Our second straight EDGE prospect Hello, today we're looking at 4* Enow Etta from Covenant Christian Academy in Colleyville, Texas. Etta committed to Michigan last week after a lengthy and grueling recruiting battle, one that included many twists and turns but ended with the Wolverines narrowly besting their rivals in East Lansing. Etta brings a bit different of a profile from the last EDGE Hello (Collins Acheampong), and as of right now, he is the highest-rated recruit in the 2023 class: 

 

GURU RATINGS

Rivals: 6'5/260	ESPN: 6'5/260	247: 6'4.5/260	On3: 6'4.5/260	247 Comp
4*, 5.8, #239 Ovr #18 WDE, #42 TX	4*, 82, #39 Midlands, #189 Ovr #25 DE, #30 TX	4*, 94, #58 Ovr #8 DL, #14 TX	4*, 92, #132 Ovr #19 EDGE, #24 TX	4*, 0.9437, #125 Ovr #19 DL, #21 TX
4.04	4.18	4.56	4.38	4.44

As we will get into in the scouting section, Etta may well be the Michigan commit that scouts know the most about, which makes sense given his recruiting rankings. He is a consensus top 300 player, inside the top 200 for every site except Rivals. Because the sites are much more familiar with Etta, we have a very consistent readout on his measurables, exactly 260 lbs. and between 6'4" and 6'5". Etta is a consensus 4* prospect and currently that makes him the most highly touted player in the recruiting class. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Already filled out]

 

SCOUTING 

Unlike many of the recruits I've been profiling, where the scouts are mostly going off tape because they've never actually seen the kid firsthand and other scouting measurements are limited, Etta is a player with a ton of available information. We'll start with 247's Chris Singletary, who gives us a long and detailed scouting report that is free to everyone. He hits a couple notes that are the most common elements appearing in Etta scouting reports, his strength/size, motor, and versatility: 

As you watch him over the last two seasons his development is very encouraging as his motor and physicality are just a couple of the things that stand-out. He has position versatility that can see him play either end spot or even line up inside on pass-rush downs. 

Checking at verified 6-foot-4.5 and 261-pounds with an 81-inch wingspan. He has the look of a major college player with his overall physical build. With a 40-pound weight gain over that last year you see a spurt that is not the norm. Looking good with a powerful trunk the majority of his weight is in his base to provide explosiveness and strength. There is room still to develop and add definition in his upper body with a broad shouldered frame. 

Unlike Acheampong and Aymeric Koumba, who are more unrefined wild cards, Etta is quite a bit closer to seeing an NCAA field in part because of his frame. Though he has the long arms that have become the trademark of Mike Elston's pursuits this recruiting class, Etta is more of a physical attraction because he is close to what his ideal playing weight will be at the collegiate level. Brandon Justice over at Rivals ($) seconds this assessment and says that the only change Etta will need to make to his body is maintaining that weight while trading some fat for muscle:

Nearing his senior season at 6-foot-5 (a little less), 260 pounds, Etta is 20 pounds heavier than he was in his sophomore season, and this should be a maintenance weight for him to continue getting stronger while staying in the 255-265 mark.

You may be wondering, given his existing weight, if Michigan is considering beefing him up further and moving him inside permanently. EJ Holland of On3 says no ($): 

Remember, Michigan loves him as a bigger EDGE, and the Wolverines have not talked to him about playing the three-technique. They see him as more of an Aidan Hutchinson-type. 

Another question that might be on your mind is whether Enow Etta is athletic enough given his already-hefty frame. No one is going to confuse Etta for Nyckoles Harbor, but he has competed in track and his testing times at drills and track races confirms that he is athletic enough to be an effective passrusher at the FBS level. From On3's free scouting report: 

Jumped a 24-inch vertical and ran a 7.53 3-cone in the spring prior to his senior season. Ran a 12.54 100m and 28.45 200m during his junior track season at over 260 pounds. 

Now that we've talked about Etta's body and physical gifts, what about Etta the football player? Let's return to that point about the motor. Scouts repeatedly mention how it manifests in Etta's willingness to chase down ballcarriers from the backside, making him an effective EDGE against the run. Returning to Singletary's scouting report: 

Good ability to chase the ball-carrier down from the backside. Very active off the ball and physical at the point of attack. Plays with a good motor, shows effort to finish plays. 

And here's Brandon Justice again on how this all ties together to create an effective run defender: 

(Enow's) ability to defend the outside and inside runs is what separates him from most in the position. His film showcases his ability to make instinctive reads on the run designs and make powerful inside moves between the tackles, or use his speed and play recognition skillfulness to bring down ball carriers outside the hashes.

