Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Devine Ozigbo was born on October 2nd, 1996. He is a running back in the NFL. 

Devine Ozigbo had a highly successful prep career at Sachse High School in Texas, where he dominated both as a runner and as a receiver out of the backfield. Ozigbo played in a prolific offense for Coach Mark Behrens, as the team averaged better than 500 total yards per game, including 321 passing yards per game in 2014. Despite being in a pass-first offense, Ozigbo rushed for 795 yards on 149 carries, while recording four 100-yard rushing games and 15 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 22 passes for 415 yards and four touchdowns, helping Sachse to a 6-4 record. Ozigbo earned first-team All-District 11 honors in the 5A ranks for his outstanding play as a senior. Ozigbo chose to play college football at the University of Nebraska.

Ozigbo made an impact in the backfield as a true freshman. He played in 11 games as one of four backs with more than 200 rushing yards. Ozigbo finished with 38 carries for 209 yards and a touchdown. He also caught five passes for 62 yards.

Ozigbo had a breakout game against Illinois in the Big Ten opener, rushing seven times for 70 yards, and a 19-yard touchdown. He also caught a pass in the game. He had three catches for 42 yards at Purdue. He ran for 33 yards at Rutgers then closed the year with a strong showing in the bowl game. In a win over UCLA, Ozigbo rushed 20 times for 80 yards to help power Nebraska to 326 rushing yards. He had 54 of his rushing yards in the second half. Ozigbo also had a 15-yard reception against the Bruins.

Ozigbo was Nebraska's third-leading rusher with 412 yards on 97 carries his sophomore year, while also rushing for five touchdowns. He topped 40 yards rushing five times during the season, and had double-figure carries in six games, including each of the season's first five games.

Ozigbo opened the year with a career-high 103 yards on 17 carries, with a career-best two touchdowns against Fresno State. In his only career start against Wyoming, he carried 15 times for 44 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 39-yard catch against the Cowboys. Ozigbo was a key to Nebraska's impressive offensive effort in a 35-32 win over Oregon, rushing a career-high 21 times for 95 yards, including a third-quarter touchdown. He added 41 rushing yards on 13 carries at Northwestern, and 10 carries for 35 yards against Illinois. He also had a 37-yard catch against the Illini.

Ozigbo enjoyed his most productive season as a junior, when he was Nebraska’s leading rusher. Ozigbo led the Huskers and set career highs with 129 carries and 493 rushing yards. He added three rushing touchdowns and caught 16 passes – one more than his career total entering the season – for 123 yards. Ozigbo also posted a career-high three 100-yard rushing efforts on the season. Ozigbo did not play in the season’s first two games but emerged as the Huskers’ leading rusher when starter Tre Bryant was lost for the season after only two games. Ozigbo carried the ball two times for eight yards in his season debut against Northern Illinois before recording three consecutive 100-yard rushing efforts. His streak started in the Big Ten opener against Rutgers, when Ozigbo ran for 101 yards on a career-high 24 carries. The next week at Illinois, he ran for a then-career-high 106 yards, averaging 5.9 yards per carry on 18 attempts while scoring on a 15-yard touchdown run. His streak continued against ninth-ranked Wisconsin when Ozigbo had 23 carries for a career-high 112 yards. Ozigbo became the first player to rush for 100 yards against the Badgers in 18 games while posting the only 100-yard rushing performance Wisconsin has allowed in conference play over the past three seasons. In addition to his rushing totals, Ozigbo also caught his first four passes of the season against the Badgers, finishing with 18 receiving yards.

Devine Ozigbo enjoyed his best season in his final year as a Husker in 2018, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors from the conference media and honorable-mention accolades from the league's coaches. Ozigbo was Nebraska's leading rusher, gaining 1,082 yards with 12 rushing touchdowns. Ozigbo became the first Husker since Ameer Abdullah in 2014 to rush for 1,000 yards, and Ozigbo's 1,082 rushing yards as a senior nearly matched the total from his first three seasons combined (1,114). While becoming the 26th Husker to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, Ozigbo averaged an impressive 7.0 yards per carry, ranking 11th nationally in that category and posting the seventh-highest yards-per-carry average in Nebraska history among players with at least 150 carries. Ozigbo averaged 90.2 rushing yards per game in 2018, and he also set career highs with 23 receptions and 203 receiving yards.

The New Orleans Saints signed Ozigbo in 2019.

On August 22, 2022, Ozigbo was claimed off waivers by the Denver Broncos. He was waived on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 29, but waived three days later and re-signed back to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 26. He was released on December 27.

On August 9, 2023, Ozigbo signed with the Detroit Lions.