Brian Orakpo
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Brian Orakpo (born July 31, 1986 in Houston, Texas) is a defensive lineman playing the end position for The University of Texas at Austin Longhorns in the NCAA college football tournament. Orakpo is a physical specimen (bench presses 515 lbs., squats 600 lbs. and power cleans 380 lbs.) who has amazing speed, yet is considered as one of the strongest in the Longhorns' locker room. Taken under the wings of his more experienced teammates who went on to build their careers in the pro ranks, Orakpo has developed into Texas' go-to-guy in terms of pass-rushing, rising into the top of the national charts as one of the leaders in the QB sacks department.
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Personal Life
Brian is the son Nigerian immigrants who arrived in the United States (Houston) with little material wealth. They worked their way through school at Texas Southern University and through diligence and perseverance, they were able to develop strong careers---his mother owns a rehabilitation center and his father is a car dealer. Brian is not the first in the family to play collegiate football as his uncle, Chike, was a former standout at Iowa. As much as he is active on the football field, "Rak" as he is called by his peers, is also very much involved with different social activities. He is active in community service activities and has participated in the Teen Summit program, promoting voting as part of the youth council. After he graduated in high school, he went on a trip to his parents' native country of Nigeria where he was able to witness first hand the poverty of the Nigerians. He lost more than 20 pounds after his trip and reported to his first fall camp at Texas weighing only 210 pounds. Brian shares his Nigerian heritage with teammates Chris Ogbonnaya, Sam and Emmanuel Acho, Ishie Oduegwu, and Russell Carter, who were all born to parents who grew up in Nigeria and moved to the United States.
Aside from his exploits on the field, Brian is also known for his accomplishments off of it. He was a prep honor roll student who posted better than a 3.0 GPA and was a member of UT's Athletics Director's Honor Roll (Spring 2008).
Back in high school, Brian was actually more interested in playing hoops than tackling 'backs but when his growth stopped at 6-foot-4, he decided he'd better off playing as a defensive end with his height rather than as a point guard.
High School
Orakpo studied high school at Lamar High in Houston, Texas where he played alongside UT alum Drew Kelson under head coach Tom Nolan. As a three-year letterman and starting defensive end (also moonlighting as a tight end), Orakpo helped the Redskins post a three-year record of 29-8, winning atleast nine games in each of those three seasons. As a sophomore, Lamar went 9-3 and made it all the way into the regional finals. The following year, Orakpo piled up 10 sacks to help the Redskins duplicate their win-loss card to once again advance to the regional finals. His performance got him named into the all-district 18-5A first-team as well as into the All-Greater Houston selection. In 2003, Orakpo had some brilliant performances throughout his senior season, most notably his efforts against Yates (three sacks and eight solo tackles) and Sam Houston (two sacks and seven solo tackles) en route to helping his team move up into the state quarterfinals and an 11-2 finish. He however had to sit out one-third of his senior season due to injury but still, he recorded impessive numbers in tackles (36), tackles for loss (12), and sacks (9) that paved the way for his selection into the All-Greater Houston second-team and all-district 18-5A first-team.
As previously stated, Orakpo also plays basketball and he did for three seasons (freshman to junior) with the Redskins.
College
The three-star prospect and no.25 defensive end recruit in the nation, according to Scout.com, had offers to play for Texas, Colorado, Iowa State, and Texas A&M, but eventually decided to become a Longhorn.
2004
Redshirted.
2005
As a redshirt freshman, Orakpo lined up as a back-up to the likes of Tim Crowder and Brian Robison at the defensive end position. He made his collegiate debut in the lopsided win over Louisiana-Lafayette, where he had two tackles, a forced fumble and a pressure. At Columbus, he strut his wares against 4th ranked Ohio State and came up with a pair of tackles in the 3-point win. He also contributed in the blow-out wins over Missouri (two tackles), Oklahoma (three tackles and a PBD), 24th ranked Colorado (two tackles and a TFL), 10th ranked Texas Tech (one tackle and two pressures), Oklahoma State (season-high five tackles, a TFL, and 3 pressures), Baylor (4 tackles, 1 TFL), Kansas (1 QBH), and Texas A&M (4 tackles, 1 TFL and a fumble recovery). He also posted a tackle each in the Big 12 Championship win over the Buffaloes and in the National championship win over USC. For the season, Orakpo tallied 27 tackles, four TFLs, a half sack, nine pressures, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble in 13 games of action with a lone start against the Bears.
Among his post-season accolades include The Sporting News' Defensive Freshman of the Year and first-team Freshman All-America honors as well as the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and an honorable mention All-Big 12 pick from the league coaches. Texas finished the year with the 10th best defense in the nation (302.9 ypg) and was also ranked eighth in scoring defense (16.4 ppg), eighth in passing defense (172.0 ypg) and 33rd in rushing defense (130.9 ypg).
