Jeff Okudah
![]() Okudah with Lions in 2022 | |||||||||||
No. 11 –Houston Texans | |||||||||||
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Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Grand Prairie, Texas,U.S. | February 2, 1999||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | South Grand Prairie | ||||||||||
College: | Ohio State(2017–2019) | ||||||||||
NFL draft: | 2020/ Round: 1 / Pick: 3 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||
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Player stats atPFR |
Jeffrey Chidera Okudah(born February 2, 1999) is an American professionalfootballcornerbackfor theHouston Texansof theNational Football League(NFL). He playedcollege footballatOhio State,where he was aunanimous All-Americanin 2019 before being selected by theDetroit Lionsthird overall in the2020 NFL draft.
Early years
[edit]Okudah was born inGrand Prairie, Texasto Nigerian parents.[1]He attendedSouth Grand Prairie High SchoolinGrand Prairie, Texas.[2][3]A five-star recruit, he committed toOhio State Universityin January 2017.[4][5]
College career
[edit]As a true freshman at Ohio State in 2017, Okudah played in all 14 games and had 17 tackles.[6][7]As a sophomore in 2018, he played in 13 games, recording 32 tackles. As a junior in 2019, he recorded his first careerinterceptionagainst theMiami Redhawks.[8]As a junior in 2019, Okudah had 34 tackles, 9 passes defensed, and 3 interceptions. For his performance that season, he wasunanimously namedto the2019 College Football All-America Teamand was also named a finalist for theJim Thorpe Award.[9]Okudah decided to forgo his senior year by declaring for the2020 NFL draft.[10]
Professional career
[edit]Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft1+1⁄8in (1.86 m) |
205 lb (93 kg) |
32+5⁄8in (0.83 m) |
9+1⁄8in (0.23 m) |
4.48 s | 1.60 s | 2.65 s | 41.0 in (1.04 m) |
11 ft 3 in (3.43 m) |
11 reps | |||
All values fromNFL Combine[11][12] |
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Jeff_Okudah_Antonio_Gibson_WFT_vs_Lions_NOV2020_%28cropped%29.jpg/225px-Jeff_Okudah_Antonio_Gibson_WFT_vs_Lions_NOV2020_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Detroit Lions
[edit]Okudah was considered to be the best cornerback prospect in the2020 NFL draft,[13][14]where he was selected third overall by theDetroit Lions.[15]He signed his four-year rookie contract with the team on July 13, 2020.[16]The contract was worth a fully guaranteed $33.528 million, including a $21.944 million signing bonus.[17]He suffered a hamstring injury duringtraining campand missed the opening season game. He returned in Week 2 against theGreen Bay Packers,where he allowed three completions for 4 yards.[18]The following week, he recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown byArizona CardinalsquarterbackKyler Murray.[19]Okudah was placed oninjured reserveafter he underwent surgery to resolve a core muscle injury on December 15.[20][21]
During the Lions' 2021 season opener against theSan Francisco 49ers,Okudah ruptured hisAchilles tendonand was placed on injured reserve.[22]
Atlanta Falcons
[edit]Okudah was traded to theAtlanta Falconson April 13, 2023, in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the2023 NFL draft.[23]
Houston Texans
[edit]On March 15, 2024, Okudah signed a one-year contract with theHouston Texans.[24]
NFL career statistics
[edit]Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
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GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
2020 | DET | 9 | 6 | 47 | 41 | 6 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 36.0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | DET | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | DET | 15 | 15 | 73 | 59 | 14 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | ATL | 13 | 9 | 44 | 34 | 10 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 38 | 31 | 168 | 137 | 31 | 0.0 | 13 | 2 | 56 | 28.0 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
References
[edit]- ^Rogers, Justin (October 28, 2020)."'It's right there, right at home': Nigerian unrest hits close to home for Lions quartet ".The Detroit News.RetrievedJune 9,2024.
- ^Davenport, Richard (October 4, 2015)."Texas defensive back impresses off the field, too".Arkansas Democrat Gazette.Archivedfrom the original on September 27, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 27,2019.
- ^Zaleon, Avi (February 3, 2016)."Say hello to the new No.1 recruit in DFW: South Grand Prairie's Jeffrey Okudah".Dallas News.Archivedfrom the original on April 21, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 27,2019.
