STILLWATER — It's the night before an Oklahoma State football game, and players report to the team hotel for an evening of peace before an afternoon of chaos.
In one of those rooms, on one of those beds, is junior defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound, 22-year-old peers through a set of black rimmed glasses at a video screen and presses play.
“That whole night,” teammate Trace Clark said, “he's watching highlight reels of NFL defensive ends.”
Translation: Emmanuel Ogbah does his homework. But that's nothing new.
Just ask former Cowboy defensive tackle James Castleman, who lined up beside Ogbah in all 13 games last season.
"He'll look at other players throughout the country, 'This guy has this many sacks, I gotta beat this guy.' He pays attention all the time," said Castleman before the Cactus Bowl. "We'll mention it to him like, 'Eman, this guy has got you, man. He's beating you, bro. Where are you at?'
"He's like, 'Nah, nah, I'm going to get him. I'm going to catch up with him.'”
Motivation has never been a problem for Ogbah.
Yet, he's received even more lately, should Ogbah care to use it 2:30 p.m. Saturday against undefeated TCU and its Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Trevone Boykin.
The Rotary Lombardi Award — given annually to the nation's best offensive/defensive lineman or linebacker and voted on by select head coaches, media members and former winners — released its semifinalists Thursday. Ogbah, who leads the Big 12 in sacks per game (1.3) and tackles for loss (13.5), did not make the cut. He was also absent from midseason All-American projections from CBS, Yahoo and ESPN.
So, how might that make Ogbah feel?
“I don't really pay attention for that stuff,” said Ogbah on Monday, 48 hours before the Rotary Lombardi Award semifinalists were published. “People have their opinion of people who should be on that list. You can't control other people's opinions, so I just have to do the best I can for myself and my teammates.”
Ogbah might not have cared publicly — as he tweeted, “I'm not worried about any individual awards, I'm worried about 9-0!!!” — but the OSU athletic department sure did.
It fired off a harshly toned press release soon after the Rotary Lombardi Award snub, justified by a statistical comparison between Ogbah and the six defensive end semifinalists. Ogbah has compiled more sacks (9) than four, more tackles for loss (13.5) than three, and outranks all in quarterback hurries (14).
“I don't know who is out there that could be further along than (Ogbah),” OSU coach Mike Gundy said.
However, in revealing how Ogbah went from playing barefoot street soccer with his friends as a child in Lagos, Nigeria, to gaining 45 pounds of muscle over three years at OSU, to being named the 2014 Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, outside noise has little to do with his success.
“His focus in this last offseason was unreal,” receiver David Glidden said. “You could just see it. The look in his eyes that he had was just different.”
The NCAA limits hands-on coaching in the offseason, but players can still put in work on their own time. So, it's easy to imagine defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer's delight as he walked past Ogbah in the football offices on his way to the film room or when Spencer saw photos on social media of Ogbah working out in Houston with fellow OSU defensive end Jimmy Bean.
“You say, ‘Alright, this kid is wanting to get better,'” Spencer said. “While the other ones are over there kicked up in their room playing video games.”
By picking apart his own mistakes, Ogbah grew to be an even more dominant force in 2015. He needed only eight games to break the single-season program record for quarterback hurries. He's been involved on at least one sack in every game this season. And in OSU's overtime victory at West Virginia, Ogbah scored a defensive touchdown and forced two fumbles.
“He's more disruptive this year,” Spencer said. “I definitely see a little more power in his bull rush. I think his hands have become more violent. I could go on and on. It's probably boring.”
Glidden said Ogbah is “simply a man amongst boys.”
But for whatever reason, it appears his talents have gone overlooked by some. Even Spencer, who usually recoils at questions about media predictions and award watch lists, understands the frustration.
“What I hate it about it is those can keep a kid like that, that's really good, from getting the honors he deserves just because of bias,” Spencer said. “That's what sad about it. I hate that I have to even entertain it, that you would have to even publicize what he does, because you have to. You've got to play the game or your kids don't get recognized. It's not fair to them.”
However, it there was ever a time for Ogbah to gain steam in the national spotlight, Saturday provides the platform to do it.
Boykin's Heisman campaign would come to a screeching halt should Ogbah create havoc in the TCU backfield and the Cowboys emerge with a victory. A task made difficult, though, considering Boykin has been sacked just six times this year and possesses an innate ability to avoid the rush and make plays with his feet.
But Ogbah already knows that. The film doesn't lie. He's watched plenty.
“Trevone Boykin is a Heisman Trophy candidate,” Ogbah said. “He's supposed to be one of the best players in the country, so we have to be at our best to contain him and control their offense.”
