Joseph Ossai
No. 58 – Cincinnati Bengals | |||||
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Position: | Defensive end | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Lagos, Nigeria | 12 April 2000||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||
Weight: | 263 lb (119 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Oak Ridge (Conroe, Texas) | ||||
College: | Texas (2018–2020) | ||||
NFL draft: | 2021 / Round: 3 / Pick: 69 | ||||
Career history | |||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
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Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Joseph Ossai (born 12 April 2000) is a Nigerian professional
Early years
Ossai was born in Ketu Ijaniki, Lagos, Nigeria, and lived there until his family moved to Conroe, Texas when he was 10.[2]
He attended Oak Ridge High School, where he played basketball and football and was a two-time all-district and academic all-district honoree. As a senior, he recorded 58 tackles, eight sacks, 15 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles and was named first-team All-District 12-6A, and first-team All-Greater Houston by the Houston Chronicle.[3] Ossai was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at Texas over offers from Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Oregon.[4]
College career
In three seasons with the Longhorns, Ossai played in 36 games and made 24 starts, earning consensus
As a true freshman, Ossai played in all 14 of the Longhorns' games with two starts and made 20 total tackles with one a sack and a forced fumble.[5][6][7]
He led the team with 62 tackles in his sophomore season while also recording five sacks, two interceptions, one pass broken up, one forced fumble and also blocked a kick.[8] In the postseason, he was the 2019 Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP. In the following spring, he made the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.[1]
Ossai was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy,
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 3+3⁄4 in (1.92 m) |
256 lb (116 kg) |
33+7⁄8 in (0.86 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.62 s | 1.58 s | 2.56 s | 41.5 in (1.05 m) |
10 ft 11 in (3.33 m) |
19 reps | |||
All values from |
Ossai was selected by the
In 2022, Ossai was named the backup right defensive end, behind Trey Hendrickson on the depth chart.[19] He made his NFL debut in the Bengals' 2022 regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 18 against the Baltimore Ravens, he recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the 27–16 victory.[20] He appeared in 16 regular season games and recorded 3.5 sacks, 17 total tackles, one pass defended, and two fumble recoveries.[21] In the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Ossai committed an unnecessary roughness penalty with eight seconds left in regulation on quarterback Patrick Mahomes resulting in a 15-yard penalty and much closer field goal attempt (45-yards) which kicker Harrison Butker converted to advance to the Super Bowl.[22][23]
In 2023, Ossai returned to his role as a substitute defensive end for the season, once again behind Hendrickson on the right side.[24] He recorded his first sack of the season in Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.[25]
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
2021 | CIN | DNP | ||||||||||||||||
2022 | CIN | 16 | 0 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
2023 | CIN | 9 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 25 | 0 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 4.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
2022 | CIN | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
References
- ^ a b c "46 Joseph Ossai". Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ Craven, Mike (7 February 2018). "Faith, family the deciding factors for new Texas commit Joseph Ossai". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Ogden, Brandon (27 October 2017). "Lufkin welcomes 6-1 Oak Ridge to town for homecoming". The Lufkin Daily News. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Rapp, Timothy (7 February 2018). "4-Star DE Joseph Ossai Commits to Texas over Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Oregon". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Kenyon, David (14 May 2019). "1 Hidden Gem on Each Top 10 College Football Team in 2019". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Howe, Jeff (7 September 2020). "Most Important Longhorns in 2020: Joseph Ossai". 247Sports.com. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Daeschner, Trenton (25 March 2019). "Texas spring football breakout candidates: The Longhorns could have their next star linebacker". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Moyle, Nick (9 May 2020). "Texas' next defensive star: Joseph Ossai". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Moyle, Nick (7 August 2020). "Texas' Joseph Ossai looks like 'a fish in water' playing JACK". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Rapien, James (30 April 2021). "Bengals Get Defensive, Take Texas Edge Rusher Joseph Ossai in Third Round". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Wilson, Dave (14 December 2020). "Texas' Ossai to skip senior year, declare for draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Joseph Ossai Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ^ "Joseph Ossai, Texas, OLB, 2021 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ^ "Joseph Ossai 2021 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ^ Hobson, Geoff (30 April 2021). "Bengals Go To The Edge with Texas' Joseph Ossai". Bengals.com. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ Sheeran, John (2 June 2021). "Bengals sign Ja'Marr Chase, Joseph Ossai to rookie contracts". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ DeArdo, Bryan (22 August 2021). "Bengals rookie Joseph Ossai set to undergo possible season-ending knee surgery, per report Bengals rookie Joseph Ossai set to undergo possible season-ending knee surgery, per report". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Bengals Reduce 2021 Roster To 53 Players". Bengals.com. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Bengals release first depth chart of 2022 before Week 1 vs. Steelers". Bengals Wire. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ "Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals - January 8th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Joseph Ossai 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Baby, Ben (30 January 2023). "Cincy's Ossai on critical penalty: 'Gotta do better'". ESPN.com. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ Sam, Doric (29 January 2023). "Joseph Ossai: 'Means the World' to Have Support of Bengals Teammates After Penalty". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ "Bengals reveal first depth chart of 2023 season ahead of Week 1 vs. Browns". Bengals Wire. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ "Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars - December 4th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.