Olumide Larry Ogunjobi (born June 3, 1994) 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 ...

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

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

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 ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, and was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in the third round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

. He has previously played for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

High school and college career

Ogunjobi was born in

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 29,366, reflecting an increase of 1,975 (+7.2%) from the ...

, to

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

parents who had immigrated from

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 ...

. He attended

Ragsdale High School Lucy Ragsdale High School, commonly known as Ragsdale High, is a public high school in Jamestown, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, Ragsdale is one of 26 high schools in Guilford County Schools. The areas that are zoned to Ragsdale's district includ ...

Jamestown, North Carolina Jamestown is a town in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby cities of Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro and High Point, North Carolina, High Point. The population was ...

. From 2013 to 2016 he played

, recording 217 tackles and 13 sacks. At Charlotte, he double-majored in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

, graduating with a degree in computer science in December 2016.

Professional career

Coming out of college, Ogunjobi was ranked as the 15th best defensive tackle in the draft by CBSSports.com and was projected to be a fifth or sixth-round pick. He received an invitation to the

2017 Senior Bowl The 2017 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2017 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game concluded th ...

, practiced well throughout the week, and played defensive tackle for the North who lost 16–15 to the South. Ogunjobi raised his draft stock after showcasing his talent in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. He participated at the NFL Combine and completed all the required combine and positional drills. About a dozen or more scouts and representatives attended Charlotte's Pro Day to scout Ogunjobi as the feature prospect and two other teammates. NFL draft experts and analysts projected him to be a second or third-round pick. He was ranked as the third-best defensive tackle in the draft by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, was ranked the fourth-best defensive tackle by NFLDraftScout.com, was ranked the fifth-best defensive tackle by NFL analyst

Mike Mayock Michael Francis Mayock (born August 14, 1958) is a former American football executive and former player who served as the general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) from 2019 to 2021. Mayock was a safety with ...

, and was ranked the sixth-best defensive tackle by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

''.

Cleveland Browns

The

selected Ogunjobi in the third round (65th overall) of the

. Ogunjobi signed his contract with the Browns on May 17, 2017, a deal which totaled $3.9 million. On November 14, 2019, near the end of a game against

, teammate

Myles Garrett Myles Lorenz Garrett (born December 29, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M, where he received unanimous All-American honors in 2016, ...

and Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph got tangled up and began fighting, ending with Garrett hitting Rudolph with a helmet. As other teammates began running towards the two, Ogunjobi hit Rudolph, who was still without his helmet, from behind knocking him onto the ground. He was later suspended for one game without pay and fined.

Cincinnati Bengals

On March 19, 2021, Ogunjobi signed a one-year contract with the

. He started 16 games in 2021, recording a career-high seven sacks, 49 tackles, and a team-high 12 tackles for loss. In the wild card playoff game with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

he suffered a season ending foot injury that required surgery. On March 14, 2022, Ogunjobi was reported and expected to sign with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, but failed the conditional physical, resulting in the offer being rescinded.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On June 21, 2022, Ogunjobi signed a one-year deal with the

References

External links

Charlotte 49ers bioCleveland Browns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogunjobi, Larry 1994 births Living people American football defensive tackles American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Charlotte 49ers football players Cincinnati Bengals players Cleveland Browns players People from Livingston, New Jersey Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from New Jersey Players of American football from Greensboro, North Carolina Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey Yoruba sportspeople