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-state-fo...ch-more-than-award-list-snubs/article/5458755
In one of those rooms, on one of those beds, is junior defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound, 22-year-old peers through a set of black rimmed glasses at a video screen and presses play.
“That whole night,” teammate Trace Clark said, “he's watching highlight reels of NFL defensive ends.”
Translation: Emmanuel Ogbah does his homework. But that's nothing new.
Just ask former Cowboy defensive tackle James Castleman, who lined up beside Ogbah in all 13 games last season.
"He'll look at other players throughout the country, 'This guy has this many sacks, I gotta beat this guy.' He pays attention all the time," said Castleman before the Cactus Bowl. "We'll mention it to him like, 'Eman, this guy has got you, man. He's beating you, bro. Where are you at?'
"He's like, 'Nah, nah, I'm going to get him. I'm going to catch up with him.'”
Motivation has never been a problem for Ogbah.
Yet, he's received even more lately, should Ogbah care to use it 2:30 p.m. Saturday against undefeated TCU and its Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Trevone Boykin.
The Rotary Lombardi Award — given annually to the nation's best offensive/defensive lineman or linebacker and voted on by select head coaches, media members and former winners — released its semifinalists Thursday. Ogbah, who leads the Big 12 in sacks per game (1.3) and tackles for loss (13.5), did not make the cut. He was also absent from midseason All-American projections from CBS, Yahoo and ESPN.
So, how might that make Ogbah feel?
“I don't really pay attention for that stuff,” said Ogbah on Monday, 48 hours before the Rotary Lombardi Award semifinalists were published. “People have their opinion of people who should be on that list. You can't control other people's opinions, so I just have to do the best I can for myself and my teammates.”
Ogbah might not have cared publicly — as he tweeted, “I'm not worried about any individual awards, I'm worried about 9-0!!!” — but the OSU athletic department sure did.
It fired off a harshly toned press release soon after the Rotary Lombardi Award snub, justified by a statistical comparison between Ogbah and the six defensive end semifinalists. Ogbah has compiled more sacks (9) than four, more tackles for loss (13.5) than three, and outranks all in quarterback hurries (14).
“I don't know who is out there that could be further along than (Ogbah),” OSU coach Mike Gundy said.
However, in revealing how Ogbah went from playing barefoot street soccer with his friends as a child in Lagos, Nigeria, to gaining 45 pounds of muscle over three years at OSU, to being named the 2014 Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, outside noise has little to do with his success.
“His focus in this last offseason was unreal,” receiver David Glidden said. “You could just see it. The look in his eyes that he had was just different.”
The NCAA limits hands-on coaching in the offseason, but players can still put in work on their own time. So, it's easy to imagine defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer's delight as he walked past Ogbah in the football offices on his way to the film room or when Spencer saw photos on social media of Ogbah working out in Houston with fellow OSU defensive end Jimmy Bean.
“You say, ‘Alright, this kid is wanting to get better,'” Spencer said. “While the other ones are over there kicked up in their room playing video games.”
By picking apart his own mistakes, Ogbah grew to be an even more dominant force in 2015. He needed only eight games to break the single-season program record for quarterback hurries. He's been involved on at least one sack in every game this season. And in OSU's overtime victory at West Virginia, Ogbah scored a defensive touchdown and forced two fumbles.
“He's more disruptive this year,” Spencer said. “I definitely see a little more power in his bull rush. I think his hands have become more violent. I could go on and on. It's probably boring.”
Glidden said Ogbah is “simply a man amongst boys.”
But for whatever reason, it appears his talents have gone overlooked by some. Even Spencer, who usually recoils at questions about media predictions and award watch lists, understands the frustration.
“What I hate it about it is those can keep a kid like that, that's really good, from getting the honors he deserves just because of bias,” Spencer said. “That's what sad about it. I hate that I have to even entertain it, that you would have to even publicize what he does, because you have to. You've got to play the game or your kids don't get recognized. It's not fair to them.”
However, it there was ever a time for Ogbah to gain steam in the national spotlight, Saturday provides the platform to do it.
Boykin's Heisman campaign would come to a screeching halt should Ogbah create havoc in the TCU backfield and the Cowboys emerge with a victory. A task made difficult, though, considering Boykin has been sacked just six times this year and possesses an innate ability to avoid the rush and make plays with his feet.
But Ogbah already knows that. The film doesn't lie. He's watched plenty.
“Trevone Boykin is a Heisman Trophy candidate,” Ogbah said. “He's supposed to be one of the best players in the country, so we have to be at our best to contain him and control their offense.”
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-state-fo...ch-more-than-award-list-snubs/article/5458755
