Record Book Look: Oklahoma State’s Career Sack List

With Oklahoma State’s innovations on the offensive side of the ball in recent history, pass rushers aren’t necessarily the first position group that comes to mind when people think of Cowboy football, but OSU has produced some solid guys over the years.

In today’s record book look, we’ll gander at the five players with the most sacks since the stat was recorded in 1981.

1. Leslie O’Neal (1982-85) — 34

OSU’s all-time sack leader made news recently, becoming the sixth former Poke to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

As a junior in 1984, O’Neal had a season-best 16 sacks. That season he had 116 yards from sacks, meaning he covered a whole field and then some with sack yards.

He was a two-time All-American, obtaining the honor in 1984 and 1985. He was a three-time All-Big Eight first-team selection and was the conference’s defensive player of the year in 1984.

The San Diego Chargers took O’Neal eighth in the 1986 NFL Draft. He played in 196 games in the NFL, where he racked up 132.5 sacks.

2. Jason Gildon (1990-93) — 33

Jason Gildon had 12.5 sacks as a sophomore. That makes him the only underclassman in the top five of OSU’s season list.

He had 12.5 sacks that year, tied for fourth most in program history. Those were a part of the 20.5 tackles for loss he had that season, the second-most in school history.

Gildon made the All-Big Eight first team in 1991 and 1993. The Pittsburgh Steelers took him in the third round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He had an 11-year NFL career, where he had 80 sacks.

3. Rodney Harding (1981-84) — 31

Rodney Harding’s best sack year was his freshman year when he had nine sacks. That’s tied for the ninth best season in program history, but him finishing third in the career sacks list just shows how consistent he was in Stillwater.

Playing alongside O’Neal for a good portion of his career, Harding made the All-Big Eight first team in 1984 with O’Neal and six other Cowboys. Five of the eight Cowboys that made the all-conference first team that year played defense.

OSU finished that 1984 season 10-2.

4. Emmanuel Ogbah (2012-15) — 28

The most recent addition to this list, Emmanuel Ogbah had two seasons of double-digit sacks.

Ogbah had 13 as a junior, good for the third-best season in OSU history, and he had 11 as a sophomore. His 28 career sacks came in just three seasons, as he redshirted in 2012.

He was a first-team All-American in his final year. He was an All-Big 12 first teamer in 2014 and 2015. He was also the conference’s defensive player of the year in his final season in Stillwater.

The Cleveland Browns took Ogbah in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He is a newly minted Super Bowl champion, playing with the Chiefs this past season.

He has played in 50 games in his four-year NFL career, where he has 18 career sacks. He recently signed a $15-million deal with the Miami Dolphins.

5. Greg Richmond (2000-03) — 21.5

Now a defensive line coach on Mike Gundy’s staff, Greg Richmond was also dominant on the field in his time in Stillwater.

As a senior, Richmond recorded 12.5 sacks. He made the All-Big 12 first team that season.