Easy Bishop (Cornerback) Northern Illinois University
6'3" 183 LBS
Birth name Ezekiel. There are a lot of different stories on how the nickname "Easy" was given. His teammates will tell you it's his easy going personality in the locker room. His coaches will tell you it's due to how he makes huge plays on the field look routine. We asked Easy himself about the name. He replied: "With unrelenting effort and dedication, the highest goals become easy to accomplish. My nickname is an every day reminder to myself and my teammates"
Easy grew up in inner-city Chicago and always dreamed of playing basketball for Duke. He was naturally very gifted in school and among the top of his high school class. On the basketball court he excelled at rebounding and steals, however he was not a prolific scorer and lacked the explosive athleticism to be considered a top recruit.
College
Despite receiving a number of basketball scholarships from mid-tier schools, Easy instead decided to accept an academic scholarship at Duke and attempt to walk-on to his favorite college basketball team.
He successfully walked onto the team where he spent his freshman and sophomore years. In practice he showed his clear talent on blocks, rebounds, and steals. He also showed great vision on passes to enable how teammates. However, at only 6'3" he needed to play guard, and clearly did not possess the top end athleticism and suddenness (nor natural jump shot) to play at an elite college level. His freshman year he averages just 2.8 min/game. While this improves to 4.4 min/game as a sophomore, it was clear that his dreams of a future playing basketball were at an end. Coach K wished him well, and told the media "if Easy was 6" taller with his skill set, he would have been a top 5 NBA draft pick. That kid will do great things in his future."
Down, but not defeated, during his time at Duke he found a new love, the sport of football. Easy decided to start new, and was able to muster a football scholarship from the NIU huskies as a transfer, due to his natural jumping and athleticism. Figuring his height at football could be a huge asset, rather than the liability it was on the basketball court.
In his one season at NIU before declaring for the NSFL draft as a junior, he had 9 interceptions and 15 passes deflected, tiring for 4th and 7th respectively in Mac conference history.
Strengths: Extremely intelligent. Great vision on the field, and is able to inspire teammates towards excellence. Fantastic jumping ability, and is a natural pass catcher. Dominant production.
Weaknesses: Only 1 year of football experience and it wasn't against elite completion. While he is a good athlete for his size, he does not have the elite athletic traits that teams covet at the position.
Conclusion: While the stereotype is for basketball players to become NSFL TE's and dominate, perhaps Easy will inspire a new trend for Cornerback. For 1 year of playing CB in the MAC, Easy did everything you could dream of on the field. While there are questions about competition, it is clear he is a premier playmaker in the draft. He should find himself as a high draft pick and high impact rookie on and off the field.
6'3" 183 LBS
Birth name Ezekiel. There are a lot of different stories on how the nickname "Easy" was given. His teammates will tell you it's his easy going personality in the locker room. His coaches will tell you it's due to how he makes huge plays on the field look routine. We asked Easy himself about the name. He replied: "With unrelenting effort and dedication, the highest goals become easy to accomplish. My nickname is an every day reminder to myself and my teammates"
Easy grew up in inner-city Chicago and always dreamed of playing basketball for Duke. He was naturally very gifted in school and among the top of his high school class. On the basketball court he excelled at rebounding and steals, however he was not a prolific scorer and lacked the explosive athleticism to be considered a top recruit.
College
Despite receiving a number of basketball scholarships from mid-tier schools, Easy instead decided to accept an academic scholarship at Duke and attempt to walk-on to his favorite college basketball team.
He successfully walked onto the team where he spent his freshman and sophomore years. In practice he showed his clear talent on blocks, rebounds, and steals. He also showed great vision on passes to enable how teammates. However, at only 6'3" he needed to play guard, and clearly did not possess the top end athleticism and suddenness (nor natural jump shot) to play at an elite college level. His freshman year he averages just 2.8 min/game. While this improves to 4.4 min/game as a sophomore, it was clear that his dreams of a future playing basketball were at an end. Coach K wished him well, and told the media "if Easy was 6" taller with his skill set, he would have been a top 5 NBA draft pick. That kid will do great things in his future."
Down, but not defeated, during his time at Duke he found a new love, the sport of football. Easy decided to start new, and was able to muster a football scholarship from the NIU huskies as a transfer, due to his natural jumping and athleticism. Figuring his height at football could be a huge asset, rather than the liability it was on the basketball court.
In his one season at NIU before declaring for the NSFL draft as a junior, he had 9 interceptions and 15 passes deflected, tiring for 4th and 7th respectively in Mac conference history.
Strengths: Extremely intelligent. Great vision on the field, and is able to inspire teammates towards excellence. Fantastic jumping ability, and is a natural pass catcher. Dominant production.
Weaknesses: Only 1 year of football experience and it wasn't against elite completion. While he is a good athlete for his size, he does not have the elite athletic traits that teams covet at the position.
Conclusion: While the stereotype is for basketball players to become NSFL TE's and dominate, perhaps Easy will inspire a new trend for Cornerback. For 1 year of playing CB in the MAC, Easy did everything you could dream of on the field. While there are questions about competition, it is clear he is a premier playmaker in the draft. He should find himself as a high draft pick and high impact rookie on and off the field.
