Jamiu Bolaji "BJ" Ojulari (born April 5, 2002) is an American professional football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU.
| No. 9 – Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | April 5, 2002 Marietta, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 248 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Marietta | ||||||||
| College: | LSU (2020–2022) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2023 / round: 2 / pick: 41 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Injured reserve | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||
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Early life
editOjulari grew up in Marietta, Georgia, and attended Marietta High School. As a senior, he set a school record with 19 sacks and was named the Area Defensive Player of the Year with Marietta Daily Journal.[1] Ojulari initially committed to play college football at Tennessee, but flipped his commitment to LSU during senior season.[2]
College career
editOjulari played in all ten of LSU's games as a freshman and finished the season with 16 tackles, four sacks, and five tackles for loss with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery and was named to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman team.[3] He was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after sacking South Carolina quarterback Collin Hill three times for a loss of 21 yards.[4] Ojulari was named the conference Defensive Lineman of the Week a second time after a 2½ sack performance in a 49-21 win over Central Michigan in the third week of his sophomore season.[5]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+3⁄8 in (1.89 m) |
248 lb (112 kg) |
34+1⁄4 in (0.87 m) |
10+1⁄2 in (0.27 m) |
7.57 s | 33.5 in (0.85 m) |
10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
24 reps | |||||
| Sources:[6][7] | ||||||||||||
Ojulari was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round, 41st overall, of the 2023 NFL draft.[8] As a rookie, he appeared in all 17 games in the 2023 season. He finished with four sacks, 40 total tackles (23 solo), and one pass defended.[9]
On August 2, 2024, Ojulari suffered a torn ACL, ruling him out for the 2024 season.[10]
Personal life
editOjulari's parents immigrated to the United States from Nigeria and his maternal grandfather was the Yoruba artist Twins Seven Seven.[11] His older brother, Azeez Ojulari, played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs before being drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.[12][13]
References
edit- ^ Bednarowski, John (December 25, 2019). "MDJ Defensive Player of the Year: Ojulari leads Marietta defense to new heights". Marietta Daily Journal. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- ^ Toppmeyer, Blake (October 27, 2019). "Four-star DE BJ Ojulari flips commitment from Tennessee to LSU". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- ^ Dixon, Shea (January 6, 2021). "BJ Ojulari returns in 2021 after Freshman All-SEC season". 247Sports. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Auzenne, Josh (October 26, 2020). "LSU DE BJ Ojulari and KR Trey Palmer named SEC Players of the Week". WAFB.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- ^ Mickles, Sheldon (September 23, 2021). "BJ the Beast: Ojulari using 'natural-born' pass-rushing skills to help LSU lead the nation in sacks". The Advocate. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- ^ "BJ Ojulari Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout BJ Ojulari College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ Urban, Darren (April 28, 2023). "Cardinals Get Edge Rusher BJ Ojulari In Second Round". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ "BJ Ojulari 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- ^ Weinfuss, Josh (August 3, 2024). "Source: Cards LB Ojulari tears ACL, out for season". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- ^ Kubena, Brooks (September 22, 2020). "Meet LSU's B.J. Ojulari: grandson of a Nigerian prince, descendant of a king — and a key pass rusher". The Advocate. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- ^ Emerson, Seth; Miller, Brody (October 29, 2020). "'For family': Behind what drives the SEC's Ojulari-brother pass-rush tandem". The Athletic. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- ^ Schwartz, Paul (April 30, 2021). "Giants score potential NFL Draft coup with Azeez Ojulari pick". New York Post. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
External links
edit- Career statistics from Yahoo Sports
- Arizona Cardinals bio
- LSU Tigers bio