I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July holiday and work today isn’t too difficult to get back to. If it makes you feel any better, we’re one day closer to the start of the Raiders’ 2017 season. Today we hit 67 days. You know what that means. Let’s talk about who’s wearing it now.
C Oni Omoile
Omoile joined the Raiders in 2016 as an undrafted rookie out of Iowa State. He chose the Raiders in part to join his cousin, Kelechi Osemele.
The most interesting fact about Omoile is he is a Nigerian Prince. Though if you receive an email from a Nigerian Prince looking to give you part of his fortune in exchange for assistance, it’s probably not him.
Omoile was a guard coming out of Iowa State, but the Raiders immediately put him at center and he’s remained there on the team’s practice squad through last season.
He is currently the third team center behind Rodney Hudson and Jon Feliciano. When Feliciano was unable to practice in minicamp due to injury, Omoile worked with the second team behind Hudson.
Who wore it best: DT Russell Maryland (1996-99)
The two-time National Champion was the number one overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1991 draft. His rookie season marked the first year of the Cowboys dynasty in the 90s and over his five seasons as the everyday starting defensive tackle in Dallas, they would win three Super Bowls. He himself would be named to the Pro Bowl once in that time (1993).
In four seasons in Oakland, Maryland missed just one start. He was a very solid defensive tackle who put up good tackle numbers every season. He and 1997 second overall pick Darrell Russell complemented each other well. Maryland would stop the run while Russell would rush the passer.
This role seemed to go mostly unnoticed as evidenced by the fact that every season Maryland was with the Raiders his fellow defensive tackle was named to a Pro Bowl. First Chester McGlockton and then Darrell Russell. But as we know, as a lineman you are only as good as the man next to you.
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