Oshiomogho Atogwe life and biography

Oshiomogho "O. J." Atogwe is a Canadian American football safety who plays for the St. Louis Rams of the NFL.

Pro Highlights:
Designated as non-exclusive franchise player by St. Louis (2/19/09)…selected by St. Louis in the third round (66th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft (4/23/05).

PRO:
Has played in 60 career games, starting 48 consecutive contests since the start of the 2006 season…Atogwe’s 32 combined forced fumbles and interceptions (16 interceptions, 16 forced fumbles) since the start of 2006 are the most in the NFL during that time period…recorded a career-high and NFC-leading eight interceptions in 2007…since the start of 2007, Atogwe’s 13 interceptions rank second in the NFL…earned first career NFC Defensive Player of the Week Award in Week 6 of the 2008 season after his performance at Washington (10/12/08).

2009 SEASON: Started 12 games before being placed on reserved/injured list with a shoulder injury (12/9)…despite missing four games, finished second on the team with 82 tackles (38 solo), 1.0 sack, two interceptions, three passes defensed, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries…Week 1 at Seattle (9/13): Finished second on the team with 11 tackles (six solo) and one interception…Week 5 vs. Minnesota (10/11): Sacked QB Brett Favre for a 4-yard loss…marked first sack of the season, third of his career…Week 6 at Jacksonville (10/18): Led the team with 11 tackles (four solo)…Week 10 vs. New Orleans (11/15): Tied for team lead with eight tackles (three solo)…made second interception of the season…added first forced fumble of the season, causing WR Marques Colston to fumble at the St. Louis 1-yard line…Week 13 at Chicago (12/6): Forced two fumbles and recovered one in the first half…tied a career-high with two forced fumbles, last vs. Miami (11/30/08)…did not play the second half due to shoulder injury.

2008 SEASON: Started all 16 games at free safety for the third consecutive season…registered a career-high 109 tackles (72 solo)…led the Rams with five interceptions, a career-high eight forced fumbles and a career-high three fumble recoveries…finished the season strong, recording five interceptions, six forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in the final 13 games…Week 6 at Washington (10/12): Earned first career NFC Defensive Player of the Week award after helping the Rams to their first victory of the season…recorded seven tackles (three solo), a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, which he returned 75 yards for a touchdown to give the Rams a 10-7 halftime advantage…touchdown was the Rams’ first defensive touchdown since Atogwe returned an interception for a touchdown at Arizona (12/30/07)…Week 7 vs. Dallas (10/19): Registered the second multi-interception game of his career, previously accomplished vs. Green Bay (12/16/07)…tied a career-high with two interceptions, returning them for 59 yards with a 43-yard long.

2007 SEASON: Led the team with eight interceptions, most in the NFC (second in the NFL)…made interceptions in four consecutive games, becoming the first Ram to do so since Anthony Newman made intereceptions in four consecutive games from 1991-92…eight interceptions were the most by a Ram since DB Dexter McCleon had eight in 2000…vs. Green Bay (12/16): Made two interceptions…made first interception off of QB Brett Favre with :23 remaining in the first half…recorded second interception of the game in the fourth quarter…first multi-interception game of career…at Arizona (12/30): Recorded five tackles (four solo) and one interception in season finale…picked off QB Kurt Warner in the third quarter and returned the ball 52 yards for a touchdown…first touchdown of career.

2006 SEASON: Started all 16 games…finished third on the team in tackles and tied for first in forced fumbles…at Carolina (11/19): Recorded two forced fumbles for the second consecutive week after forcing two fumbles at Seattle (11/12)…vs. San Francisco (11/26): Helped seal the game with a fourth quarter interception…vs. Washington (12/24): Forced a fourth-quarter fumble that helped send the game into overtime.

2005 SEASON: Played in 12 games…at Houston (11/27): Made first career sack…at Dallas (1/1/06): Made first career interception in season finale.

College Highlights:
Recorded nine career interceptions, tied for eighth on Stanford’s career-record list…All-Pac-10 honorable mention as a senior…winner of the Jack Huston Award as the team member “exemplifying aggressiveness, exceptional performance, and unheralded efforts”…second-team All-Pac-10 selection and team co-MVP as a junior…redshirted as a true freshman…member of Stanford track team in 2001 and 2002…participated in sprints and jumps…biological science major.

Personal :
Born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada…name pronounced OH-shim-ago uh-TOG-way…attended Kellogg Business School at Northwestern University as part of the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program in March 2009…All-Canadian, All-Ontario, and All-Academic as a senior at W.F. Herman Secondary School…named league’s Defensive MVP and earned All-City honors as a running back as a senior.

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