Adewale Ogunleye
 Ogunleye with the Bears in 2007 | |||||||||||
| No. 90, 93, 99 | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | August 9, 1977 Brooklyn, New York | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 260 lb (118 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Tottenville (Staten Island, New York) | ||||||||||
| College: | Indiana | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2000 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com | |||||||||||
Adewale Ogunleye (/ˌɑːdeɪˈwɑːleɪ oʊɡuːnˈleɪjeɪ/; born August 9, 1977) is a former American football defensive end who played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2000 and also played for the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans. He played college football at Indiana.
Early years[]
Ogunleye is of a Nigerian & Yoruba background. His paternal grandfather, Emmanuel Taiwo Ogunleye, later Oba Ogunleye II Amugbayanwo (1922-1974) was the Oba (Elemure) of the city-state of Emure in Ekiti State, thus making him an Omoba of the Yoruba people. [1][2] His last name means "Ogun (the god of Iron) has honor." His father is a social worker employed by the City of New York.
Ogunleye played high school football at Tottenville High School in his hometown of Staten Island, New York City, New York. He was a classmate of Major League baseball All Star starting pitcher Jason Marquis and a teammate of three-time Super Bowl winning offensive guard Joe Andruzzi.[3]
College career[]
Ogunleye played college football at Indiana from 1996 to 1999. During his college career, Ogunleye set school records for sacks (34.5) and tackles for loss (64). Additionally, he accumulated 167 tackles, eight forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. Ogunleye earned All-Big Ten honors in each of his final three seasons. He graduated with a degree in English.[4]
In November 2014, Ogunleye was inducted into the Indiana Athletic Hall of Fame.[5]
In May 2014, and after finishing his professional career in the NFL, Adewale went on to obtain a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from George Washington University in Washington D.C.
Professional career[]
Despite being projected as a first- or second-round NFL draft pick following his junior season in 1998, Ogunleye chose to return to Indiana for his senior season.[6][7] During the 1999 season, he suffered a major knee injury, which ended his college career, and a staph infection, which caused him to lose 50 pounds.[8] He was not selected in the 2000 NFL Draft.
Miami Dolphins[]
Following the 2000 Draft, Ogunleye signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent.[9] He spent the first year of his NFL career on injured reserve. In 2001, Ogunleye had recovered well enough to lead the team during the preseason in sacks and that earned him a spot on the Dolphins’ 53-man roster. By the end of his fourth season with the Miami Dolphins, Ogunleye had been voted starter in the 2004 NFL Pro Bowl. He led the AFC with 15 sacks in the 2003-2004 NFL season. He was given the Dan Marino Most Valuable Player of the year award, by the Miami Dolphins, that same season.
Chicago Bears[]
He was traded by the Dolphins to the Bears for wide receiver Marty Booker and a 3rd round pick in the 2005 NFL draft after holding out during the month of August before the 2004 NFL season. Ogunleye quickly signed a record-breaking 6-year contract with the Bears. During the next six seasons Ogunleye became a mainstay on the Bears top-ranked defense. During the 2005 NFL season, Ogunleye spearheaded the Bear's defensive line by recording ten sacks. Ogunleye was named team captain and helped the Bears reach Super Bowl XLI in Miami during the 2006 season.
In 2008, Ogunleye was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Week for the week one after recording a safety and making a key fourth down stop against the Indianapolis Colts.[10]
On December 20, 2009 in a game against the Baltimore Ravens, Ogunleye fractured his left fibula. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve on December 26.
Houston Texans[]
On September 14, 2010 Ogunleye signed a one-year tender with the Houston Texans after his contract with the Chicago Bears had expired. At the end of the 2011 season, Ogunleye would end his professional playing career. He finished with 11 NFL seasons under his belt. He finished with career totals of 389 Tackles, 67.5 Sacks, 17 forced fumbles, and 14 fumble recoveries, 2 safeties and 1 Interception.[11][12]
NFL statistics[]
| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | MIA | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | MIA | 16 | 44 | 32 | 12 | 9.5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2003 | MIA | 16 | 62 | 43 | 19 | 15.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2004 | CHI | 12 | 37 | 28 | 9 | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2005 | CHI | 15 | 40 | 36 | 4 | 10.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2006 | CHI | 14 | 43 | 28 | 15 | 6.5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2007 | CHI | 16 | 58 | 53 | 5 | 9.0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2008 | CHI | 16 | 62 | 48 | 14 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2009 | CHI | 14 | 38 | 25 | 13 | 6.5 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | HOU | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 130 | 389 | 295 | 94 | 67.0 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
Key
- GP: games played
- COMB: combined tackles
- TOTAL: total tackles
- AST: assisted tackles
- SACK: sacks
- FF: forced fumbles
- FR: fumble recoveries
- FR YDS: fumble return yards
- INT: interceptions
- IR YDS: interception return yards
- AVG IR: average interception return
- LNG: longest interception return
- TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
- PD: passes defensed
References[]
- ^ http://obaogunleyeiiamugbayanwoelemureofemure-ekiti.yolasite.com/life-history.php
- ^ "Trip to Nigeria an emotional one for Ogunleye - Chicago Bears". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2006.
- ^ Bauer, Ted, "Fun Facts: Dodgers vs. Cubs," ESPN, accessed 7/20/09
- ^ "Adewale Ogunleye", IU Hoosiers Hall of Fame
- ^ "Indiana Announces Hall of Fame Class", 14news
- ^ Bagnato, Andrew, "College Life Keeping Would-be Nfl Players On Campus", Chicago Tribune
- ^ Marot, Michael, "College dilemma: Stay in school or go pro?", Sentinel and Enterprise
- ^ Matz, Eddie, "Miami's Pro Bowl Sack Artist Finally Has Respect. Now He Wants Lots of Cash", ESPN
- ^ Pasquarelli, Len, "Star DE basically gets $15M to sign", ESPN
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Adewale Ogunleye Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
External links[]
- 1977 births
- Living people
- American sportspeople of Nigerian descent
- Sportspeople from Brooklyn
- Sportspeople from Staten Island
- Nigerian players of American football
- Players of American football from New York (state)
- American football defensive ends
- Indiana Hoosiers football players
- Miami Dolphins players
- Chicago Bears players
- Houston Texans players
- American Conference Pro Bowl players
- American people of Yoruba descent
- Yoruba sportspeople