Ikem Ekwonu woke up the morning of the first round of the NFL draft and felt nervous for the first time in as long as he could remember. The gravity of the day finally hit him: "Like, dang," he said later, recalling his thoughts. "This is really crazy. My whole life is about to change."
For a little while, at least, there were people to see and things to do. There was a brief pre-draft meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Ekwonu then met Thomas Davis, the former Carolina Panthers linebacker whose jersey Ekwonu wore as a kid, growing up in Charlotte.
Then suddenly there was nothing to do but wait. Ekwonu decided to get dressed. He put on his suit at around noon Las Vegas time, a good five hours before the draft was set to begin. Like most prospects who'd traveled to hear their names called, and be there in person to experience the fulfillment of a longtime goal, Ekwonu had put a lot of thought into his outfit.
