Name: Adewale Ogunleye
Height/Weight: 6-4, 255
Position: DE
Born: 8/9/77
College: Indiana '00
Acquired: FA, '00
NFL: Fourth Season
Dolphins: Fourth Season
Pro
2003 - For the season had 72 tackles, led the Dolphins with 15 sacks for a total of 71 yards in losses, and had six passes defensed ... With 15 sacks he set a new single season career best, topping his previous season high of 9.5 sacks, set in 2002 ... Ranked first in the AFC and tied for second in the NFL in sacks ... Finished second on the Dolphins in tackles once this season ... Started all 16 games.
SACKS: Ogunleye has five multiple sack games this season and has seven such games in his career ... With 15 sacks this season, Ogunleye is tied for the fifth highest single season sack total in Dolphin history ... With 15 sacks this season, Ogunleye ranked first in the AFC and tied for second in the NFL in sacks ... Along with Jason Taylor, who was second in the AFC with 13 sacks, the tandem became the third duo since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to finish 1-2 in a conference in sacks, joining Carolina’s Kevin Greene (14.5) and Lamar Lathon (13.5) in 1996, and the Dolphins’ Trace Armstrong (16.5) and Taylor (14.5) in 2000 ... Ogunleye and Taylor’s combined total of 28.0 sacks this season is the most by any pair of teammates in the NFL ... In addition, Ogunleye and Taylor’s combined 28.0 sacks is tied for the third most productive sack combination in Dolphin history.
HONORS: Was named as AFC Defensive Player of the Week for the week of September 21-22 after his performance on Sept. 21 vs. Buffalo ... It was the second AFC Defensive Player of the Week award of his career; he also earned that honor for the games of November 17, 2002.
PRO BOWL: Was named to the 2003 AFC Pro Bowl team along with teammates Brock Marion, Patrick Surtain, and Zach Thomas ... It is the first Pro Bowl of his career ... He is the sixth defensive end in Dolphin history to be named to the Pro Bowl, along with Bill Stanfill (1972-74), Doug Betters (1983), Jeff Cross (1990), Trace Armstrong (2000), and Jason Taylor (2000, 2002).
GAME HIGHLIGHTS -- VS. N.Y. JETS (DEC. 28): On Dec. 28th vs. N.Y. Jets had five tackles including one sack, tackling Jets quarterback Chad Pennington for a nine-yard loss.
AT BUFFALO (DEC. 21): On Dec. 21st at Buffalo had five tackles, including 1.5 sacks for ten yards in losses, and added one fumble recovery ... Had an eight-yard sack of Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe and combined with Jason Taylor on a four-yard sack of Bledsoe ... It was his sixth multiple sack game of the season and the eighth multiple sack game of his career.
AT NEW ENGLAND (DEC. 7): On Dec. 7th at New England had four tackles including 1.5 sacks for three yards in losses, tackling Patriot quarterback Tom Brady for a two-yard loss, and combining with Jason Taylor for a two-yard sack of Brady ... It was his sixth multiple sack game of the season and the eighth multiple sack game of his career.
AT DALLAS (NOV. 27): On Nov. 27th at Dallas had four tackles including two sacks, tackling Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter twice for a total of five yards in losses ... It was his fifth multiple sack game of the season and the seventh multiple sack game of his career ... Also forced a Carter fumble which was recovered by Jason Taylor and returned 34 yards for a touchdown.
VS. BALTIMORE (NOV. 16): On Nov. 16th vs. Baltimore had seven tackles including one sack, tackling Ravens quarterback Anthony Wright for a two-yard loss ... It was his tenth sack of the season surpassing surpassing his previous single season high of 9.5 sacks accomplished in 2002.
VS. INDIANAPOLIS (NOV. 2): On Nov. 2nd vs. Indianapolis had eight tackles including two sacks, tackling Colts quarterback Peyton Manning twice for a total of nine yards in losses ... It was his fourth multiple sack game of the season and the sixth multiple sack game of his career.
AT SAN DIEGO (OCT. 27): On Oct. 27th at San Diego had four tackles including two sacks, tackling Charger quarterback Drew Brees twice for a total of 17 yards in losses ... It was his third multiple sack game of the season and the fifth multiple sack game of his career.
AT JACKSONVILLE (OCT. 12): On Oct. 12th at Jacksonville had seven tackles including three sacks, tackling Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich three times for a total of 11 yards in losses ... It tied his single game career high in sacks; he also had three sacks on November 17, 2002 vs. Baltimore ... It also was his second multiple sack game of the season and the fourth multiple sack game of his career ... Also added two passes defensed and one forced fumble in that Jaguars contest.
VS. BUFFALO (SEPT. 21): On Sept. 21st vs. Buffalo finished second on the team with seven tackles including two sacks, tackling Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe twice for a total of eight yards in losses ... It was the second time in his career that he had two or more sacks in a game ... For his efforts in that contest he was named as AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
2002 – Stepped into starting role at left defensive end with departure of Kenny Mixon via free agency (Minnesota) ... Opened all 16 contests and teamed with Jason Taylor to form the NFL’s most potent sack tandem in 2002 ... Was eighth on the team and second among linemen with 59 total tackles (36 solo) ... Registered 9.5 sacks for 62 yards in losses, 26 quarterback hurries, two fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and three passes defensed ... Sack total was second on the club, sixth in the AFC and 17th in the NFL ... Part of a unit that produced 47 sacks on the year, the third-highest total in franchise history ... Established a Dolphins preseason record with eight sacks.
