NFL Draft: Oak Ridge’s Ossai Taken In Third Round By Bengals

Former Oak Ridge edge rusher Joseph Ossai was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 69th overall pick in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft on Friday night.

Ossai is the first player from Oak Ridge to be drafted in program history.

Ossai is coming off a consensus All-America junior season at Texas. He made 55 tackles, including 16 tackles for loss, and he added five sacks and three forced fumbles in just nine games in the shortened 2020 season. That performance came off a breakout sophomore campaign in which he had a team-high 90 tackles, including 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. He capped that season with an MVP performance in the Valero Alamo Bowl, recording nine tackles, six TFLs and three sacks against Oregon State.

At Oak Ridge, Ossai racked up 104 tackles, including 25 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks during the 2016-17 seasons, according to 247Sports.com. He capped his high school career with a senior season in which he earned honorable mention on the TSWA Class 6A All-State Team, was named a defensive player of the year finalist by the Touchdown Club of Houston and earned a spot on the Houston Chronicle's All-Greater Houston first team.