Brian Orakpo

Brian Orakpo

refer to caption

Orakpo with the Washington Redskins in 2014
No. 98 Tennessee Titans
Position: Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: (1986-07-31) July 31, 1986
Place of birth: Houston, Texas
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight: 257 lb (117 kg)
Career information
High school: Houston (TX) Lamar
College: Texas
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 10, 2016
Total tackles: 331
Sacks: 56.0
Forced fumbles: 7
Interceptions: 1
Pass deflections: 22
Defensive touchdowns: 1
Player stats at NFL.com

Brian Ndubisi Orakpo (born July 31, 1986) is an American football outside linebacker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Texas, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins with the thirteenth overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. He has been selected to three Pro Bowls.

Early years

Orakpo was born in Houston, Texas to parents Gloria and Arthur Orakpo, who are immigrants from Nigeria.[1] His siblings are Jennifer (born 1988) and Michael (born February 5, 1991).[2] He played high school football at Lamar High School in Houston, Texas. He played defensive end and tight end and was a two-time First-team all-district selection. He also played basketball from his freshman to junior years.

College career

Orakpo as a Texas Longhorn.

Orakpo attended the University of Texas, where he played for coach Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns football team from 2004 to 2008. He was redshirted as a freshman in 2004, but in 2005 he played in all 13 games and started in one. He made an immediate impact for the Longhorns, helping them finish 10th in the nation at defense, recording 27 Tackles, a half sack, a forced fumble and recovered fumble. His play earned him Defensive Freshman of the Year and first-team Freshman All-America by The Sporting News.

As a sophomore in 2006 he played all 13 games, recording 26 tackles and 4.5 sacks and was named one of the Lowe's Most Improved Defensive Players. As a junior in 2007 he played in nine games and missed four due to right knee injury suffered against Arkansas State. He was the Defensive MVP of the 2007 Holiday Bowl after recording six tackles and two sacks during the game. He finished the season with 37 tackles and 5.5 sacks.

As a senior in 2008 Orakpo recorded 40 tackles and 11 sacks and was the Associated Press Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.[3] He also was the winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the best defensive player,[4] the Ted Hendricks Award, given to the top defensive end,[5] The Bill Willis Trophy given to the top collegiate defensive lineman, and the Lombardi Award, given to the best lineman or linebacker.[6] He was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American, after receiving first-team honors from the Associated Press,[7] American Football Coaches Association,[8] Football Writers Association of America,[9] The Sporting News,[10] and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.[11] He was the first Texas Longhorn defensive end to earn All-American honors since Tony Brackens in 1995.[12]

In his college career Orakpo recorded 132 tackles, 22 sacks, 38 tackles for loss, 62 pressures, six passes broken up, six forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Professional career

NFL Combine

Orakpo arrived at the 2009 NFL Combine with much anticipation following him with his well-known status as a "workout warrior".[12][13] He put up 31 repetitions of 225 pounds in the bench press, which was second best for a defensive end and 7th best amongst all defensive linemen. His 39.5-inch vertical jump was second for all defensive lineman and showed his great speed and acceleration while recording a 4.63 40-yard dash time.[14] He bench pressed 515 pounds, squatted 600 pounds, and power cleaned 380 pounds.[12]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BPWonderlic
6 ft 3 in 263 lb 4.63 s 1.58 s 2.66 s 4.45 s 7.26 s 39½ in 10 ft 10 in 31 reps25
20-ss, 3-cone, and Broad Jump from Texas Pro Day; all others from NFL Combine[15][16][17]

Washington Redskins

2009 season

Orakpo during a Redskins' preseason game in 2009.

Orakpo was drafted by the Washington Redskins 13th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. On July 31, he signed a five-year deal worth $20 million, which includes $12.1 million guaranteed.[18] On December 13, 2009 against the Oakland Raiders, Orakpo tied a Redskins record with four sacks in a game and was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

He was selected to the 2009 Pro Bowl as a reserve, one of only 6 rookies to do so, along with Chicago Bears Return Specialist Johnny Knox, Minnesota Vikings Return Specialist Percy Harvin, and Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews out of the NFC, with Houston Texans LB Brian Cushing and Buffalo Bills S Jairus Byrd from the AFC, all of which were reserve or replacement players. Orakpo became the first rookie Redskin to make the Pro Bowl since RB/KR Tony Green in 1978.

2010 season

In 2010, Orakpo had 56 tackles, 8.5 sacks and a forced fumble. He made his second Pro Bowl replacing Clay Matthews.

