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Joseph Ossai


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Lulz I drunkenly texted the LT comparison to like 10 different people last night.

I want Herman gone as much as the next guy and we totally didn’t deserve that win yesterday (although we 100% earned it if that makes sense), but goddamn it’s nice to see a DLineman wearing Burnt Orange tearing motherfuckers a new asshole on a consistent basis. 
 

In summary - Joseph motherfucking Ossai....

Edited by Ignatius
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  On 11/2/2020 at 12:02 AM, Ignatius said:

Lulz I drunkenly texted the LT comparison to like 10 different people last night...   goddamn it’s nice to see a DLineman wearing Burnt Orange tearing motherfuckers a new asshole on a consistent basis. 

In summary - Joseph motherfucking Ossai....

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Joseph Ossai delivers historic performance in Texas victory

By  JEFF HOWE 5 hours ago

  Quote

The day Joseph Ossai had in a 41-34 Texas' overtime upset of sixth-ranked Oklahoma State on Halloween was historic in nature. A 12-tackle, six-tackle for loss, three-sack performance in the program’s first win over a top 10-ranked opponent on the road since 2010 earned Ossai the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week, which is the first of many honors sure to come his way.

How dominant was Ossai? He’s the first Power Five player to record at least 12 sacks, six tackles for loss and three sacks in a game since Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh ran roughshod over the Longhorns in the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game to the tune of 12 tackles, six tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, a performance that nearly cost Texas a berth in the BCS title game (the Longhorns beat the Huskers, 13-12, on a walk-off field goal by Hunter Lawrence) and put a dent in the second and final Heisman Trophy campaign for Colt McCoy (McCoy finished third behind Alabama’s Mark Ingram and Stanford’s Toby Gerhart in the closest Heisman race in history with Suh picking up 161 first-place votes).

“Unbelievable,” Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger said of Ossai’s performance. Ossai’s third and final sack of the day saw him run down Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders for a 13-yard loss on fourth-and-8 from the 12-yard line in overtime to end the game.

“He's an incredible player and I had a great feeling that he was going to make a play there at the end,” Ehlinger said. “He did exactly that. He'd been making plays all day, but every time the quarterback drops back, you're expecting Joe to be there. What an incredible player.”

Ossai’s showing is the kind of dominance rarely seen from a Longhorn defender in recent years. From the standpoint of an impactful performance from start to finish, one such showing that immediately jumps to the forefront is Derrick Johnson’s 16-tackle day in a 2004 loss to Oklahoma where he recorded a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and an interception in what might’ve been the finest outing for one of the unquestioned best defensive players to ever set foot on the Forty Acres.

Before Ossai was recognized by the WCFF, Malik Jefferson was the last Longhorn defender to take home the honor for his effort in a 2015 upset of Oklahoma. In the 24-17 victory, Jefferson had six tackles and sacked Sooner quarterback Baker Mayfield twice as a true freshman to help lead a one-win Texas squad beat an Oklahoma team favored by 16 points in a game on his way to Freshman All-American honors while being named Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year (Jefferson was a second-team All-American and the co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, his final season in burnt orange).

DeShon Elliott put together several noteworthy performances in a 2017 season where he was named a unanimous All-American. None, however, was more memorable than an eight-tackle night in a near-upset of fourth-ranked USC with Elliott recording a tackle for loss and two interceptions, one he returned for a touchdown in the 27-24 loss in double overtime where Trojan fans gave the Longhorns (15-point underdog in Ehlinger’s first career road start) a standing ovation as they walked off of the grass at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Elliott was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award in 2017 but didn’t take home the trophy, a similar fate suffered by Earl Thomas in 2009. The season before, however, as a redshirt freshman might’ve featured the best game of Thomas’ career when he intercepted Sam Bradford twice in a 45-35 win over then-No. 1 Oklahoma.

In that same game, Brian Orakpo went off to the tune of six tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks of Bradford, the 2008 Heisman winner. Orakpo also had a forced fumble in a game that propelled him to numerous national awards — the Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player), the Lombardi Award (top lineman) and the Ted Hendricks Award (top defensive end) — following the season.

