UCLA defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia has seen first-hand what success looks like. The meticulous master of defensive disruption knows that there is a recent blueprint from the Bruins to the NFL Draft and beyond. Learning from that blueprint, comparing himself to it, while trusting in the development of his game through four years at the program, has Ogbonnia perched between realizing a dream and making his family proud as he stands on the precipice of the NFL.
Otito Ogbonnia following the UCLA Bruins’ blueprint for defensive success
“Seeing where Osa [Odighizuwa] was at before he left, comparing and contrasting that type of stuff, I saw what it looked like for a guy who got drafted in the third round. I felt like I was ready to make that leap.”
UCLA’s Ogbonnia gives some incredible insight while answering my question about why he declared for the 2022 NFL Draft. He does so in the calm, measured, softly spoken voice that belies his destructive, strong, and dominant on-field performances. While technical development and understanding the process showcase his commitment to making it at the next level, it’s his self-comparison to his former teammate which intrigues.
Osa is, of course, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. His former UCLA teammate had an outstanding rookie season in the NFL. Their relationship helped Ogbonnia understand that he has what it takes to follow in his path. However, it’s been a mutually beneficial friendship for both men at UCLA and the position they’re in now.
“When we were at UCLA, it was one of those things that was really cool because we worked off of each other,” Ogbonnia explains. “Not just in games or practice. More so in individual time, whether that be film watch or getting extra work in on our own. I think that was important — that we had similar goals, and we understood what it took to get there.”
Ogbonnia and Odighizuwa put the “O” in Xs and Os
“I was definitely basing my work ethic off of his,” Ogbonnia continues. “We were bouncing off each other, with ideas on technique and things we should work on. Watching a pass-rush clip and analyzing it, talking it through. It was really cool to have someone you could look up to. At the time, he was definitely the stone in our defense. It was a help for me, and I think also to him to have another guy to compete with.
“I’ve talked to him quite a bit in this process,” Ogbonnia shifts to the NFL Draft. “He tells me things. Like, he was watching the Senior Bowl and this past season, giving me notes that he thinks I need to work on. He would ask me if I watched his games and what I thought about his technique and his playstyle.”
Work ethic, technical improvements, and a commitment to understanding the game have been a significant part of Ogbonnia’s ascension as an NFL Draft prospect. He’s coming off the back of the best statistical season of his college career, but don’t be fooled into thinking that is purely the result of opportunity. The UCLA star recognizes that he spent two years getting up to speed before dominating the final two.
“I’ve become more technically proficient. The second two years, I was able to apply that technique, apply my physical traits, and impose my will on other people. Aside from the physical stuff, deepening my understanding of the game. Understanding some of the concepts, understanding more of the Xs and Os, especially how the offense tries to attack our defense. Those things really helped these two years be big for me.”
Ogbonnia’s technical and physical development began in Texas
Ogbonnia is no stranger to ascending at the right time. At James E. Taylor High School in Texas, he tallied over 60 tackles and 10 tackles for loss as a junior. However, it was a senior season that saw him rack up an astounding 24 tackles for loss that showcased his ability to dominate opposing offensive lines. Again, the UCLA DT dedicates this disruptiveness to technical appreciation.
“I finally started conceptualizing the game in a way that I hadn’t before. Definitely understanding the Xs and Os and the true goals and job of my position. Understanding how to use my natural talents against guys, whether through leverage or specific techniques. Just studying the game was big for me. Because I always had the traits, and it was just putting it together in a way that was extremely effective.”
Hours spent studying the game have helped shape Ogbonnia into an effective, disruptive, and intelligent defensive tackle prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft. However, Ogbonnia’s time in high school also helped develop a physical specimen. As part of the track team, he was a Texas State champion in both shot put and discus, something that he was able to continue during his first season at UCLA and as a part of the USA Under-20 team.
“Those things meant everything to me,” Ogbonnia begins as he reflects on how his track ability helped build his physicality for football. “It was a really good way to finish off my high school career. Especially as I’d put so much time and effort into it, having taught myself. It was something I really enjoyed because it was so technical, required so much attention to detail, and required a lot of work to propel those instruments out there.”
