With the New York Jets, 2026. Photo: New York Jets, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Linebacker, Texas, 2018–⁠20

Joseph Ossai

Number: No. 46
Height: 6′4″
Weight: 253 lb
Class (2020): Junior
Hometown: Conroe, TX
Born: Apr 13, 2000

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Joseph Ossai played linebacker at Texas (2018–⁠20). He was a consensus All‑American in 2020. The Cincinnati Bengals took Ossai in round 3, No. 69 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Best season: 90; Tackles, 2019 (Texas, 8–⁠5)
Best game: 12 tackles; At Oklahoma State, week 9, 2020: No. 1 defensive game in FBS that week
Drafted: No. 69; Round 3, 2021 NFL Draft (Cincinnati Bengals)

12tackles, career highat Oklahoma State, 2020 3sacks, career hightwice; last at Oklahoma State, 2020

Honors

Defense

Tackles, season by season, with his team’s record

10–⁠4AP 98–⁠5AP 257–⁠3AP 19

Season	Team	Tkl	Solo	TFL	Sacks	Int	PD	Hur
2018	Texas	20	13	1	1	0	0	0
2019	Texas	90	61	13.5	5	2	1	9
2020	Texas	55	25	15.5	5.5	0	2	2
Career		165	99	30	11.5	2	3	11

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.

On the roster

Season	Team	No.	Pos	Class	Ht	Wt
2018	Texas	46	LB	Fr.
2019	Texas	46	LB	So.
2020	Texas	46	LB	Jr.	6′4″	253

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Game by game

2020 Texas 9 games, 55 tackles, 5.5 sacks

Date	Opponent	Result	Tkl	Solo	TFL	Sacks	PD
Sep 12	vs.UTEP	W 59–⁠3	8	2	0.5	0	0
Sep 26	atTexas Tech	W 63–⁠56	2	1	0	0	2
Oct 3	vs.TCU	L 31–⁠33	11	2	3.5	1	0
Oct 10	vs.Oklahoma	L 45–⁠53	10	6	2	0.5	0
Oct 24	vs.Baylor	W 27–⁠16	3	2	0	0	0
Oct 31	atOklahoma State	W 41–⁠34	12	7	6	3	0
Nov 7	vs.West Virginia	W 17–⁠13	3	2	1	0	0
Nov 27	vs.Iowa State	L 20–⁠23	3	0	0.5	0	0
Dec 5	atKansas State	W 69–⁠31	3	3	2	1	0

2019 Texas 13 games, 90 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 INT

Date	Opponent	Result	Tkl	Solo	TFL	Sacks	Int	PD
Aug 31	vs.Louisiana Tech	W 45–⁠14	5	5	1	0	1	0
Sep 7	vs.LSU	L 38–⁠45	3	2	1	1	1	0
Sep 14	vs.Rice	W 48–⁠13	5	1	0	0	0	0
Sep 21	vs.Oklahoma State	W 36–⁠30	8	5	2	1	0	0
Oct 5	atWest Virginia	W 42–⁠31	8	7	1	0	0	0
Oct 12	vs.Oklahoma	L 27–⁠34	8	6	1	0	0	1
Oct 19	vs.Kansas	W 50–⁠48	8	6	0.5	0	0	0
Oct 26	atTCU	L 27–⁠37	10	5	0.5	0	0	0
Nov 9	vs.Kansas State	W 27–⁠24	5	5	0	0	0	0
Nov 16	atIowa State	L 21–⁠23	9	4	0.5	0	0	0
Nov 23	atBaylor	L 10–⁠24	8	7	0	0	0	0
Nov 29	vs.Texas Tech	W 49–⁠24	4	2	0	0	0	0
Dec 31 ✦	vs.Utah	W 38–⁠10	9	6	6	3	0	0

2018 Texas 7 games, 20 tackles, 1 sack

Date	Opponent	Result	Tkl	Solo	TFL	Sacks
Sep 15	vs.USC	W 37–⁠14	1	1	0	0
Sep 29	atKansas State	W 19–⁠14	1	1	0	0
Nov 3	vs.West Virginia	L 41–⁠42	1	1	0	0
Nov 10	atTexas Tech	W 41–⁠34	1	1	0	0
Nov 17	vs.Iowa State	W 24–⁠10	3	1	1	1
Nov 23	atKansas	W 24–⁠17	5	3	0	0
Jan 1 ✦	vs.Georgia	W 28–⁠21	8	5	0	0

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

Drill	Pro day 2021
Height	6′3¾″
Weight	256 lb
Arm length	33⅞″
Hand size	9⅜″
Wingspan	80⅝″
40-yard dash	4.62 s
10-yard split	1.58 s
Vertical jump	41½″
Broad jump	10′11″
Bench press	19 reps

Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

5 seasons, 56 games with a stat; latest team: New York Jets.

Season	Team	G	Tkl	Sacks
2022	Cincinnati Bengals	13	17	3.5
2023	Cincinnati Bengals	10	9	1
2024	Cincinnati Bengals	17	45	5
2025	Cincinnati Bengals	14	41	5
2026 (so far)	New York Jets	2	9	0
NFL career		56	121	14.5

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.

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At a glance

Career highs