze medal with the Nigerian 400-meter relay team in 1992 and finished fifth with that team in 1996. His father, Festus, attended Mississippi State and won five SEC titles in the long and triple jumps, then competed in the triple jump in the 1996 Olympics.
Igbinoghene purchased a Mercedes for Faith on Mother’s Day this past week.
“I’ll say it was rough at times [growing up], just because of my Nigerian background,” he said, while noting his relationship with his parents is great.
“I know a lot of people don’t understand that, but it’s a different way of living. I really didn’t get to do a lot of things a normal teenager would like to do, as far as going out with my friends and stuff like that; but that’s just something I had to sacrifice if I wanted to be [a professional athlete].
“Their plan worked. They were very protective parents, but their plan worked. I am the man I am because of them. It was a blessing just to grow up in this household.”
He didn’t start playing football until seventh grade.
“Football, when I caught on to it, is something that really caught my heart,” he said. “I really feel that it’s something that I was meant to do. Track is something that I love as well, but football is something I feel like is a different kind of love. It’s a deeper love and it’s really taught me about life as well.”
McGriff will be watching his prized pupil closely from Auburn.
“The way he lives off the field and takes care of his body, he’s going to have a long career,” McGriff said.
We’re in the process of profiling the Dolphins’ draft picks.
Here are my pieces on Austin Jackson and Curtis Weaver and Malcolm Perry and Robert Hunt and Adam Beasley’s piece on Tua Tagovailoa.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 4:34 PM.