AMONG NFL SACK TANDEMS: Along with DE Jason Taylor’s 18.5 sacks, Ogunleye was part of the top sack tandem in the NFL in 2002, five ahead of their nearest competitors.
AMONG DOLPHINS SACK TANDEMS: The 28 combined sacks by Ogunleye and Taylor was the third-highest figure ever for a tandem in Dolphins history.
SACK STREAK: Ogunleye had a sack in four straight contests in 2002, a streak which spanned games 12-15 and ended in the season finale at New England (12/29), when he was shut out by the Patriots ... This streak is tied for the fourth-longest in Dolphins history.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS – VS. N.Y. JETS (SEPT. 22): Had four tackles, including the first full sack of his NFL career as he dropped Jets QB Vinny Testaverde for a three-yard loss.
AT KANSAS CITY (SEPT. 29): Established a season-high with seven tackles, in addition to a season-high two passes defensed.
VS. NEW ENGLAND (OCT. 6): Tallied two tackles, including the first fumble recovery of his career in 26-13 win as the Dolphins held the Patriots to just 37 net rushing yards ... Fumble recovery occurred at the Patriots’ 39 after Jason Taylor stripped the ball from Tom Brady on a sack ... It led to a Dolphins touchdown nine plays later.
AT DENVER (OCT. 13): Posted five tackles, including his second sack of the season in the Dolphins’ 24-22 win.
VS. BALTIMORE (NOV. 17): Had his best game of the season as he recorded seven tackles, including three sacks for 20 yards in losses, in the Dolphins’ 26-7 victory, as they held the Ravens to just 157 yards of total offense and a 2.8-yard average per offensive play ... It marked the first multiple sack game of his career, and his three sacks were part of a seven-sack day by the Dolphins’ defense... Also forced a fumble ... For his efforts, was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week, the first such honor of his career ... Since the award was instituted in 1984, Ogunleye is just the second Dolphins defensive lineman to earn Defensive Player of the Week accolades during the regular season, joining Jason Taylor.
AT BUFFALO (DEC. 1): Notched two tackles, including a sack, commencing a streak of four straight games with a sack.
VS. CHICAGO (DEC. 9): Had three tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a 27-9 Monday night win over the Bears as the Dolphins limited Chicago to 195 yards of total offense ... Sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery all occurred on the same play in the fourth quarter as he tackled Bears QB Chris Chandler for a six-yard loss, stripped him of the ball and then recovered at the Bears’ 18, leading to a field goal four plays later.
AT MINNESOTA (DEC. 21): Registered five tackles, including 1.5 sacks and a pass defensed ... Extended his sack streak to four games in a row, tying for the fourth-longest such streak in Dolphins history.
AT NEW ENGLAND (DEC. 29): Collected four tackles and a forced fumble as he stripped the ball from Tom Brady following a four-yard gain in the first quarter, and Zach Thomas recovered ... Was held without a sack for the first time in five games.
2001 – Played in seven games, all in a reserve role ... Finished with five total tackles (2 solo) and a half-sack ... After being inactive each of the first three weeks of the season, made NFL debut in a reserve role vs. New England (10/7) ... Tallied a half-sack vs. Carolina (11/4) ... Registered two tackles at Indianapolis (11/11) ... Was inactive for First-Round Playoff game vs. Baltimore (1/13/02).
2000 – Signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted rookie free agent on April 25, 2000 ... Spent his entire rookie season on the Dolphins’ Reserve/Non-Football Injury list while still recovering from a knee injury sustained during his senior season of college.
College
Was a four-year letterman and starter (1996-99) at Indiana, during which time he played in 39 games, starting 37 of them ... Finished with 167 total tackles, including 64 for loss, 34 sacks for 247 yards in losses and three fumble recoveries ... Sack total ranks fifth on the Big Ten all-time sack chart ... Started each of the first six games of his senior season before sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the sixth game of the season, on October 9 against Northwestern ... Prior to the injury, had tallied 22 tackles, including 11 for loss, and 7.5 sacks ... Was a second-team All-Conference pick as a junior when he started all 11 games and registered 56 tackles, including 17 for loss, and eight sacks ... Was a first-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore when he started all 11 contests and recorded 42 tackles, and career-high totals of 21 stops for loss and ten sacks ... Notched a career-high four sacks against Ohio State ... Started nine of the 11 games in which he played as a redshirt freshman in 1996 and tallied 47 tackles, including team-high figures of 15 stops for loss and 8.5 sacks ... Redshirted as a true freshman in 1995 ... Earned degree in English, was enrolled in postgraduate work during the 1999 season.
Personal
Single ... Was an all-city selection as a senior at Tottenville High School in Staten Island, N.Y ... Has done work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Read Across America ... Has assisted in building houses for Habitat for Humanity ... Often spends his off days speaking in schools, visiting hospitals or attending other charity events ... Lists “The Matrix” as favorite movie, “Cosby” as favorite television show, “Wu-Tang” as favorite recording artists and Jerry Rice as favorite athlete ... Goes by the nickname “Wah-LAY” ... Born August 9, 1977, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Allan
