FRISCO, Texas â Heading into his fifth NFL season with the Cowboys, and with a new four-year, $80 million deal in tow, Osa Odighizuwa is now one of the elder statesmen in the defensive line room as he prepares to work under his third defensive coordinator since becoming a Cowboy.
"I feel like things are going well, especially it being spring," Odighizuwa said. "I feel like things are coming along well, everyone's being smart about how we're practicing, getting the right things that we want which is our technique and our conditioning."
In the past, new Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has called Odighizuwa's three-technique defensive tackle position the "engine" of his defensive scheme. In their early time together, Odighizuwa has already seen why that's been the case, and sees the chance to capitalize on more opportunities with Eberflus' system.
"Based on some of the things that we're being asked to do right now, I was going back and just watching some of the tape from last year, I'm like 'If I was doing the stuff that we're being coached to do now, I'm making this play, I'm making that play.'" Odighizuwa said.
"So just seeing that there's going to be a lot more opportunities based on the stuff that he's having us do."
While Odighizuwa's taken the retrospective look at his own film to see where he can improve, he's not trying to forget last season's disappointing 7-10 finish to the season from his memory.
"I wouldn't say it's anything to erase," Odighizuwa said. "You address it, you look at it, obviously it wasn't the year that we wanted, but like I say all the time when you ask me about past things in this game of football, you don't have time to go in the past."
Instead, Odighizuwa's looking to capitalize with the 2025 version of the Cowboys, although measuring where they are as a team is difficult to do in May with no pads on. For now, it's all about doing what they can within their limitations.
"You got to take it one day a time," Odighizuwa said. "It's all new for everyone, so it's hard to really measure progress, I feel like you just got to wait until the season and just season by season kind of look at it."
Being one of the more tenured players in the room means an increase in his leadership role, especially with one of the team's largest voices in the past in DeMarcus Lawrence departing in free agency this offseason. That said, he doesn't have to shoulder all of the responsibility in that department.
"Having him gone definitely puts a little bit more on me and Micah [Parsons]' plate just as far as leadership and leading by example, but we've got good vets in there too," Odighizuwa said. "[Solomon Thomas] came in, Dante [Fowler]'s been here before, and they've been doing it for a long time as well, so we got good leadership in the room."
Parsons, who head coach Brian Schottenheimer said has been in and out of the building during the team's OTAs, has talked a lot recently about wanting to grow as a leader. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he wanted to see more out of Parsons as a leader before giving him a contract extension.
From Odighizuwa's perspective, when Parsons has been around, he's made a point to try and bring the best version out of all his teammates.
"Just feeding positivity into everyone, emphasizing that everybody has playmaking ability and that should be the mentality of everybody on the lineâŚ" Odighizuwa said. "Just making that mentality of 'You're a playmaker, you're a playmaker, everyone on this line is a playmaker.' So every player should have that in mind and appreciate stuff like that."
While at times transitioning through new coaching staffs can be difficult for players, one thing that has been easy for Odighizuwa is integrating into Brian Schottenheimer's culture, which has a heavy emphasis on being there for teammates both on and off the field.
"Pushing connection and supporting each other, and not only just on the field and giving everything that you got on the field for the guys to your left and to your right, but if someone has something that's important to them off the field, showing up for that," Odighizuwa said.
"If someone's doing a camp, show it's important and just helping people to give back and helping people with what's important to them off the field."
