Azeez Ojulari Humbled By Alabama Loss
Azeez Ojulari is a "lead-by-example" type of player and leader for the Bulldogs. The redshirt sophomore from Marietta, Ga., is currently second in the SEC in total sacks with 3.0 and leads Georgia in tackles for loss with 5.0.
He's become one of the most feared defenders on the edge in the SEC and has cemented himself as a potential name to look for during the upcoming NFL Draft process if he decides to declare.
In the meantime, Ojulari is focused on getting the defense back on track following a 41-point explosion by Alabama Saturday night.
"There are definitely a lot of things we can come in this week and work on. That's why we call it a work week, to just improve and just continue to do what we have to do to stay at the top and keep that dominant defense that we are," Ojulari said. "We just have to come in this week, look at those things and fix it [and] just be ready for next week."
Georgia is currently in the midst of their lone bye week this season. Head coach Kirby Smart said the team is banged up, but this will still be a physical week of practice from Tuesday through Thursday where they will have the chance to evaluate the remainder of their roster after having been humbled by the Crimson Tide.
On the loss to Alabama, Ojulari said, "We always want to win every game, but the outcome [against Alabama] wasn't what we wanted. So, it's definitely good for us to just come back, make these adjustments early in the season, and just do what we need to do to improve and just make sure it doesn't happen again."
Ojulari is on pace to set career highs in both sacks, tackles for loss and total tackles. One source close to the situation said, "It's crazy how that young man has developed since arriving on campus."
As a freshman in 2018, Ojulari was coming off a torn ACL that cut his senior season at Marietta High School short. He took the year to redshirt and ballooned from 6-foot-3, 220 pounds to a revamped 230 pounds by the time the 2019 season started. Now, he's even bigger at 240 pounds and has become far more explosive than he even was last year thanks to hard work and dedication in the weight room during the offseasons.
According to Ojulari, however, that hard work is just the Georgia way; it's what has made this Georgia defense as good as it has been over the last several years.
"I just think it's the way we work here at Georgia. I just think we put in the work every day. Every day, we come out here," he said. "We don't take any days off. We just know that we can improve every day. We know how big of an impact we can make on the field, so we definitely just come out here, do what we need to do, and try to just execute."
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