BEREA, Ohio - Cleveland Browns rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said Friday that his heart "is 100% healthy" following concerns about it heading into the draft that potentially caused him to fall to the second round.
The former Notre Dame All-American had been projected to go in the first round leading up to the draft. But he wasn't selected until the Browns traded up in the second round to take him with the No. 52 pick. ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported that concerns about Owusu-Koramoah surfaced late in the process after medical tests determined he might have a heart issue.
Doctors, however, ultimately cleared Owusu-Koramoah.
"It's not an issue," he said Friday before Cleveland's first rookie minicamp practice. "You can see that going through the protocol, going through the tests, going through the EKGs and going through the past MRIs and things like that.
"It's not something that I am worried about. I am looking forward to getting on the field and going."
Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry has said he was comfortable with Owusu-Koramoah's medical report when drafting him. And Owusu-Koramoah said Thursday he spoke to team doctors, who told him they felt the same.
"The reports looked fine," he said. "The EKGs looked fine."
Owusu-Koramoah will have an opportunity to win a starting job at linebacker for the Browns, who devoted much of the offseason to improving their defense. Cleveland advanced to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2002.
Owusu-Koramoah said despite falling to the second round, he's excited about where he landed.
"This defense flies around," he said. "I's based on a principle of 'No bark, all bite.' It's based on the principal of attacking the ball. It's based on principals of really relying on your brothers.
"That's the kind of defense that I have always played [at] Notre Dame. As we saw, that Notre Dame defense was successful, and going into this defense, there are a lot of disguises and a lot of things that [defensive coordinator Joe Woods] is doing within the defense that I think just me and my versatility is used perfectly."