Praise Martin-Oguike (born August 30, 1993) is a Nigerian professional gridiron football linebacker. He played college football at Temple University. Martin-Oguike has been a member of the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Dragons, and Ottawa Redblacks.
 Martin-Oguike with the Seattle Dragons in 2020 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | August 30, 1993 Abia State, Nigeria |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 258 lb (117 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Woodbridge (NJ) |
| College: | Temple |
| Position: | Linebacker, defensive lineman |
| Undrafted: | 2017 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
editMartin-Oguike, was born in Abia State, Nigeria. He is a native of Oka in Isiala Mbano, Imo State. He moved to Woodbridge Township, New Jersey at the age of 10.[1][2] Martin-Oguike is the son of Venerable Dr. Martin Oguike (Anglican clergyman and adjunct Professor) and Dr. Ngozi Martin-Oguike (Educator and author) who are both highly regarded in the Igbo community of Nigeria. He has a sister, Precious, and two brothers Percy and Pleasant.
College career
editMartin-Oguike recorded 124 tackles, 20 sacks, 1 interception, 12 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 6 blocked field goals during his time at Temple.[3]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+3⁄8 in (1.84 m) |
258 lb (117 kg) |
31+1⁄2 in (0.80 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
4.88 s | 1.60 s | 2.74 s | 4.53 s | 7.25 s | 28.0 in (0.71 m) |
9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) |
30 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[4] | ||||||||||||
Miami Dolphins
editMartin-Oguike signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2017.[5] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[6]
Arizona Cardinals
editOn January 19, 2018, Martin-Oguike signed a reserve/future contract with the Arizona Cardinals.[7] He was waived/injured by the Cardinals on July 26, 2018 and was placed on injured reserve.[8] He was released on August 4, 2018.
Seattle Dragons
editIn October 2019, the Seattle Dragons selected Martin-Oguike in the tenth round of the 2020 XFL Draft.[9] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[10]
Martin-Oguike was selected by the Blues of The Spring League during its player selection draft on October 11, 2020.[11]
Ottawa Redblacks
editMartin-Oguike signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL on June 4, 2021 as a defensive lineman.[12] On his first two seasons in the CFL Martin-Oguike played in 18 regular season games and contributed with 32 defensive tackles, seven sacks, one forced fumble and one special teams tackle. On February 7, 2023, Martin-Oguike agreed to a one-year contract extension with Ottawa.[13] On May 13, 2023, Martin-Oguike was released by the Redblacks.[14]
References
edit- ^ Epstein, Sue (October 8, 2013). "Former Woodbridge High School football star wants to move on with his life". nj.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ Russo, Ralph D. "After being cleared off rape charges, Temple DE finds peace". Associated Press. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "Temple University Athletics Praise Martin-Oguike". April 5, 2018.
- ^ "Praise Martin-Oguike College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
- ^ "PRESS RELEASE: Dolphins Sign 14 Undrafted College Free Agents". MiamiDolphins.com. May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
- ^ "Dolphins Make Roster Moves". MiamiDolphins.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
- ^ "Arizona Cardinals sign linebacker Praise Martin-Oguike to futures contract". ArizonaSports.com. January 19, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- ^ Williams, Charean (July 26, 2018). "Cardinals sign Jacques Smith, waive Praise Martin-Oguike". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
- ^ Bender, Bill (October 21, 2019). "XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league". Sporting News. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ @TheSpringLeague (October 11, 2020). "The Blues #TSL2020 D-Line" (Tweet). Retrieved November 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "2021 CFL Transactions". CFL.ca. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ "REDBLACKS re-sign American DL Praise Martin-Oguike". Ottawa REDBLACKS. February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
- ^ "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved May 19, 2023.