The under-appreciated relationship between throwing and defensive line
“I felt like it helped from a football perspective,” Ogbonnia continues. “Obviously, understanding leverage. Understanding how your body moves. Understanding the physics of D-line and how that can also be the physics in the wrong. It was important to understand how my body worked. A lot of people have trouble understanding how they can be explosive, and I think throwing helped me grow to be more explosive.
“It’s a thing where you focus on doing the same thing over and over again. That’s also like playing D-line. It’s one of the things that’s really monotonous and requires a lot of time and attention and focus to do the same thing over and over again. You need to get better at the simple things, the basics. People think it’s all flashy, but it’s a lot of details, a lot of little things.”
Growing up as a defensive player in Texas, there was an NFL home team talent that made for an easy role model. While Ogbonnia mentions Fletcher Cox, Ndamukong Suh, and Akiem Hicks as comparable players to his playstyle, J.J. Watt was the player that inspired him as he embarked on his own football journey.
“Growing up in Texas, everybody thought of J.J. Watt as that guy. He was well known in the NFL and at the peak of his career during my high school and junior high years. Because of that, I tried to model at least my work ethic towards him. His game style, he was always energized, a high motor type of player. That was a big thing for me early on, knowing that this was the guy to look up to because he was doing it the right way.”
Football, faith, and family
“In Texas, it was one of those things where if you weren’t playing football, then what were you doing?” Ogbonnia laughs as he reflects on his childhood growing up in the heartland of high school football. Watching his older brother and friends play piqued a young kid’s interest, but it wasn’t until high school that the love for the game really began to burn deeply.Â
“I grew to love the game through high school. When I started seeing the work I can put in and the progress being made, that’s when I fell in love with the game. Just understanding that it was a very giving game as long as you gave to it and understanding that the game was really fun as long as you put the work in.”
Anaeze Ogbonnia, his older brother, was an outside linebacker and track athlete at James E. Taylor. Although his athletic prowess never ascended to the position that Otito finds himself in now, Anaeze played the role of an older brother and role model. The UCLA defensive tackle credits his sibling with helping him reach the precipice of the NFL.
“He really helped. I could see things off of what he did. Looking up to his failures, his trials and tribulations, and altering my game plan and decision-making from what I saw him doing. It helped having an older sibling that did it. Because I know if I was in his shoes, I probably wouldn’t have done it the way that I did do it.”
Parental guidance, Nigerian heritage, and Christian faith have shaped Ogbonnia
While acknowledging that “my parents weren’t too keen on me playing football,” their eventual support while instilling the importance of academics has shaped Ogbonnia both on and off the field during this football journey. A significant piece of that jigsaw puzzle is an understanding, appreciation, and embracing of his Nigerian heritage.
“It’s something that’s really prevalent in my household,” Ogbonnia explains. “My parents have done a really good job of instilling some of those cultural habits and traits in us from a young age. Having us understand our culture and where we’re from. Understand what it means to be Nigerian. It’s really helped with understanding myself, and really helpful for sports because of the discipline that is within the culture.”
An extension of his Nigerian heritage, the discipline, the cultural habits, is Ogbonnia’s faith and the role it plays in his life. Loosely translated from its Greek origin, “acolyte” means “server” or “companion.” It can also mean helper, assistant, and supporter. It’s a role that has helped define the UCLA defensive tackle in his day-to-day life.
“It’s been extremely important, one of my guiding principles in my life. That faith comes from my parents. They’re extremely faithful people, and they instilled that in us at a young age. Especially going to church, being a part of youth group, being an acolyte at my church. It’s one of the main things that I have in my back pocket when I need it, and definitely try to live my life in a certain way because of it.”
Ogbonnia talks about his career at UCLA
While his parents weren’t initially keen on Ogbonnia playing football, preferring for him to focus on academics, the two worlds were able to collide nicely as he progressed from high school to the college level. A three-star recruit in the 2018 class, Otito was the 49th-ranked defensive tackle. He held offers from local schools, including Texas Tech and SMU, but UCLA offered a tantalizing combination of both academic and athletics.
“I knew I wanted to go to an academically strong school like UCLA, it being the No. 1 public school in the country. That was the No. 1 thing, understanding that football doesn’t last forever, track doesn’t last forever, athletics doesn’t last forever. Understanding that I wanted to get a degree from the best place I could and UCLA served that purpose.”