Orakpo isn’t the only Longhorn to post a monster game in a season in which they took home a healthy share of recognition.

The 2013 season for Jackson Jeffcoat (Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year; Hendricks Award) included a two-sack performance in an upset of Oklahoma. Jeffcoat also had a seven-tackle game with three tackles for loss and three sacks in a win over Texas Tech on Thanksgiving and an 11-tackle day with two tackles for loss and two sacks in a loss to Baylor with the Big 12 title on the line in Waco.

Sergio Kindle had eight tackles (one off of his career-high) and a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in a BCS title game loss to Alabama. The performance punctuated a season in which Kindle became the first player in the history of college football to be named a finalist for both the Hendricks Award and Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s top linebacker.

The closest thing to what Ossai did in keeping Texas (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) alive for a berth in the Big 12 title game heading into a home game with West Virginia (4-2, 3-2) on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC) might be what Alex Okafor did in his final game as a Longhorn.

Okafor abused Oregon State’s offensive line in an Alamo Bowl win in 2012, finishing the night with eight tackles, five tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble to close out an All-American career.

The bottom line is there are a select few games in the pantheon of all-time great performances by Longhorn defenders that can hold a candle to what Ossai did in Stillwater, especially considering he fought through the pain of a shoulder injury he suffered in the previous week’s 27-16 win over Baylor. Ossai credited the training staff for monitoring him while he sat out of Tuesday’s practice and had light work Wednesday before he was able to go more extensively Thursday with Texas out of pads for the week at that point.

“It didn't really bother me too much,” Ossai said. “The only thing that was was because I was wearing a brace at first and that thing was tight. I felt like my body was being squeezed and I couldn't move. I had to get it off and that was really it. It didn't really bother me too much.”

Praising Ossai’s motor by comparing him to Ed Oliver, the former University of Houston defensive lineman and 2017 Outland Trophy winner he coached for one season who selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, Tom Herman couldn’t stop gushing about Ossai after the game. As far as the head coach is concerned, everything Ossai does starts with how he practices, which makes the effort he plays with when the lights come on second nature.

“He's the undisputed leader on that side of the football,” Herman said. “I think I said it to FOX on the postgame interview: If you're a young kid out there — I know I told you about earning the trust of your quarterback if you play receiver, this is another great learning moment. You want to learn why Joseph Ossai plays the way that he plays? Come watch practice. This is a dude that literally has two speeds: off and full. That's it and he is 'full' most of the time.

“He's fun to watch and he will have a special place in my heart and, hopefully, in all of Longhorn fans’ hearts for a long time.”

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https://247sports.com/college/texas/LongFormArticle/Joseph-Ossai-Texas-Longhorns-football-delivers-historic-performance-player-of-the-week-Oklahoma-State-win-12-tackles-three-sacks-154082807/#154082807_9

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  On 11/2/2020 at 7:42 PM, JBJ said:

This play ....  it's supposed to be a screen pass.  Not sure if this is great defense or poor defense.

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that's about a 1 on the Lindy Holmes crackback block scale from 1-10.  Doesn't make it a legal play, but it was hardly freaking vicious, as ole Dustin claims.   

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  On 11/2/2020 at 12:48 PM, LTtxfan said:

 

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amazing to see when a kid takes some advice to heart like that, and boy has it been showing. i made a post a few weeks ago noting his relentless play, so it's very cool to hear this story, and to learn that it's something that he's been striving to be since he was a freshman in HS.

  On 10/14/2020 at 3:18 AM, shadow_operative said:

 

man- the stuff that i've been rewinding and bringing back since then has been extremely impressive to say the least. there was one play in particular against OU where he was influenced outside at the snap, and the RB was gone. IIRC he may have even been blocked to the ground. he proceeded to get up, sprint downfield to get back in the play, passing four or five of his teammates in the process, and he ended up catching up to the RB and punching the ball out. we must have rewound it and watched it five times. i remember saying to her that the best teams i have ever seen, across all sports, tend to have one thing in common- relentlessness. Joseph Ossai has been relentless over the last three games, and it has shown.

 

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that relentlessness is going to land Mr.Ossai one helluva career. 🤘🏼 Joe!

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