IFO-EKPRE-OLOMU-112913.JPG

Ducks cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu shows off his interception against Oregon State in the 2013 Civil War.

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

EUGENE -- Protected under the shade of an umbrella and with a smoothie and the season opener within reach, the cornerback who just volunteered to add punt returning to his workload as the All-American cornerstone of No. 3 Oregon's defense can't stop smiling.



Smiling because Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is spending his final academic quarter in college exactly the way he'd hoped and few expected.



Some students spend their final term taking PE credits and laying on the quad. And it's true, Ekpre-Olomu will take a PE credit this fall, along with yoga, psychology, an art class and a social science course toward his degree. But he's also chosen to spend his final term by standing stationary as a half-dozen tacklers sprint toward him with the hopes of razing the senior who last returned a punt in 2011.



That's on top of spending fall weekends defending a murderer's row of Pac-12 quarterbacks, not to mention Michigan State's Connor Cook, who led the Spartans to a Rose Bowl title on New Year's Day.



Did we mention Ekpre-Olomu could have passed up all this entirely last spring and entered the NFL draft, where he was expected to be a first- or second-round pick?



So why is this man so at ease and ebullient under the umbrella? Why is he saying he's "at peace with everything this year" when his ambitious fall seems to only invite distress?



"He does what normal people don't do," Oregon Ducks secondary coach John Neal said. "Why did he stay? Because normal people would have gone. Ifo doesn't do things off the cuff. Ifo is a guy who, he's going to do them because it's the right thing to do.



"Guys like Marcus (Mariota) and Ifo, they're not normal. That's why they're so great. ... I think Ifo is as complete a football player as I've ever met. No one's ever going to reach perfection but he has the ability to get closer than most guys do."

• • •

Ekpre-Olomu (14), then a sophomore, intercepts a pass in the back of the end zone against USC in 2012.

Already an All-American, Ekpre-Olomu did not need to return, let alone return punts and expose himself to risk the way all-conference UO cornerback Walter Thurmond did in 2009, when the senior standout's season ended after four games due to an injured knee suffered on a kickoff return.



His decision falls in line with a person described as a meticulous planner who tries to think through problems several steps ahead. It is an approach taken to levels that Neal might describe as not normal.



It's present in his weightlifting sessions, where he noticeably bulked up his shoulders after surgery on the area earlier in his career.



It's present in his risk-management, where he will play this season covered by an insurance policy.



It's present in his video study, where he watches NFL defensive backs Joe Haden of Cleveland and Earl Thomas of Seattle to see how they typically find themselves in the right spot at the right time. When he cross-references that video with his own game tape, he's found he can run to the ball harder when the play goes to the opposite side of the field.



"Watching a guy like (Thomas), you can see how much better you could be," he said.



And it's certainly present in one explanation for why he turned down the NFL eight months ago: He wants to be in the best position possible to land a lucrative second NFL contract. Rookie NFL contracts last four years, and teams of first-round picks have an option for a fifth year, meaning Ekpre-Olomu mulled his decision in the winter of 2013 while considering where he would be in 2019.



He is the rare college senior who will arrive at a job fair — the NFL scouting combine in February — and actually have an answer to the interview question, where do you see yourself in five years?



"I'm not really worried about where I get drafted, I'm worried about how I perform from that point," he said. "You want to be a guy who can play for four years and get that next contract. I want to be a guy who can come into the league ready to play rather than being the guy that made all this money and now we don't know what to do with him because he can't play."



In retrospect, adding punt returns seems to be a logical next step in Ekpre-Olomu's philosophy to be prepared to play in the future while making the big play in the present.



Part of his motivation is altruistic — he wants to help Oregon win and views exposing himself to unnecessary contact as his sacrifice.



"He volunteers for stuff all the time that wouldn't be the first on anybody's list," head coach Mark Helfrich said. "Nothing of that realm surprises me."



The other half is — and here Ekpre-Olomu smiles again — partly selfish.



"Sometimes at corner you get a little lonely out there and go through a couple possessions and don't get that much action," Ekpre-Olomu said. "Getting the opportunity to be on punt returns gives you another chance to change the game and help your team out. That's all I'm really trying to do."



Unlike cornerback, the punt job is not his alone as he'll rotate with five other players. But he earned the start on Saturday night against South Dakota because of trust his coaches hold in him.



"We trust him making the right decisions," special teams coach Tom Osborne said. "Some of those guys are all amped up to return a ball so they're running backwards inside the 10 (yard line) because the adrenaline is flowing."



Like most decisions he makes, punt returning was no fly-by-night choice made on the eve of fall camp. After returning two punts as a freshman in his third career game in 2011, he's lobbied for the job since 2012 only to lose out to the dynamic De'Anthony Thomas and electric Bralon Addison.



His coaches say he is ready, but the job still carries a hold-your-breath feeling to it.



Just as quickly as Neal invokes the names of Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu, who have been stud defensive backs and fearless returners at the college and NFL levels, he raises the possibility of injury.





Ekpre-Olomu's carefully considered plan means little if his increased workload leads to injury, and Helfrich said the staff will monitor carefully the benefits of the returning duties for Ekpre-Olomu and other returners such as Keanon Lowe and Thomas Tyner.



"I don't want to think about that part of it," Neal said. "I've had guys get hurt on special teams and I've had guys get hurt in games."



Two factors override Neal's concerns. First is Ekpre-Olomu's history of careful planning, and taking calculated risks.



"He's tougher than me, I know that," Neal said. "He wants to do it, let him play."



The second is their mutual trust, a bond that began three years ago but was sealed last January.

• • •

Spread about one week apart, the phone calls between Ekpre-Olomu and Neal caught each man off-guard.



When he decided to return to Oregon last January, Ekpre-Olomu first called his family in Chino Hills, California, before dialing Neal's number.



"I have to admit," the coach said, "I was really surprised."



Recalls Ekpre-Olomu: "You know how coaches sometimes don't want to show too much emotion? Coach Neal showed a lot of emotion at that time."



About a week later, Ekpre-Olomu said, Neal called with his own surprise. Alabama-Birmingham was seriously courting Neal for its vacant head coaching position -- the same program where Neal assisted from 1995-2003 and whose search committee included a former player of Neal's. The interest was mutual and a formal interview could have clinched the deal.



Ekpre-Olomu's press conference announcing his return -- in which the corner said Neal was "pretty much the main reason" he returned -- was less than 48 hours behind him.



"I was like, wow, I just got into something I didn't know was going on," Ekpre-Olomu said. "It was kind of weird."



The uncertainty ended on Jan. 15 when Neal, with bags packed and a flight and rental car booked, announced he would not interview after all with the Blazers.



In a role reversal, Ekpre-Olomu was one of the first people Neal notified.



"With some guys it's always bigger than just getting another job or going to play somewhere else," Ekpre-Olomu said. "You can tell his life, his family is here. This team is his family. ... He was really happy for me to be here, and there was obviously a reason he wanted to stay for this year, too."



The full scope of Ekpre-Olomu's own plans for returning are unknown.



Maybe they include breaking a long punt return to satisfy his desire to play offense again. Or, maybe they include moving up the record book, where his 30 passes broken up ranks sixth all-time at Oregon.



But know that he has long focused on his master plan, like a punt rising skyward. As it begins to fall into place and come closer into view, nothing makes Ekpre-Olomu happier than chasing punts, passes and perfection one last time at Oregon.



-- Andrew Greif | @andrewgreif