Sam Olajubutu

Sam Olajubutu
Position: Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1983-11-15) November 15, 1983
LaGrange, Georgia
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight: 227 lb (103 kg)
Career information
College: Arkansas
Undrafted: 2007
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Sam Olajubutu (born November 15, 1983) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2007.[1] He played college football at Arkansas.

Early years

Olajubutu attended LaGrange High School, where as a senior, he garnered all-state honors and was named Georgia’s 3A Defensive Player of the Year and West Georgia Player of the Year.[2] In addition, he was named the 4A region player of the year as well as the LaGrange Daily News’ Player of the Year. He was selected to the All-Columbus Ledger Inquirer squad. He earned 170 tackles in his senior season in leading his team to the state championship.[3] Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 54 prep outside linebacker in the nation. He finished third in the state in wrestling in 2001. He was ranked No. 1 in the state in the 215-pound weight class in wrestling as a senior.

Despite his production, Olajubutu was not recruited by Georgia, instead only garnering SEC scholarship offers from Mississippi State and Arkansas.[3]

College career

Olajubutu played at the University of Arkansas, where he started 40 games and became just the 14th player in school history to eclipse 300 tackles.[4] He finished with 372 tackles, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions and was an All-SEC first-team choice in each of his last two years.

Freshman (2002, 2003)

As a true freshman in 2002, Olajubutu played in three games and recorded two tackles. He later would apply for and receive a medical redshirt, allowing four more years of participation. As a redshirt freshman in 2003, Olajubutu recorded 85 total tackles, including three tackles for loss and two interceptions.[5]

Sophomore

In 2004, Olajubutu recorded 45.5 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for a loss of seven yards, four passes defended, and a fumble recovery.[6]

Junior

Opening the season against Missouri State, Olajubutu had ten tackles and was named one of three Hogwired.com Players of Week.[7] Against #1 Southern Cal, Olajubutu had 14 tackles.[8] The following week, the junior had 16 tackles and two sacks against #20 Alabama.[9] His breakout game was against #20 Auburn, when he had 18 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a quarterback hurry, and a pass deflected.[10]

His efforts made Olajubutu an Honorable Mention All-American by College Football News.com.[11] He also was a first-team All-SEC selection by SEC coaches, and tabbed on the All-SEC second team by the Associated Press in 2005.[12] He ranked third in the SEC with 118 tackles.[13] As a junior, Olajubutu was named to the Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List.[14]

Senior

Pre-Season

Prior to the 2006 season, Olajubutu was tagged on watch lists for the Lott Trophy, Lombardi Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and Butkus Award.[15][16][17][18] Rivals.com also named Olajubutu as a second-team All-American prior to 2006.[19] CollegeFootballNews.com named the senior the #3 Linebacker in the Nation and the No. 11 SEC Position Player, and The Birmingham News said Olajubutu was the SEC’s Best Outside Linebacker. Eight separate organizations named Olajubutu as a first-team All-SEC performer.[20]

The senior linebacker had six tackles and a sack in the Red-White scrimmage on April 8.[21]

2006 season

Olajubutu recorded 12 tackles against Southern Cal and 13 against Utah State.[22] He recorded 14 stops in a win at Vanderbilt.[23] Following a victory over #2 Auburn, Olajubutu was named a mid-season All-American, recording 66 tackles in the first five games[24] After missing the game against Louisiana-Monroe with an injury, Olajubutu returned to action against the South Carolina Gamecocks and recorded three tackles in a win.[25] The following week against #13 Tennessee, the senior linebacker had eight tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble as the Hogs won 31-14.[26] A victory over Mississippi State gave the Hogs the SEC Western Division title and a berth in the 2006 SEC Championship Game.[27] Against #4 Florida, Olajubutu recorded six tackles, all unassisted, but the Razorbacks lost 38-28.[28] Olajubutu would record three tackles in the 2007 Capital One Bowl, his final game as an Arkansas Razorback.[29]

Following the season

Olajubutu was named First-team All-SEC by the Associated Press, SEC Coaches, and Scout.com. He also was a Bednarik Award Semifinalist, Butkus Award Semifinalist, and Lott Trophy Quarterfinalist.[30] He was invited to play in the East–West Shrine Game, along with teammate Keith Jackson.[31]

2007 NFL Draft

The NFL Combine placed his height at 5'8.[32] He was listed as a safety on some draft boards.[33] Olajubutu would go undrafted.

