Osawaru Odighizuwa ( ; born August 13, 1998) 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 tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

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 was drafted by the Cowboys 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, 2021 ...

. 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 ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where he was a first-team all-conference selection in the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

Early years

Odighizuwa attended

David Douglas High School David Douglas High School (DDHS) is a public high school in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is a part of the David Douglas School District. In 1998 Lynn Olson, author of ''The School-to-work Revolution: How Employers And Educators Are Joinin ...

. He was a two-time defensive player of the year and received PrepStar All-West honors as a senior. He was a three star recruit coming out of high school and committed to play college at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

on May 5, 2015. He

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, where he won three straight state heavyweight championships. He was undefeated in his last two years (46-0 and 45-0). He also practiced

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

for one season.

College career

As a

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freshman, he appeared in all 13 games as a backup

. He collected 15 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss (tied for fifth on the team) and one sack. He had 3 tackles and one sack against the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. He returned a fumble for a 51-yard touchdown against the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. He made 2 tackles for loss and one sack against the University of Hawai'i. As a sophomore, he appeared in 11 games, starting at

in the final 8. He registered 29 tackles, 3 sacks (tied for second on the team), 6 tackles for loss (tied for third on the team) and 2 pass breakups. He had 5 tackles against the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

and the

. As a junior, he was named the starter at

. He tallied 46 tackles (fifth on the team), 3.5 sacks (third on the team) and 10 tackles for loss (tied for the team lead). He had 9 tackles against San Diego State University. As a senior, the football season was reduced to 7 games due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He was a starter at

, posting 30 tackles (sixth on the team), 4 sacks (second on the team) and 6 tackles for loss (third on the team). He had 6 tackles against the

and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. He made 2.5 tackles against the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

. He received first-team All-Pac-12 honors. On December 22, 2020, he announced his intentions to enter the

Professional career

Odighizuwa was selected by the

in the third round (75th overall) of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract with Dallas on June 10, 2021.

2021 season: Rookie year

Heading into his first training camp in the NFL, Odighizuwa was listed as a starting defensive tackle on the Cowboys' training camp depth chart alongside veteran

Neville Gallimore Neville Gallimore (born January 17, 1997) is a Canadian American football defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma. Early years Gallimore's parents were born and rai ...

. He faced competition from

Trysten Hill Trysten Hill (born March 25, 1998) is an American football defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCF. Early years Hill attended Suwannee High School in Live Oak, Florida, whe ...

and

Chauncey Golston Chauncey Golston (born February 10, 1998) is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cowboys in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iow ...

for his starting job. At the conclusion of the NFL preseason, head coach Mike McCarthy officially named Odighizuwa a starting defensive tackle. Odighizuwa made his first career start and NFL debut in the Cowboys' Week 1 loss to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. He had a quiet debut, recording just one assist in the loss. Odighizuwa was relatively quiet for the first two games of the season, but he had an excellent game in Week 3 against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. In that game, Odighizuwa recorded his first career sack on quarterback

Jalen Hurts Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played his first three seasons of college football at Alabama, where he was part of the team t ...

, and posted 1.5 sacks, two solo tackles, and a tackle for loss during the 41-21 win. Odighizuwa posted another 0.5 sack, two more solo tackles, and another tackle for loss the following week in a 36-28 victory over the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. Odighizuwa recorded his third straight tackle for loss in a Week 5 victory against 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. ...

. In a 30-16 loss in Week 9 against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

, Odighizuwa recorded his fourth career tackle for loss. In a 27-17 Week 13 victory against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, Odighizuwa recorded four solo tackles and two tackles for a loss. Overall, Odighizuwa finished his rookie season appearing in 16 games (12 starts) and recorded 21 solo tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 11 QB hits, and two sacks on the season. He played in 57% of the Cowboys' defensive snaps during the season.

Career Statistics

Personal life

His older brother

Owa Odighizuwa Owamagbe Odighizuwa (born April 1, 1992) is a former American football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college footb ...

played as a

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 ...

in the

NFL 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 major ...

. Odighizuwa's father, Peter, was the perpetrator of the 2002

Appalachian School of Law shooting On January 16, 2002, a school shooting occurred at the Appalachian School of Law, an American Bar Association accredited private law school in Grundy, Virginia, United States. Three people were killed and three others were wounded when a former ...

, in which three were killed and three were wounded.Family matters: Why Osa Odighizuwa wants to advocate for mental health
/ref>

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odighizuwa, Osa 1998 births Living people American sportspeople of Nigerian descent American football defensive tackles Players of American football from Portland, Oregon UCLA Bruins football players Dallas Cowboys players