- ^Olson, Max (January 7, 2017)."Five-star safety Jeffrey Okudah commits to Ohio State".ESPN.com.Archivedfrom the original on September 27, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 27,2019.
- ^"Ohio State lands commitment from five-star athlete Jeffrey Okudah".SI.com.January 7, 2017.Archivedfrom the original on September 27, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 27,2019– via Scout.com.
- ^Rabinowitz, Bill (April 4, 2018)."Ohio State football | Jeffrey Okudah has persevered through pain".The Columbus Dispatch.Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 27,2019.
- ^May, Tim (September 15, 2018)."Ohio State-TCU | Buckeyes' Jeffrey Okudah has history with Horned Frogs QB".Buckeyextra.Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 27,2019.
- ^Baird, Nathan (September 22, 2019)."Ohio State football's Jeff Okudah relishes first career interception against Miami of Ohio".Cleveland.com.Archivedfrom the original on September 27, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 27,2019.
- ^Hooley, Bruce (January 9, 2020)."Chase Young, Jeff Okudah Likely to go 2–3 in NFL Draft".SI.com.Archivedfrom the original on October 16, 2021.RetrievedApril 9,2020.
- ^Wells, Adam (January 1, 2020)."Ohio State CB Jeff Okudah Declares for 2020 NFL Draft After Loss to Clemson".Bleacher Report.Archivedfrom the original on January 2, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 10,2020.
- ^"Jeffrey Okudah Draft and Combine Prospect Profile".NFL.com.Archivedfrom the original on February 23, 2021.RetrievedMarch 5,2020.
- ^"2020 Draft Scout Jeffrey Okudah, Ohio State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile".draftscout.com.Archivedfrom the original on December 18, 2022.RetrievedDecember 18,2022.
- ^Hanson, Kevin (March 15, 2020)."2020 NFL Draft Rankings: Cornerbacks".SI.com.Archivedfrom the original on May 2, 2020.RetrievedApril 8,2020.
- ^Kartje, Ryan (April 7, 2020)."A top pick in NFL draft? Ohio State corner Jeff Okudah has it covered".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on April 10, 2020.RetrievedApril 8,2020.
- ^Birkett, Dave (April 23, 2020)."It's official! Detroit Lions take Jeff Okudah with No. 3 pick in 2020 NFL draft".Detroit Free Press.Archivedfrom the original on April 24, 2020.RetrievedApril 23,2020.
- ^Patra, Kevin."Lions agree with No. 3 overall pick Jeff Okudah on rookie contract".NFL.com.Archivedfrom the original on July 13, 2020.RetrievedJuly 13,2020.
- ^"Jeff Okudah's Contract Details Revealed".SI.com.July 15, 2020.Archivedfrom the original on October 1, 2021.RetrievedOctober 1,2021.
- ^"Jones' big day helps Packers beat Lions 27–14 in home opener".ESPN.com.Associated Press. September 20, 2020.Archivedfrom the original on September 23, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 20,2020.
- ^"Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals – September 27th, 2020".Pro-Football-Reference.com.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 30,2020.
- ^Alper, Josh (December 15, 2020)."Jeff Okudah says core muscle surgery went well".ProFootballTalk.Archivedfrom the original on January 11, 2021.RetrievedDecember 15,2020.
- ^Schlitt, Erik (December 16, 2020)."Detroit Lions officially place Jeff Okudah on IR".USAToday.com.Archivedfrom the original on January 19, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 2,2021.
- ^Woodyard, Eric (September 13, 2021)."Source: Lions' Okudah (Achilles) out for season".ESPN.com.Archivedfrom the original on September 13, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 13,2021.
- ^"Lions trade CB Jeff Okudah to Atlanta Falcons".DetroitLions.com.April 13, 2023.RetrievedMay 18,2023.
- ^"Houston Texans Transactions (03-15-2024)".HoustonTexans.com.March 15, 2024.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1999 births
- Living people
- People from Grand Prairie, Texas
- Players of American football from Ellis County, Texas
- Players of American football from Dallas County, Texas
- Players of American football from Tarrant County, Texas
- South Grand Prairie High School alumni
- American players of American football of Nigerian descent
- American football cornerbacks
- Ohio State Buckeyes football players
- All-American college football players
- Detroit Lions players
- 21st-century African-American sportspeople
- Atlanta Falcons players
- Houston Texans players