Kansas State football fans didn’t know what to make of Tobi Osunsanmi’s sack celebration when he performed it twice during a 41-6 victory over Tennessee-Martin on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
No one did.
After all, it’s not often you see a defensive end commemorate an exciting tackle for loss by striking a pose and pretending to be a statue for five seconds in the middle of a football field. But that is how Osunsanmi chose to celebrate after he sacked UT Martin quarterback Kinkead Dent a pair of times.
Question is: How did he come up with such a unique move? He has a story to tell about that.
“It was from my freshman year when we went to the Sugar Bowl ,” Osunsanmi said. “There was just some guy on Bourbon Street who was just standing there like that the whole time so I just brought it back. I was planning it during spring ball. That’s when I thought of it again and decided I might as well do it.”
The celebration is certainly one of a kind in the world of college football.
Few players draw inspiration from street performers the way Osunsanmi did as he walked around New Orleans as a tourist two years ago.
“Tobi was right there next to him and just did the pose,” K-State defensive tackle Damian Ilalio said. “They were doing the pose together and looking at each other. It was really funny. Ever since then he’s just done it in practice. I didn’t know he was going to do it in the game, but it was funny.”
It seems to be a hit.
Video of Osunsanmi’s sack celebrations were quickly circulated on social media, with fans asking for an explanation on where it came from. Perhaps the best part of his celebration is the fact that he stretched out and held his pose and held it until his teammates caught up with him and slapped his helmet.
“Whenever it feels right,” Osunsanmi said. “I don’t stop until it feels right.”
Sack celebration aside, it was encouraging to see Osunsanmi come up with a pair of sacks against the Skyhawks. The 6-foot-3 sophomore from Wichita East seems to have finally found a home on K-State’s defensive line.
He used to play linebacker and safety in high school. And it looked like he was destined to play linebacker in college. But a position change has allowed him to reach his full potential as a pass-rusher.
“My freshman year I was on scout team and they moved me to defensive end,” Osunsanmi said. “At first I was like, ‘No, I’m not doing that.’ But it ended up happening now and I feel like it was God’s plan.”
K-State got lots of pressure on the quarterback in its first game of the season.
The Wildcats finished with four sacks and limited the Skyhawks to 134 total yards. It was a good outing for the entire unit.
Osunsanmi and his sack celebration were at the center of it all.
“This is a good win,” Osunsanmi said. “It boosts my confidence. But there’s still 11 games left to play. So each game is just a new obstacle I have to overcome and a new challenge for me to face.”
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