Joseph Ossai (born April 12, 2000) is a Nigerian professional

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 wi ...

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 formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

for the Cincinnati Bengals 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 at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

where he was a consensus All-American and a finalist for the

Lott IMPACT Trophy The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize the ...

. He was drafted by the Bengals in the third 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, 202 ...

Early life and high school

Ossai was born in Ketu Ijaniki,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, and lived there until his family moved to

Conroe, Texas Conroe is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Texas, United States, about north of Houston. It is a principal city in the metropolitan area. As of 2021, the population was 98,081, up from 56,207 in 2010. Since 2007, the ...

when he was 10. 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 The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. Ossai was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

over offers from

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, Notre Dame and

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

College career

In three seasons with the Longhorns, Ossai played in 36 games and made 24 starts, earning consensus All-America honors in 2020 with first-team recognition from the AP, FWAA and WCFF and second-team honors from the AFCA and Sporting News. He was a finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award in 2020 and earned earned honorable mention as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year. He chose to forego the 2020 Alamo Bowl and his senior season to go pro. 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. 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. In the postseason, he was the 2019 Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP. In the following spring, he made the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Ossai was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy,

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ameri ...

and Lott IMPACT Trophy watchlists entering his junior season. That year, he had 55 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks on his way to being named first team All Big-12 and an All-American. On December 14, 2020, Ossai announced his decision to enter the

, choosing to forgo Texas' 2020 Bowl game and his senior season.

Professional career

2021

Ossai was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round (69th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft. He signed his four-year rookie contract on June 2, 2021. Ossai suffered a meniscus injury in the second preseason game. He was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2021, ending his season.

2022

Ossai was named the backup right defensive end, behind Trey Hendrickson on the depth chart. He made his NFL debut in the Bengals' 2022 regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 18 against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

, he recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the 27–16 victory. He appeared in 16 regular season games and recorded 3.5 sacks, 17 total tackles, one pass defended, and two fumble recoveries. In the AFC Championship Game against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

, Ossai committed an unnecessary roughness penalty with eight seconds left in regulation on quarterback

Patrick Mahomes Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played c ...

resulting in a 15-yard penalty and much closer field goal attempt (45-yards) which kicker

Harrison Butker Harrison Butker (born July 14, 1995), nicknamed Butt Kicker (a play on words on his last name and position), is an American football kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia ...

converted to advance to the Super Bowl.

2023

Ossai returned to his role as a substitute defensive end for the season, once again behind Hendrickson on the right side. He recorded his first sack of the season in Week 13 against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bio

Texas Longhorns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ossai, Joseph 2000 births Living people All-American college football players American football defensive ends American football outside linebackers Cincinnati Bengals players Nigerian players of American football People from Conroe, Texas Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Texas Players of American football from Texas Sportspeople from Lagos Texas Longhorns football players