Onome Ojo

Last updated

Onome Ojo
No. 86, 15
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1977-06-03) June 3, 1977 (age 47)
San Jose, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school: The Urban School
(San Francisco, California)
College: UC Davis
NFL draft: 2001  / round: 5 / pick: 153
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards

Onome Johnson Ojo (born June 3, 1977) is a Nigerian former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He also played in NFL Europe. Ojo played college football at UC Davis.

Contents

Early life and education

Onome Ojo was born on June 3, 1977, in San Jose, California, to Nigerian parents. His name means "gift from God" in Nigerian. [1] He attended The Urban School of San Francisco before going to college at UC Davis. [2] He played tennis, basketball, and soccer in high school. He didn't play football until after two years of college, when Ojo told coach Bob Biggs that he was interested in playing football. “When Onome first came in the office I thought he was a basketball player and was lost,” the coach said, “Then he said he was interested in playing football. I thought he was a JC kid, so I asked him where he played. He said he had never played.” [3] During practice, Biggs said that Ojo was "a pretty impressive athlete" but was far from being a player. “He didn’t know a Go route from an Out route. He was the rawest football player I have ever seen.” Biggs said “But you could see there was something special. Plus, Onome is a very bright young man with a tremendous work ethic. He has developed his skills now to where he can catch the ball, run the routes. What he lacks is instincts, the things a lot of kids learn because they have been playing so long." [3] He appeared in five games during the season, but failed to catch as pass. The next season, he caught 18 passes for 366 yards and two touchdowns, including one of 86 yards. [1] He caught 33 passes in his senior year, gaining 865 yards and 11 touchdowns. [1]

Professional career

In a pre-draft workout in front of National Football League (NFL) teams, only one team showed up, the New Orleans Saints. [1] They would be the team to draft him, selecting him with the 153rd pick of the 2001 NFL draft. [4] [5] [6] He was signed on July 17. [7] He spent time on the practice squad and inactive list for the Saints in 2001, and did not make any appearances. The following season he was sent to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe. He played in eight games with them, catching 11 passes for 111 yards and one touchdown. [8] He was released by the Saints in 2002 at roster cuts. [9] After being released he was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the practice squad. He was later placed on injured reserve. Ojo won a Super Bowl ring after the Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. He was released the next season. He was then signed by the San Diego Chargers, but released shortly afterwards.

Later life

After his sports career he became a police officer in Richmond, California. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XXXVII</span> 2003 National Football League championship game

Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2002 season. The Buccaneers defeated the Raiders by the score of 48–21, tied with Super Bowl XXXV for the seventh-largest Super Bowl margin of victory, winning their first-ever Super Bowl. The game was played on January 26, 2003, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keyshawn Johnson</span> American football player (born 1972)

Joseph Keyshawn Johnson is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devery Henderson</span> American football player (born 1982)

Devery Vaughn Henderson Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). The Louisiana-born Henderson played for the LSU Tigers, who won the 2004 BCS National Championship Game for the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. A few months later, the Saints selected Henderson in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft.

Teyo Johnson is a Canadian former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2003 NFL draft. He played college football with the Stanford Cardinal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Becht</span> American football player and coach (born 1977)

Anthony G. Becht is an American professional football coach, broadcaster and former player who is the head coach of the St. Louis BattleHawks of the United Football League (UFL) and color commentator for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played as a tight end in the NFL for 11 seasons.

Donté Lamar Stallworth is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft.