2006
During his sophomore year, Orakpo continued to be the Longhorns' top DE reliever. He began the year tallying three tackles, including a career-high two sacks, and a pressure in the 49-point victory over North Texas. Against top-ranked OSU, Orakpo started in place of Robison and tallied a tackle and two pressures in the 7-24 defeat. After that loss, the Longhorns regrouped to win their next 8 games, with Orakpo chipping in a PBD and two pressures at Rice; two tackles, including a sack, and a pressure against Iowa State; four tackles, including a TFL against Sam Houston State; three tackles and a pressure against No. 14 Oklahoma; a lone tackle against Baylor; a sack, a PBD and a pressure at No. 17 Nebraska; three tackles and two pressures at Texas Tech; and 1 tackle and a pressure against Oklahoma State. He also contributed one tackle in the 3-point loss at Kansas State, and five tackles, including a half sack in the regular-season ending loss to the Aggies. At the Alamo Bowl, Orakpo had a tackle as the Longhorns bested the Hawkeyes, 26-24.
For the year, Orakpo had 26 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 pass break-ups, and 11 quarterback hurries to help UT give up only an average of 61.2 yards rushing (3rd in the nation, 2nd on UT's all-time list), 297.4 yards per game (22nd NCAA) and 18.3 points per game (26th NCAA). He was also named as one of the Lowe's Most Improved Defensive Players to top it all off.
2007
With the departure of Crowder and Robison, Orakpo was expected to have a breakout year as the starting defensive end. However, in his season debut against Arkansas State, where he had three tackles and a half sack, Orakpo sustained an injury on his right knee which would force him to sit out Texas' ensuing four assignments. He was cleared to return about a month later and immediately made an impact off the bench, registering three tackles, two TFLs and a sack in just 17 snaps in the 1-TD loss to the 10th ranked Sooners. He returned to the starting line-up the following week and had five tackles, including a TFL, and three pressures in the 56-3 win over ISU. He held on to the starting spot during the remainder of the season and helped UT defeat Baylor, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech after posting five stops and three pressures against the Bears; five tackles, a sack, two PBD and a pressure against the Huskers; three stops and a pressure vs. the Cowboys; and four tackles, a sack and three pressures against the Red Raiders. In the regular season-finale upset loss to Texas A&M, Orakpo had four tackles, a sack and three pressures. In his third straight postseason appearance, Orakpo was named as the Defensive MVP of the Holiday Bowl after finishing with career highs in tackles (six) and TFLs (three) in addition to two sacks and a pressure to help the Longhorns defeat 12th ranked Arizona State, 52-34.
In the nine games he played, Orakpo totalled 37 tackles, nine TFLs, 5.5 sacks, 12 pressures, two PBDs and a forced fumble. He was also the recipient of one of the team's Frank Medina Rehabilitation Awards and was tabbed as one of the team's Outstanding Defensive Ends.
2008
Entering the season, Orakpo regained the hype he once had prior to 2007. He was named into the preseason watch lists of several national awards, including the Hendricks Award, Lott Trophy and Nagurski Trophy. He was also chosen to be part of the preseason Playboy All-American team where he joined only the best and brightest names in college football.
Orakpo began the year with a 3-tackle effort in the 42-point blow-out over Florida Atlantic. In the ensuing game at Texas-El Paso, he posted five stops including 1.5 sacks, and 3 QB hurries as the Longhorns recorded a 29-point massacre. He duplicated his tackle output against Rice, adding a pair of sacks for a whooping 29 yards loss, 2 pass break ups, 2 hurries, and a forced fumble in another 42-point triumph. Against Arkansas, he had four solo tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 QB sacks, one hurry, and another forced fumble in the 52-10 victory. At Colorado, he was down to 2 tackles as UT routed the Buffs, 38-14.
Career Stats
| Tackles | Tackles for Loss | Sacks | Misc | |||||||||||
| Year | Solo | Asst | Total | Ttl/G | TFL | TFLYds | TFL/G | Sacks | SckYds | Sck/G | PBU | QBH | FF | Blk |
| 2005 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 2.07 | 4.0 | 10 | 0.31 | 0.5 | 7 | 0.04 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 1.31 | 6.0 | 35 | 0.45 | 5.0 | 31 | 0.39 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 19 | 8 | 27 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 53 | 0.89 | 5.5 | 49 | 0.61 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
Achievements
2008
- Athlon Sports Preseason First Team All-Big 12
- Big 12 media Preseason First Team All-League
- Bronko Nagurski Award watch list
- Dave Campbell's Texas Football preseason first-team All-Texas
- ESPN's top workout warrior in the nation
- Hendricks Award watch list
- Lott Trophy watch list
- Phil Steele's Preseason Second Team All-Big 12
- Playboy Preseason All-American
2007
- Holiday Bowl Defensive MVP
- Phil Steele's Third Team All-Big 12
- UT's Frank Medina Rehabilitation Awards
- UT's Outstanding Defensive End (selection)
2006
- Lowe's one of the Most Improved Defensive Players
2005
- Big 12 coaches Defensive Freshman of the Year
- Big 12 coaches honorable mention All-League
- The Sporting News Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year
- The Sporting News Defensive Freshman of the Year
- The Sporting News first-team Freshman All-America
References
- Brian Orakpo Cfbstats.com
- Brian Orakpo Profile
- Brian Orakpo Scout.com Profile
- Five minutes with Texas DE Brian Orakpo
- Football: Nigerian roots cement bond for 5 Longhorns
- Nigerian immigrants’ sons an inspiration to Texas Longhorns
- Orakpo right at home starring for Texas
- Orakpo hopes to help improve Texas defense
- Orakpo's boxing work trains him for monster senior season
