Jason Ankrah

Honors & Awards

• Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten (Coaches, Media)
• Team Captain (2013)
• Nebraska Graduate (May 2013)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2012; Spring 2013)
• Big 12 Commissioner's Fall Academic Honor Roll (2009, 2010)

Defensive end Jason Ankrah completed a productive Nebraska career with a strong senior season, capped by an excellent performance against Georgia in the Gator Bowl.The 6-4, 265-pound Ankrah was a fixture on the Nebraska defense over the past four seasons, playing in 49 games in his Nebraska career, including 31 career starts.

Ankrah started all 13 games in 2013 and played a key role in the progress of a youthful Nebraska defense, specifically providing leadership on a young front four. The improvement of the Huskers’ front four was a driving force behind NU ranking fourth in the Big Ten in total defense in conference games.

Ankrah completed the season with 36 tackles, while his nine tackles for loss ranked third for the Huskers. He added four sacks and had an interception against Illinois. Ankrah’s play in 2013 earned him honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades from both the media and the coaches.

2013 (Senior)
Wyoming: Started at defensive end in the season opener... contributed a pair of tackles in the 37-34 win. Southern Miss: Made his 20th career start against the Golden Eagles... brought his career tackle total to 50 with three tackles in the game, including his first TFL of the season. UCLA: Started at defensive end and made two tackles. SDSU: Played in his 40th career game at Nebraska... finished with one tackle. Illinois: Recorded his first career interception off a QB hurry from Ciante Evans... also added his first sack of the season and a pair of TFLs. Purdue: Broke up a pass and recorded one tackle in the 44-7 road win. Minnesota: Started against the Gophers and matched a then-season high with three tackles. Northwestern: Totaled three tackles on the day, including his second sack of the season, a 10-yard sack of Kain Colter in the second quarter. Michigan: Made a pair of tackles in his 45th career game... produced a three-yard TFL and forced a fumble that was recovered by Michigan. Michigan State: Recorded a season-high four tackles... picked up his sixth TFL of the season, a five-yard loss... broke up a pair of passes and notched a quarterback hurry. Penn State: Posted a season-high four tackles for the second straight week. Iowa: Tied a season high with four tackles, including his seventh TFL of the season. Georgia: Ankrah closed his carer in style with a career-high two sacks and five total tackles. He also forced a fumble as NU limited Georgia to a single touchdown.

2012 (Junior)
Ankrah played in all 14 games and finished with 26 total tackles, including six tackles for loss and two sacks. He also forced a pair of fumbles and had three quarterback hurries. Ankrah had four games with at least three tackles during the 2012 season.

Ankrah opened the year with four tackles against both Southern Miss and UCLA. He also had at least one tackle for loss in each of the first four games, including sacks against both Arkansas State and Idaho State. Ankrah also recorded one tackle for loss against Ohio State and Georgia. He forced fumbles against UCLA and Ohio State.

2011 (Sophomore)
Ankrah played in 12 games with nine starts, including seven of the season's first eight games. He recorded 17 tackles, highlighted by a career-high five stops in NU's 20-7 win over Iowa in the regular-season finale. Ankrah also had a tackle for loss against the Hawkeyes, giving him three TFLs in 2011, including a two-yard sack in the opener against Chattanooga. Ankrah had three tackles at Minnesota and had three other games with a pair of tackles.

2010 (Redshirt Freshman)
Ankrah played in 10 games and made two tackles, a solo stop at Oklahoma State and an assist against Oklahoma. He also had a quarterback hurry against Kansas.

2009 (Redshirt)
Sat out season as a redshirt.

Before Nebraska (Quince Orchard HS)
Ankrah was one of the top prospects on the East Coast after an outstanding career for Coach Dave Mencarini at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Md. Ankrah was just the second Husker signee from Maryland since 1990 and attended the same high school as Nebraska assistant coach John Papuchis. Ankrah totaled 55 tackles as a senior, including 42 unassisted stops, 14 tackles for loss, seven sacks and 19 quarterback hurries. His play helped Quince Orchard to a 10-2 record and a trip to the Maryland 4A West Regional Final.

Ankrah was a first-team all-state pick, an All-Met selection by the Washington Post and was also named to the All-Gazette (Gaithersburg) first team. Ankrah played in the first Maryland Crab Bowl, pitting the top players in Maryland against D.C. area standouts.

Ankrah also posted impressive numbers as a junior with more than 50 tackles and five sacks. His play was a significant factor in Quince Orchard's perfect 14-0 record and class 4A state championship, and he earned first-team All-Sentinel as an offensive lineman. Ankrah also visited Michigan and Maryland, and also considered Virginia Tech and Clemson.

Personal
Jason is the son of Kofi and Nanu Ankrah and was born on Feb. 26, 1991. He is majoring in child, youth and family studies, and he earned spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall and spring semesters of 2012-13. He also was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2009 and 2010.

Ankrah's Career Statistics

.	.	Tackles			.	.	Fum.	.	.	.	QB
Year	G/S	UT	AT	TT	TFL	Sacks	C-R	BK	PBU	INT	Hry.
2009					Redshirt
2010	10/0	1	1	2	0-0	0.0-0	0-0	0	0	0	1
2011	12/9	6	11	17	3-4	1.0-2	0-0	0	0	0	0
2012	14/9	16	10	26	6-21	2.0-13	2-0	0	1	0	3
2013	13/13	20	16	36	9-48	4.0-35	2-0	0	3	1	4
Totals	49/31	43	38	81	18-73	7.0-50	4-0	0	4	1	8

Single-Game Highs
» Tackles – 5 vs. Iowa (2011), vs. Geogia (2014 Gator Bowl)
» Solo Tackles – 3 vs. Northwestern (2013), vs. Michigan State (2013), vs. Georgia (2014 Gator Bowl)
» Tackles for Loss – 2 vs. Illinois (2013), vs. Georgia (2014 Gator Bowl)
» Sacks – 2-21 vs. Georgia (2014 Gator Bowl)