At halftime of Saturday’s Tulsa-Tulane football game, 1991 All-American Jerry Ostroski will be honored in a special presentation as he joins only eight other Golden Hurricane football student-athletes to have their numbers retired by The University of Tulsa.
Ostroski (1988-91) wore No. 55 as an offensive lineman for the Hurricane.
Jerry Ostroski
He joins #14 Billy Guy Anderson (QB), #17 Jerry Rhome (QB), #31 Ellis Jones (L), #36 Felto Prewitt (L), #45 Glenn Dobbs (QB), #64 Marvin Matuszak (OL), #81 Howard Twilley (WR) and #83 Steve Largent (WR) as the only TU plaeyrs to have their jerseys retired. Largent was the most recent to have his jersey retired in October 2008.
Ostroski came to Tulsa in 1988 from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, where he played prep football at Owen J. Roberts High School. He was the only true freshman that season for the Hurricane to earn a letter after being a part-time starter at right tackle.
Beginning as a sophomore, Ostroski was a full-time starter on the Tulsa offensive line and became a dominant player in his final three seasons. He helped lead the Hurricane to a 6-5 regular season record and an appearance in the 1989 Independence Bowl against Oregon his sophomore season.
Ostroski moved from right tackle as a junior to left guard for his senior season. He graded 91-percent for blocking consistency and registered 49 knockdown blocks as the Hurricane averaged 185.7 yards per game rushing in 1991.
Jerry Ostroski
In that 1991 season, the Tulsa football team put together a 10-2 record, won the Freedom Bowl 28-17 over San Diego State and finished the season ranked 21st by the Associated Press and USA Today/CNN polls. A big part of that success stemmed from a balanced offensive unit, led on the front line by Ostroski.
In addition to his first-team AP honor, the 6’3″, 322-pound senior was also named an All-America selection by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), The Sporting News (TSN), United Press International (UPI), College and Pro Football Weekly and the Poor Man’s Guide to the NFL Draft.
Ostroski was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 10th round in the 1992 NFL Draft and went on to an nine-year career with the Buffalo Bills from 1994 through 2001, starting 102 of 106 games on the offensive line.