David Edward Moore is an American former professional football tight end and long snapper who played in the National Football League (NFL) with the played for the Miami Dolphins, the Buffalo Bills, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the span of his 15-year career. His last official game was the 2007 Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii. Moore didn't miss more than two games in any season for his entire Buccaneers career since first joining the team in 1993. At the time of his retirement, he was the fourth tight end in NFL history to play 200 career games. In fact, before him, only 206 NFL players had accomplished this feat in the entirety of the National Football League's existence. During his career he had a rate of one touchdown scored for every 7.7 passes caught, which was the best touchdown rate by any player in Buccaneers history who had at least 50 career receptions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeSean Jackson</span> American football player (born 1986)

DeSean William Jackson is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, where he was recognized as a two-time, first-team All-American in 2006 and 2007. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft, and also played for the Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, and Baltimore Ravens. Jackson was selected to the Pro Bowl three times, and was the first player selected to the Pro Bowl at two different positions in the same year when he was named to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a wide receiver and return specialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brent Celek</span> American football player and executive (born 1985)

Brent Steven Celek is an American football executive and former tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Cincinnati and was drafted by the Eagles in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played his entire 11 season career with the Eagles. Celek helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LII over the New England Patriots during the 2017 season; he subsequently retired that offseason.

Frank Murphy is a former gridiron football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft. He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats.

Sammie Stroughter is a former American football wide receiver. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL draft. He played college football at Oregon State.

Erik Lorig is a former American football fullback who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jameis Winston</span> American football player (born 1994)

Jameis Lanaed Winston is an American professional football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, becoming the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy and leading his team to victory in the 2014 BCS National Championship Game during his freshman year. Declaring for the NFL after his sophomore season, Winston was selected first overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2015 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Evans (wide receiver)</span> American football player (born 1993)

Michael Lynn Evans III is an American professional football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). Evans played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, earning consensus All-American honors after recording a school record of 1,394 receiving yards on 69 receptions in 2013. He was selected by the Buccaneers in the first round with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Thomas (wide receiver, born 1993)</span> American football player (born 1993)

Michael William Thomas Jr. is an American professional football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football for Ohio State and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft. Thomas holds the record for the most receptions by a player in a single season with 149 in 2019. He led the league in receptions in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons, while also leading the league in yardage in the 2019 season. He was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Godwin</span> American football player (born 1996)

Rod Christopher Godwin Jr. is an American professional football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Buccaneers in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. He won a Super Bowl championship in Super Bowl LV over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 1996 UC Davis football team represented the University of California, Davis as an independent during the 1996 NCAA Division II football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Bob Biggs, UC Davis compiled an overall record of 8–5. 1996 was the 27th consecutive winning season for the Aggies. UC Davis was ranked No. 17 in the NCAA Division II poll at the end of the regular season and advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs, where they upset top-ranked Texas A&M–Kingsville in Kingsville, Texas in the first round. In the quarterfinals, the Aggies upset ninth-ranked Central Oklahoma at home. In the semifinals, they were defeated by sixth-ranked Carson–Newman in Jefferson City, Tennessee. The team outscored its opponents 369 to 240 for the season. The Aggies played home games at Toomey Field in Davis, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotty Miller</span> American football player (born 1997)

Scott Thomas Miller is an American professional football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Bowling Green and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Trautman</span> American football player (born 1997)

Adam Trautman is an American professional football tight end for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Dayton and was drafted by the Saints in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drake London</span> American football player (born 2001)

Drake Anthony London is an American professional football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC and was selected eighth overall by the Falcons in the 2022 NFL draft.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hogan, Nakia (April 23, 2001). "Saints take chance on Ojo". The Times – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  2. ↑ Voet, Gary (April 18, 2001). "UCD's Ojo just wants to catch on". The Sacramento Bee – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. 1 2 Voet, Garry. "The tall and short of it". The Sacramento Bee – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. ↑ "2001 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Untitled". The Daily Advertiser . April 23, 2001 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. ↑ Tompkins, Bob (August 1, 2001). "Saints believe Ojo is not just an average Joe". The Town Talk – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. ↑ "Saints ink Myles, Ojo to deals". The Daily Advertiser . July 17, 2001 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  8. ↑ "Onome Ojo Stats - Pro Football Archives". www.profootballarchives.com.
  9. ↑ "Saints cut Allen, 19 others". The News-Star . September 2, 2002 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  10. ↑ "Former NFL player ID'd as Richmond cop badly hurt in sideshow; teen charged with attempting to murder him". February 1, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.