“Secondly, UCLA was so big on athletics,” Ogbonnia continues to discuss his commitment to the Bruins. “It was one of those schools that really cared about athletics as much as they cared about academics and vice versa. That was something that was really important. It was the best of all those worlds for me.”
Despite being unsure initially whether he could make an immediate impact for the Bruins as a freshman, Ogbonnia “understood that I could definitely play quite a bit this season and even get some starts,” following impressive appearances in fall camp. He’d ultimately appear in 11 games, making 21 tackles while earning his first start against Oklahoma.Â
Making memories and a lasting impression with the Bruins
“I was really excited,” Ogbonnia reflects on making his starting debut. “Because I knew the guys we were going against. Guys like Kyler Murray. We were going against a really good offensive line. Guys that are playing in the NFL like Creed Humphrey and Cody Ford. I was so excited because you’re going against the best of the best, and not many times you get to do that as a freshman.”
Following solid seasons as he developed his skill set, technique, and understanding of the game, Ogbonnia emerged as a true NFL Draft prospect in his final season with UCLA. Setting career highs for tackles (27), tackles for loss (5), sacks (2), and adding 2 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble to his résumé, the UCLA DT asserted himself as a disruptive force in what was a standout season.
“It’s funny you say ‘as you look back,'” he begins. “It’s something you don’t really notice while you’re playing in the season. You’re just playing the best you can. It’s something I’ve looked back on and definitely appreciated what I accomplished. Definitely fortunate to be able to do it in the last year before I leave, and leave a really good, lasting mark at UCLA.”
“Being there with my teammates and getting us to our first bowl game.” UCLA had their best season (8-4) and qualified for the Holiday Bowl before pulling out due to implications of the ongoing global pandemic. “Of course, we didn’t get to play in it. But that was a big goal of mine, having been there for so many years, it was great.”
Ogbonnia ascending at the right time for the NFL Draft
“I did a lot studying on the game and numerous draft classes before this one,” Ogbonnia tells me about the decision to end his college career on a high and declare for the 2022 NFL Draft. “I definitely understood what it looked like when someone was ready and how somebody could increase their draft stock in the offseason.”
“Because of that, I knew what it needed to look like, and I felt like I was there. I definitely thought I could boost that, whether it be at the Combine or the Senior Bowl.”
With his performances in his senior season, Ogbonnia earned an invitation to the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl, giving him the opportunity to elevate his NFL Draft stock. The UCLA DT impressed the Pro Football Network team on the ground with “glimpses of explosiveness and violent hand moves” and “a great combination of natural leverage and proportional length.” But what did the UCLA standout think he showed in Mobile?
“I think the biggest thing for me was my ability to impose my will on guys when I put my mind to it. Being extremely disruptive, being able to run through people. Not necessarily in the prettiest way. Not like Aaron Donald flashiness but imposing [my] will on guys. Showcasing to scouts that I possess a certain level of explosiveness, athleticism, quickness to my game whether that’s in the run or against the pass.”
Making the family proud as Ogbonnia prepares to hear his name called in the NFL Draft
“It would mean everything,” Ogbonnia beams as I close out his exclusive interview with PFN by asking what it would mean to hear his name called in April. “It’s something I’ve been working for so many years of my life. I’ve put so much time and attention into it. For me, making my family proud and believing in me.”
Like so many prospects that we talk to in this 2022 NFL Draft process, football is just a part of the full picture that is Otito Ogbonnia. As he discussed with us, he’s a family man, a man of faith, proud of his Nigerian heritage. He’s an academic with a degree in Geography/Environment Studies. He’s also an avid fan of cooking, who stopped short of sharing a favorite dish but revealed a preferred cooking method.
“Something on the smoker. Just because it’s one of those things where you prepare it, then you set it, and it just goes for a number of hours. The finished product is always cool to see when something’s been put in the smoker for a while.”
It’s almost a perfect metaphor for Ogbonnia himself.
He’s prepared through hours of training, technical refinement, mental understanding of the game of football. The smoker represents the UCLA football program, nurturing and developing until their defensive tackle, like teammate Odighizuwa before him, was the finished product set to follow the blueprint for NFL success.