References

  1. ↑ "Added Enrollment." Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Razorbacks Ink 22 Football Student-Athletes on National Signing Day." 2002 Arkansas Razorback Football Signees. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Kendall, Josh. "Hogs' Olajubutu wasn't recruited by Dawgs." Oct 17, 2005. Scout.com. Dawg Post.com. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Hogwired Spring Preview - Defensive Line and Linebackers." 03/30/2006. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  5. ↑ "2003 University of Arkansas Football." Sep 22, 2005. Arkansas Overall Defensive Statistics. Archived 2011-11-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  6. ↑ "2004 University of Arkansas Football." Sep 22, 2005. Arkansas Overall Defensive Statistics. Archived 2011-11-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Jones, Olajubutu and Coe Earn Inaugural Hogwired.com Players of the Week Honors." 09/06/2005. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  8. ↑ "McFadden, Olajubutu and Jones Named Hogwired.com Players of the Week." 09/18/2005. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  9. ↑ "McFadden, Olajubutu and Balseiro Picked as Hogwired.com Athletes of the Week." 09/25/2005. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  10. ↑ "McFadden, Olajubutu, and Hillis Gain Hogwired.com Player of the Week Honors." 10/16/2005. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Felix Jones Named First-Team All-American by College Football News." 12/12/2005. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  12. ↑ "McFadden, Olajubutu Tabbed First-Team All-SEC by Coaches." 12/05/2005. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  13. ↑ "McFadden Named AP SEC Freshman of the Year; Five Hogs Named to AP All-SEC Football Team." 10/03/2005. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Sam Olajubutu Added to Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List." 10/03/2005. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Olajubutu Named to Lott Trophy Watch List." 03/30/2006. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Olajubutu Named to Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List." 03/07/2006. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  17. ↑ "McFadden and Olajubutu Named to National Award Watch Lists." 6/13/2006. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Olajubutu Named to Butkus Award Watch List." 8/24/2006. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Rivals.com 2006 Pre-Season All-American Team." June 29, 2006. Article. Archived 2011-06-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  20. ↑ "2006 Arkansas Football Pre-Season Rankings and Honors." 7/26/2006. Awards. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  21. ↑ "ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS SPRING FOOTBALL STATS." 4/8/2006. Article. Archived 2012-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  22. ↑ "McFadden, Olajubutu and Skinner Earn Hogwired.com Player of the Week Honors." 09/11/2006. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  23. ↑ "Monk, Olajubutu and Goode Earn Hogwired.com Player of the Week Honors." 09/18/2006. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  24. ↑ "Olajubutu Named CFN First-Team Midseason All-American." 10/13/2006. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Defensive Statistics (Final) - Arkansas vs South Carolina." Nov 04, 2006. Statistics. Archived 2012-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  26. ↑ "Defensive Statistics (Final) - Tennessee vs Arkansas." Nov 11, 2006. Statistics. Archived 2012-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  27. ↑ "Nutt Press Conference - SEC West Champions Still Have Things to Play for vs. LSU." 11/19/2006. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  28. ↑ "Defensive Statistics (Final)." Dec. 2, 2006. Statistics. Archived 2012-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  29. ↑ "Defensive Statistics (Final)." Jan. 1, 2007. Statistics. Archived 2012-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  30. ↑ "2006 Arkansas Football Honors Growing by the Day." 12/15/2006. Awards and Honors. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  31. ↑ "Ugoh and Goode to Play in 2007 Senior Bowl." 1/23/2007. Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  32. ↑ Profile. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  33. ↑ "#24 Sam Olajubutu." Article. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
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