Ezomo Oratokhai had an impressive season for Northwestern as a redshirt freshman guard.
Redshirt freshman Ezomo Oratokhai has had a fantastic season for Northwestern, and he's being rewarded with a Freshman All-American selection by The Athletic. The sports news publication released its list this morning, and Oratokhai made the first-team.
In 2025, the left guard started all 12 games for the Wildcats, and he's put up tremendous numbers. Oratokhai has allowed just one sack and 10 pressures all season. He's also been part of a tremendous unit up front for Northwestern that's helped support a running game currently in sixth in the conference.
Northwestern is becoming a bit of an "o-line U" with players like Caleb Tiernan, Peter Skoronski and others coming out of the program in recent years. Tiernan, who manned the left tackle position this year for the Wildcats, is likely to be selected in the first few rounds of the NFL Draft this spring.
Oratokhai is NU's next big hope to join that group. After this season, his future is incredibly bright, and keeping him in Evanston next season is a big deal. Because he was so good, Oratokhai will certainly be tempted to enter the transfer portal and start at a bigger program.
The good news is, head coach David Braun made it clear a couple weeks ago that he's expecting the large majority of eligible returners who made an impact this year to stay at Northwestern. If Oratokhai is a part of that group, it's a massive win for next season's line.
In an ideal world. the 'Cats will always have a stable of young linemen who are "the next men up." That way, they can spend most of their resources in the transfer portal figuring out the quarterback position and other spots they might struggle to recruit.
Oratokhai is ahead of that timeline, making an impact as a redshirt freshman. But the next step is to retain that talent. Northwestern still needs to prove its culture is such that players don't want to leave despite an era of college football that heavily incentivizes that decision.
Regardless, Northwestern and Oratokhai both deserve credit for a heck of a 2025 season. He'll have one more chance to impress against Central Michigan in the bowl game, but the Athletic has already given him recognition.