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| Mario Ojemudia |
Name: Mario Ojemudia
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Ojemudia was in high school. He had 80 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 blocked punt.
Final TTB Rating: 78
When Ojemudia originally was offered and committed to Michigan, I was a little bit leery of him. People claimed that he was unblockable, but what I saw on film was that nobody really tried. For a powerhouse team like Harrison that has good players at just about every position, sometimes it’s easy for decent players to play great. The biggest saving grace for Ojemudia, to me, was that Michigan’s three defensive line coaches – especially Greg Mattison – thought he was a player. I don’t trust the coaches on everyone, but defensive line recruiting shouldn’t be an issue while he’s at Michigan.
Ojemudia played a lot of defensive tackle in high school, so working at defensive end is going to take an adjustment. When he played as a stand-up defensive end in the Semper Fidelis All-American Game, he struggled to get off the ball quickly. It’s a completely different technique from what he played for the past couple seasons. But Michigan’s coaches have shown a willingness to rotate defensive linemen liberally, which is why three guys played meaningful snaps at weakside end last season (Craig Roh, Jibreel Black, and Frank Clark). With Roh and Black changing positions to strongside end and 3-tech defensive tackle, respectively, that leaves Clark and SAM-turned-WDE Brennen Beyer to fight for snaps. Ojemudia’s size at this point might prevent him from being useful on running downs, but his motor and pass rushing ability could make him a valuable third-and-long commodity.
Prediction: Situational pass rusher, backup WDE
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I'm surprised you have Ojemudia ranked ahead of Ross given your lukewarm feelings about him and Mario's need to add weight
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Probably has to do with the position and depth chart rather than their talent level.
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There are lots of options at linebacker, but not very many at WDE. If the coaches want to play a third WDE, Ojemudia seems like the most logical option now that Roh is a SDE and Black is a DT.
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You don't think he'll redshirt? Color me surprised.
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The coaches played three WDEs last season. Perhaps they'll play three this year, too.
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Looks like you have come around a little on Mario. I agree that his film does not translate exactly to the next level. He lines up at the 3 or 5 tech and beats up on a lot of mediocre OL. He will need develop a speed rush and learn to play contain responsibilities in college. The transition may not be easy for him.
Nonetheless, I could see him developing into a Shantee Orr or James Hall type. Not a physically imposing WDE but a guy with good quickness who is good at shedding blocks. The two things that jump out to me are his motor and his use of hands. Considering that he only played at like 215 lbs, he tosses OL around like ragdolls and really chases the ball. I like to see good disengaging skills on young DL because I do not think that can be 100% taught/learned.
I've read on the internet that the coaches are mentally preparing him to play some this year. As you mention, the team needs pass rushing DE's so he has a good opportunity.
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He looks lighter than his reported weight. If thats the case I see him redshirting.
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Unassailable analysis, but I'm still guessing he red-shirts.
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