POSITION: Running back
- AGE: 23
- DRAFT: Sixth round, 179th overall
- COLLEGE: NW Missouri State
- HEIGHT: 5-11
- WEIGHT: 227
- HOMETOWN: Beatrice, Neb.
PITTSFORD — Throughout a prolific college career at Northwest Missouri State, Xavier Omon honored his two older brothers who had passed away by sporting the No. 2. When he joined the Buffalo Bills, he was assigned No. 25, but he quickly found a way to make it his.
“There were five of us kids, so I kind of looked at it like there’s five of us and two of us are gone, but we’re all together,”
Omon said. “I’ll never forget my brothers. So for as long as I can, I’m going to represent them to the best of my ability.”
Back in 1994 when Omon was 8, his older brother Demetrius was killed in a drunk driving accident. In 2000, older brother Effiong committed suicide.
“You’ll never forget something like that,”
Xavier Omon said.
The tragedies were motivation for a collegiate career that saw Omon set 32 school and Mid-America Intercollegiate Association records. He’s one of just two players in NCAA history to rush for at least 1,500 yards in four consecutive seasons. All this from a player who didn’t get many looks from Division I schools after his career at Beatrice High School in Nebraska.
“Things turned out great. Northwest is a great school, it’s just that not a lot of people know about it because it’s Division II,”
he said.
The Bills, though, saw enough of Omon to take him in the sixth round, with the 179th overall pick.
“He’s doing everything well,”
Bills running backs coach Eric Studesville said last week. “He’s working hard. He’s picking things up. It takes time. It’s an adjustment, especially from the program he came from. He may not have had as much experience going against the speed that he’s saying here, but he’s doing a great job.”
Aside from the speed, Omon has also had to adjust to the physical nature of the professional level.
“In college, I was hitting guys who were my size. Now, Marcus Stroud and people like that are running down the line hitting me. It’s a little bit different,”
he said.
Where Omon fits in a crowded Bills backfield has yet to be seen, as Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson are locked in as the top running back options. That leaves Omon and second-year veteran Dwayne Wright competing for the third-string job. The mere mention of the talented stable of young runners brings a smile to Studesville’s face.
“I think they’re all pretty good,”
the coach said.
