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Pronunciation: ba-ba-TOON-day OH-shi-no-woh
At Stanford: Over the past three seasons, Babatunde has played in all 33 Cardinal games and started 23 at nose tackle, including all 22 in 2003 and '04 ... He enters his fifth and final season on The Farm as one of the best defensive lineman in the Pac-10 ... He has been named honorable mention All-Pac-10 and First-Team Academic All-Pac-10 in each of the last two seasons ... He has accounted for 89 total tackles, 10.5 quarterback sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss in his Stanford career ... Moves well for a player his size ... A physical player who is effective against the run and rushing the passer ... One of the keys to the Cardinal's defensive success in 2005.
Career Stats
The 2005 Season: Game-By-Game Statistics
The 2004 Season: For the second straight season, Babatunde was a steady force for Stanford on the defensive line while earning recognition as one of the top defensive players in the Pac-10 ... He started all 11 games for the Cardinal at nose tackle, accounting for 41 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 quarterback sacks ... He was named honorable mention All-Pac-10 and First-Team Academic All-Pac-10 ... His teammates voted him winner of the Vardell Award for "the junior or senior player who best epitomizes excellence in both academics and athletics" ... Had six tackles and one tackle for loss vs. Arizona State ... Had five tackles in The Big Game vs. Cal, which included a tackle for loss and sack ... Tallied five tackles and a tackle for loss vs. BYU and five tackles and half-sack in Stanford's win at Washington State.
Game-By-Game Statistics
The 2003 Season: In his first season as a starter, Babatunde was indeed impressive and proved to be one of the top, young defensive lineman in the Pac-10 ... He was named honorable mention All-Pac-10, First-Team Academic All-Pac-10 and Second-Team District-8 Academic All-America ... Won the Deswarte-Eller Award as the team's Most Outstanding Sophomore ... He tallied 25 total tackles while starting all 11 games ... He led the team in quarterback sacks with four and was tied for second on the team with eight tackles for loss ... Career best was a seven tackle performance against Oregon State ... Had three tackles against UCLA, including two sacks and two tackles for loss ... He had two tackles for loss and a sack in the season opener vs. San Jose State ... Against Washington, he had five tackles and two tackles for loss.
The 2002 Season: Turned in an outstanding season as a reserve nose tackle ... He played in all 11 games and started one ... Accounted for 23 total tackles, which included 15 solos ... Also had six tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks and one pass break up ... Inserted into the starting lineup in game No. 4 at Notre Dame ... Season high four tackles against USC ... Had three tackles, including two for loss, at Arizona State ... Against Arizona, he was an integral part of the Cardinal defense that limited the Wildcats to just six points and 65 yards rushing ... He had three tackles, which included two quarterback sacks and two tackles for loss ... Winner of the Frank Rehm Award as the team's Most Outstanding Lineman in the Big Game vs. Cal ... He recorded three unassisted tackles, one sack and one tackle for loss vs. the Bears ... Named Second-Team Academic All-Pac-10.
The 2001 Season: Redshirted the campaign as a true freshman nose tackle.
In High School: A talented defensive lineman who earned PrepStar All-American honors as a senior ... PrepStar also ranked him as the seventh best defensive line prospect in the Midwest ... SuperPrep All-Midwest Region selection ... Max Emfinger's Top 300 recruit ... For his career, accounted for 106 tackles, 28 tackles-for-loss and 11 quarterback sacks ... Two-time All-Area, All-Conference and Conference Defensive MVP ... Had 48 tackles, 13 tackles-for-loss, six quarterback sacks, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble as a senior ... Named First-Team All-State following his senior season ... Competed in the discus at the state track and field meet in 2000 and 2001 ... Also throws the shot put ... National Achievement Scholar Finalist ... National Merit Commended Award winner ... Illinois State and Indian Prairie scholar ... Six-time Academic All-Conference.
Personal Information: Co-term student working on a Master's and Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering ... Went by O.J. as a true freshman, but changed to his given name of Babatunde in 2002 ... Was the Jazz Band Section leader (trombone) and Wind Symphony Orchestra section leader (baritone) in high school.
Getting To Know: Babatunde Oshinowo Jr.
Nickname: Baba
What people don't know about me is: I have 6 names and would be chief in Nigeria
The reason I love football is: It's fun to beat people
I pattern my play after: Super Bowl XXXVII Tampa Bay D-line
For me to improve as a person, I need to: Spend more time in the Word
My favorite pre-game ritual is: prayer
My greatest athletic moment is: Getting two sacks versus UCLA in `03
The biggest thrill in my life to date is: being recruited to play college football
The teammate I admire the most is: Timi Wusu
My favorite stadium in which to play is: Stanford Stadium
The toughest player I have faced in college is: Eric Heitmann
A friend from another college football team is: Ike Ndukwe (Northwestern), Andrew Clarke (Toledo)
The reason I chose Stanford University is: It's a good school on top of everything else
Since coming to Stanford, I have learned: That I really can't succeed apart from the Lord
The best thing about Stanford is: the weather
My favorite class at Stanford is: EE design classes
My least favorite class at Stanford is: CS
What sets Stanford apart from other college football programs? good people
The sports team I followed when I was younger: Dallas Cowboys
When I played football as a kid, I pretended to be: a wide receiver
The athlete I admire most is: Reggie White
The person I admire most is: Timi Oshinowo
If I could spend a day with anyone, it would be: My grandparents
The three people in history I admire most are: Paul, MLK, and my grandfather
Best book I have read: Fallen Angels
Favorite food: Good food
Least Favorite food: tofu
If I had to cook all of my meals, I'd probably survive on: Honey Comb and Pasta Roni
Favorite movie: Return of the King
Favorite TV show: Family Guy or Tom & Jerry
Favorite actor: Samuel L. Jackson
Favorite actress: Uma Thurman
If a movie were made of my life, I would have the following actor play me: Ving Rhames
My ultimate SportsCenter highlight would be: Scoring a touchdown
Favorite musical group or performer: De La Soul
If I were not playing college football, I would be: getting straight A's
After my Stanford career, I'd like to be remembered as: one of the best DT's to ever play here
The best advice I ever received was: Know your limits
The people who had the greatest influence on my life: my parents
One moment in history I wish I could have seen: The Ascension
The place I'd most like to visit: Nigeria
The favorite place I've visited: Lake Tahoe
Hobbies: keepin' it real
Ten years from now, I'd like to be: teaching my kids how to play football
My advice to youngsters: Have fun and don't quit.
My most prized possession: my computer
If I won $1 million, I would: Give most of it to Kevin Schimmelmann to invest for me because I would not know what to do with it.
The one thing about college football I would change: add a playoff
Last Updated: February 28, 2006