2011 season

In Week 4 of the 2011 NFL season against the St. Louis Rams, Orakpo was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week. He was credited with 2.5 sacks, five tackles (two for a loss), three quarterback hits and a forced fumble. In Week 17 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Orakpo suffered an injury to his left shoulder and pectoral muscle after sacking Michael Vick in the second quarter. He didn't play for the rest of the game. On January 10, 2012, it was confirmed that Orakpo had surgery on his shoulder.[19] Orakpo was chosen as an alternate for the 2012 Pro Bowl along with teammates, London Fletcher and Lorenzo Alexander.[20]

2012 season

Orakpo tore his left pectoral muscle again in Week 2 against the St. Louis Rams. Head coach Mike Shanahan confirmed the next day that he would have surgery and miss the remainder of the season to be placed on injured reserve.[21]

2013 season

Orakpo recorded his first career interception and returned it 29 yards for his first career touchdown in the 45-41 Week 7 win against the Chicago Bears.[22][23] Originally an alternate, Orakpo would replace Ahmad Brooks in the 2014 Pro Bowl.[24]

2014 season

Set to become a free agent during the 2014 offseason, it was announced on March 3, 2014, that the Redskins had placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Orakpo. This would allow the Redskins to match any offer by other teams that could have attempted to sign him.[25] On March 27, he signed his one-year franchise tender.[26] On October 19, 2014 Orakpo tore his pectoral muscle against the Tennessee Titans.[27]

Tennessee Titans

2015 season

On March 13, 2015, Orakpo signed a four-year contract worth up to $32 million with the Tennessee Titans.[28] He was named a defensive captain on October 21.[29]

NFL stats

Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD
2009 WSH 16 50 37 13 11.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2010 WSH 15 56 36 20 8.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2011 WSH 16 59 34 25 9.0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
2012 WSH 2 5 5 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
2013 WSH 15 60 43 17 10.0 0 2 0 1 29 29 29 1 4
2014 WSH 7 24 14 10 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Career 71 254 169 85 40 6 3 0 1 29 29 29 1 17

[30]

Key

Personal

Among Orakpo's endorsement contracts included one he signed in August 2011 with Geico,[31] and he has appeared in several commercials with one of that company's "caveman" spokespeople. While with the Redskins, Orakpo also appeared in several commercials for Eastern Motors, a D.C. area car dealership.

References

  1. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/tex/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/100908_fw.pdf
  2. ↑ http://www.csurams.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/orakpo_mike00.html Mike Orakpo Bio, Colorado State Univ Rams
  3. ↑ "UT sweeps AP's Big 12 player awards". Houston Chronicle. December 3, 2008. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008.
  4. ↑ Bianco, John (December 7, 2008). "Orakpo claims Nagurski Trophy one day after graduating". Mackbrown-Texasfootball.com. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
  5. ↑ Burch, Jimmy (December 10, 2008). "Texas' Brian Orakpo wins Hendricks Award over TCU's Hughes, four others". Fort Worth Star-Telegram website. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
  6. ↑ Halliburton, Suzanne (December 10, 2008). "Bevo Beat: Orakpo wins Lombardi". Austin American-Statesman website. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Associated Press names 2008 All-America Team". NCAAFootball.com. Associated Press. December 16, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Texas Tech's Harrell Headlines 2008 AFCA Coaches' All-America Team". American Football Coaches Association website. December 4, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  9. ↑ "2008 FWAA All-America team". Sportswriters.net. Football Writers Association of America. December 13, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Sporting News' college football All-American First Team". The Sporting News website. December 17, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  11. ↑ "2008 Walter Camp All America team". Walter Camp Foundation website. December 11, 2008. Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  12. 1 2 3 Feldman, Bruce (June 9, 2008). "College football's top workout warriors". ESPN The Magazine.
  13. ↑ "NFL combine: Browns become linebacker trackers".
  14. ↑ "Texas DE Brian Orakpo a sack specialist". Dallas Morning News. March 19, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Brian Orakpo". NFL Draft Scout.com. March 25, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Orakpo Does NotDisappoint At Texas Pro Day". NFL.com. March 25, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  17. ↑ Nawrocki, Nolan (April 21, 2009). "The Way We Hear It — draft edition". Pro Football Weeklywebsite. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
  18. ↑ John ClaytonNFL senior writerFollowArchive (2009-07-31). "Washington Redskins, Brian Orakpo agree to 5-year deal - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
  19. ↑ Jones, Mike (January 11, 2012). "Brian Orakpo's shoulder surgery is successful". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  20. ↑ Maese, Rick (December 28, 2011). "London Fletcher among Redskins' Pro Bowl alternates". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  21. ↑ Jones, Mike (September 17, 2012). "Brian Orakpo, Adam Carriker done for season". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  22. ↑ Tinsman, Brian (October 21, 2013). "Redskins-Bears Monday Stats Pack". Redskins.com. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  23. ↑ Zappulla, Jordan (October 22, 2013). "Sunday's Win Chock-Full Of Redskins Firsts". Redskins.com. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  24. ↑ Jones, Mike (January 21, 2014). "Brian Orakpo headed to third Pro Bowl". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  25. ↑ "Redskins place tag on Brian Orakpo". NFL.com. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  26. ↑ Walker, Andrew (March 27, 2014). "Orakpo Signs One-Year Franchise Tender". Redskins.com. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  27. ↑ Jones, Mike (October 20, 2014). "Brian Orakpo out for the season with pectoral injury". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  28. ↑ Jones, Mike. "Brian Orakpo agrees to terms with the Titans". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  29. ↑ Glennon, John (October 21, 2015). "Titans name six permanent captains". Tennessean.com. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Brian Orakpo Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  31. ↑ Martin, Cam (2011-08-24). "Redskins' Brian Orakpo To Appear In Geico Ads - TVNewser". Mediabistro.com. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
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