Azeez O. Ojulari (born June 16, 2000) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

Early years

Ojulari was born on June 16, 2000, in

Austell, Georgia Austell is a city in Cobb and Douglas Counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 7,713. History The area that is now Austell was frequented by game ...

, and attended Marietta High School in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. As a senior, he had 118 tackles and 11 sacks before suffering a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

. He was selected to the 2018

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

. He committed to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

to play college football.

College career

After recovering from the torn ACL he suffered his senior season of high school, Ojulari played in two games his first year at Georgia in 2018 and took a redshirt. As a redshirt freshman in 2019, he played in all 14 games and made 13 starts. He recorded 36 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Ojulari returned to Georgia in 2020 as a starter. During the 2020 season Ojulari was named second-team All-SEC and was the defensive MVP of the 2021 Peach Bowl.

Professional career

New York Giants

Ojulari was selected by the

in the second round (50th overall) of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2021. Ojulari finished the season with 8 sacks which set an all-time New York Giants record for sacks by a rookie, surpassing

B. J. Hill Benjamin Joseph Hill (born May 17, 1973) is an American college basketball coach and former head men's basketball coach at the University of Northern Colorado. He began coaching the Bears in 2010–11, when he guided them to the school's first-ev ...

, who recorded 5.5 sacks in 2018. On October 22, 2022, Ojulari was placed on injured reserve. On December 3, he was activated from injured reserve. He finished the 2022 season with 5.5 sacks, ending the season second on the team behind nose tackle

Dexter Lawrence Dexter Lawrence II (born November 12, 1997), nicknamed "Sexy Dexy", is an American football nose tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson. In 2015, he concluded his high schoo ...

in sacks.

Personal life

Ojulari was born the son of Nigerian immigrants; his maternal grandfather was the late Yoruban artist and musician

Twins Seven Seven Twins Seven Seven, born Omoba Taiwo Olaniyi Oyewale-Toyeje Oyelale Osuntoki (3 May 1944 – 16 June 2011) was a Nigerian painter, sculptor and musician. He was an itinerant singer and dancer before he began his career as an artist, first attendin ...

. His younger brother,

BJ Ojulari Jamiu Bolaji "BJ" Ojulari (born April 5, 2002) is an American football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU Tigers football, LSU. Early years Ojulari grew up in Marietta, G ...

, played college football at

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

References

External links

New York Giants bioGeorgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ojulari, Azeez 2000 births Living people American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Players of American football from Atlanta American football outside linebackers American football defensive ends Georgia Bulldogs football players New York Giants players American people of Yoruba descent Yoruba sportspeople