Rising red-shirt junior defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale High School) will receive the Jon Richardson Football Scholarship. He is the second recipient of the scholarship. Last year, center Thomas La Bianca was named as the inaugural recipient.
The scholarship, donated by Jerry and Rosalind Richardson in tribute to their son, is designated for a 49ers football player from North or South Carolina who best displays five characteristics intrinsic to the development of a successful student-athlete: hard work, harmony, teamwork, listening and respect.
“Larry embodies the qualities that the Jon Richardson Scholarship really talks about: hard work, teamwork, listening,” head coach Brad Lambert said. “It was really an easy choice for us because of all that Larry brings to our football team.”
Ogunjobi, a member of the 49ers first recruiting class, is one of three players that have started all 22 games in the program’s short history. At Charlotte’s first game, Aug. 31, 2013, against Campbell University, he was the first player in school history chosen to wear the honorary No. 49 jersey. He holds the 49ers single-season and career records for sacks and tackles for loss. He had five sacks last year to give him seven and a half in his career. He had 11.5 tackles for loss and now has 21 in his two-year career. As a freshman, he was named first team FCS Independent All-Conference by collegesportsmadness.com. In the second season, he wore the No. 49 jersey again at the game against the Citadel Oct. 11, and he served as a team captain during three games in 2014.
Ogunjobi is a double major in computer science and biology.