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.
No. 9 – Arizona Cardinals | |||||||
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Position: | Linebacker | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Marietta, Georgia, U.S. | April 5, 2002||||||
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: | Active | ||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
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
editHeight | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||||
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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]
Personal life
editOjulari's parents immigrated to the United States from Nigeria and his maternal grandfather was the Yoruba artist Twins Seven Seven.[9] 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.[10][11]
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.
- ^ 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 (May 2021). "Giants score potential NFL Draft coup with Azeez Ojulari pick". New York Post. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Yahoo! Sports
- Arizona Cardinals bio
- LSU Tigers bio