Texas Longhorn Legend Brian Arakpo Pays Compliment to Joseph Ossai

Four-time Pro Bowler, Unanimous All American and Lombardi and Nagurski winner Brian Arakpo had high praise for the junior Texas Longhorns linebacker.

Four-time Pro Bowler, Unanimous All American and Lombardi and Nagurski winner Brian Arakpo had high praise for junior Texas Longhorns linebacker Joseph Ossai. 

Arakpo - who won a national title with the Longhorns in 2005 - took to Twitter to offer a compliment to Ossai, calling him the "next Nigerian Nightmare".

Next Nigerian Nightmare 🤘🏿@joseph_ossai https://t.co/iblvmj0iLe

— Brian Orakpo (@rak98) June 10, 2020

The nickname is a reference to former Kansas City Chiefs running back Christian Okoye, who like Ossai was originally born in the Nigeria.

Ossai led the Longhorns in tackles a year ago with 90, including 60 solo stops. He had 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and two interceptions on the season. 

He capped the year with a standout performance against at top 10 Utah team where he finished with nine tackles, six for loss and three sacks to earn Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP honors. 

He'll have a slightly different role on the Texas defense going into the 2020 season, playing what new defensive coordinator Chris Ash calls the "JACK" position. He'll be a hybrid defensive lineman and linebcker, allowing the Longhorns to switch from a 4-3-5 to a 3-3-5 depending on the play. Most expect Ossai to thrive in the roll as he will be closer to the line of scrimmage and able to use his speed and pass rushing skills to disrupt opposing defenses more often. 

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