He’s been rather quiet all offseason and throughout training camp, but on Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills in the preseason matchup at Acrisure Stadium, veteran defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi made his presence felt.
Ogunjobi made some plays for the Steelers in the 9-3 loss, recording a 3rd-and-2 run stop to force a punt. He also had great pass rush that led to a sack in which Ogunjobi showed off a powerful rip to get underneath the lineman and win the rep.
Though he whiffed on the sack and needed teammates to clean it up, the process of the pass rush was a positive. Overall on the night, Ogunjobi flashed and was rather solid.
Former Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke, appearing on the KDKA Nightly Sports Call Saturday night after the game, wants just a bit more from the big-money veteran.
“He did have a solid couple of series. I want to see his technique get better I always harp on his technique and that’s going to hurt him in the regular season when he’s going good on good,” Hoke said of Ogunjobi, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “Loves to play a lot with his shoulder. He overpowered these offensive linemen a couple of times and made some good plays and that’s what you’ve seen since he’s been here for the last couple of years. He’ll flash and he’ll make a big play and then he’ll get tied up for a while and disappear.
“He’s got to improve on getting his hands on guys, getting extension, get off blocks and not play with his shoulders.”
One of the biggest knocks on Ogunjobi during his time in the NFL, and particularly with the Steelers through his first two seasons, has been health. While he hasn’t missed a game, he’s been dinged up constantly, which has hindered him.
So far this summer, he looks very healthy, and when he’s healthy the technique and the production are there.
He showed that on Saturday night. He was playing good on good, too, going against Buffalo’s O’Cyrus Torrence, who played 1,200 snaps last season and is a foundational piece in the trenches in Buffalo. Ogunjobi was a problem for him on Saturday night.
Good rep here on what should have been a sack for Ogunjobi. Gains control early with his hand usage and then rips underneath to turn the corner and get upfield getting after Mitch Trubisky. He just needs to finish it for the sack.
But the process was very encouraging.
Then, there was his tackle on third down to record a run stop, forcing a punt.
Working against Torrence again, Ogunjobi does a great job crossing his face and getting into the hole, making the stop on the running back for a gain of one yard. Quick off the snap, power to cross the face and make a play.
Just a really solid play overall from Ogunjobi that capped a strong night for the veteran, giving him something to build on entering the 2024 season.
Hopefully he has more nights like he did Saturday night against the Bills because if he can become a true playmaker in the trenches again, the Steelers’ defense will be even better.
