Christopher Irem Ogbonnaya ( ; born May 20, 1986) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

and was selected by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

in the seventh round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

. Ogbonnaya also played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

Early life

Ogbonnaya played football at

Strake Jesuit College Preparatory Strake Jesuit College Preparatory (properly referred to as Strake Jesuit or Jesuit but often informally called Strake) is a Jesuit, college-preparatory school for boys, grades 9–12, in the Chinatown area and in the Greater Sharpstown district ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, where he was a three-year letterman who helped his team post a 27–5 record during his varsity career. As the team's leading rusher, he helped his squad to a 9–2 mark as a senior making 20 catches for 500 yards and four touchdowns with 270 yards rushing and two touchdowns that year. He caught 22 passes for 530 yards and eight touchdowns with 500 yards rushing and eight more touchdowns as a junior and also returned a kickoff for a touchdown that year while leading his team to an 8–3 record as a junior. He was the Greater Houston Offensive Player of the Year honors that season, and on defense, he had 57 tackles, three TFL and eight PBUs as a cornerback in 2002. He had 30 receptions for 600 yards and 10 touchdowns and added five interceptions from his cornerback spot for a 10–0 squad his sophomore year. He lettered in basketball for two years also lettered in track & field for three years.

College career

Ogbonnaya attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, where he was a four-year letterman who appeared in 47 games at running back and on special teams. Career totals were 170 carries for 452 yards (2.6 ypc) and eight touchdowns and made 75 receptions for 792 yards and three touchdowns. He appeared in all 13 games, starting seven, in 2008 and earned honorable mention All-Big 12. He carried the ball 74 times for 373 yards (5.0 ypc) and four touchdowns and recorded 46 receptions for 540 yards and three touchdowns, including a 65-yard touchdown reception at Colorado. He appeared in all 13 games at tailback and on special teams in 2007 and had 26 carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns and 21 receptions for 204 yards. He also returned four kickoffs for 74 yards and had one special teams tackle. He played in all 13 games at fullback and on special teams in 2006 and rushed 18 times for 82 yards and a touchdown and caught seven passes for 45 yards. He saw action in eight games during Texas' 2005 National Championship season and rushed 22 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. He moved to tailback after spending his redshirt season as a wide receiver. Academically, Ogbonnaya was a member of the National Honor Society and a prep honor student who maintained better than a 3.5 GPA while at Texas. He was named Crusader of the Year as a sophomore, a distinction that recognizes academics and athletics. Ogbonnaya was also a four-time First-team Academic All-Big 12 honoree.

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

Ogbonnaya was selected in the seventh round (211th overall pick) in the

. On July 19, 2009, the Rams agreed to terms with Ogbonnaya on a four-year contract, including a $66,000 signing bonus. Ogbonnaya was promoted to the active roster on November 28, 2009.

Houston Texans

Ogbonnaya was signed to the

' practice squad on September 5, 2010. He was re-signed that off-season, but was waived at the end of training camp. He was re-signed to the practice squad for 2011, but was promoted to the active roster on September 27, 2011. He was later released and re-signed to the practice squad.

Cleveland Browns

The

signed him off of the Texans' practice squad on October 18, 2011. In his Cleveland Browns debut the following Sunday, he had three rushing attempts for 15 yards, and five receptions for 43 yards. In games against the

and the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, he totaled 205 yards and 1 rushing touchdown. During the October 7, 2012, game versus the

, Ogbonnaya received a pass from

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Brandon Weeden Brandon Kyle Weeden (born October 14, 1983) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. After pursuing a baseball career from 2002 to 2006, Weeden played college foo ...

and took it down field for 38 yards - resulting in the longest reception of his career (second longest play from scrimmage). On March 14, 2013, the Browns re-signed Ogbonnaya to a two-year contract.

Carolina Panthers

On September 29, 2014, the

signed Ogbonnaya. On November 3, he was released.

New York Giants

On December 2, 2014, the

signed Ogbonnaya. On May 11, 2015, he was released by the Giants. On June 19, 2015, Ogbonnaya announced his retirement.

Professional statistics

Personal

Ogbonnaya married Jeanine Juliano on August 6, 2021, in New York City. The couple now lives in New Jersey.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogbonnaya, Chris 1986 births Living people American players of American football of Nigerian descent Players of American football from Houston Players of American football from Missouri City, Texas Strake Jesuit College Preparatory alumni American football running backs Texas Longhorns football players St. Louis Rams players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Cleveland Browns players Carolina Panthers players New York Giants players