What I found interesting from that quote is how even though he has the thick body and good athleticism, instinctiveness still stands out. Why is it interesting? Well, Etta only started playing football when he entered high school, yet already has a pretty advanced view of the game. 

As a pass rusher, the speed and power combos and his high-energy playing style work in harmony to get after the QB. Combine it with the run defense, and you have a well-rounded prospect with good physical tools, which makes the top 200 recruiting ranking make sense. 

How about downsides? There are some technical components to refine. On3: 

Lacks ideal hand usage and technique at the point of attack. Leverage is the biggest area for improvement at this point. Will need to continue to improve his pad level, but his effort can not be taught and he has it in buckets. 

The hand usage point also came up in Touch The Banner's assessment of Etta: 

Etta also could use his hands better to disengage from blockers. Sometimes his hands/arms seem to be afterthoughts rather than intentional weapons.

As you expect with most any prospect, Etta has some areas to improve on, but in terms of what he needs to tweak in order to get on an NCAA field, that list is much shorter than it is for the other EDGE prospects in the class so far. 

OFFERS

As a well-regarded prospect from Texas, Etta's list of offers was long. He had big hitters from nearly every conference offer, which included Miami, Alabama, LSU, USC, Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, and Utah, to name a few. In terms of the offers that were truly competitive, it was a battle between schools that supplied Etta's academic focus (Michigan and Stanford notably) as well as schools that were offering to make Etta one of the crown jewels of their recruiting class (Michigan State notably). 

HIGH SCHOOL 

Enow Etta plays for the Covenant Christian Academy Cougars out of Colleyville, Texas. Covenant Christian has generally been a good program over the last half-decade or so, putting together excellent teams in 2016-17, then had rebuilding years in 2018-19, before an undefeated state championship season in 2020. Last year was a more mediocre 7-4 campaign that ended early in the playoffs. The catch to all of this is that they play in Division IV, which is a low level of competition and one not known for producing recruits of Etta's caliber. That's a big reason for the jawdropping stats you'll see below and did lead some scouts to reckon whether moving up to the B1G level will be a bit of a bumpy ride for Etta relative to say, Derrick Moore coming from St. Frances. 

STATS

Etta's HS numbers from this past season tell a tale of sheer dominance against inferior competition. He had 124 total tackles in 11 games to lead his team. Etta is also listed for 40.5 TFLs, twenty more than the next closest teammate (!), and 22.5 sacks, fifteen more than the next closest teammate (!!). His sophomore numbers are pretty great too, but the junior year ones showcase how he has definitively become the best player on the Cougar defense. 

FAKE 40 TIME 

I have not yet been able to find a 40 time on Etta. 

VIDEO 

Here is Etta's junior season highlight reel via his Hudl page: 

Track highlights? Track highlights: 

Cameroon Cruiser 🇨🇲🏃🏿‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/HaANQ8IgfJ

— Enow-M’beleke Etta🇨🇲🦏 (@EnowEtta1) March 9, 2022

ETC 

Etta's assistant coaches are a collection of ex-stars, former NFLers Tank Reed and Correll Buckhalter, as well as ... that Vernon Wells (!!). Wants to major in comp. sci/engineering... have fun on North Campus, nerd. Track athlete. Family is from Cameroon. 4.0 student. 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

Etta is another exciting EDGE prospect who is a good take because he gives a different dimension than Collins Acheampong. Where Acheampong is tall and lanky with a lot of room to grow and incredibly raw, Etta is a bit closer to playing, thicker relative to his height, and has more versatility than someone being groomed as pure pass rusher like Acheampong. Etta's versatility may be the most useful element of the profile, besides the fact he's a very promising football player. This is a player who you could use comfortably in a 3-4 or a 4-3, you can play him standing up or with a hand in the dirt, and he can play inside or out. 

Elston and Harbaugh will need to refine his technique a bit, get him to learn the scheme, and maybe put a bit more muscle on him as he adjusts to a major leap in competition from high school, but Etta is a player who I wouldn't be surprised to see play some as a true freshman (while preserving the redshirt). Then it's a bit quicker of a track to playing time than for someone like Acheampong or Koumba, who need to be left in the crockpot to marinate (likely) three years at minimum. Once he does play, the versatility, motor, physical tools, and instincts mean he should be a very productive college player and someone who, given Michigan's track record of producing edges, winds up in the NFL Draft years down the line. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS 

With Amyeric Koumba now in the class as well, Michigan is up to three EDGE prospects, but they are probably not done. A fourth EDGE has long seemed likely after it was a rather thin DL class in 2022. As has been reported in recent days, Michigan is increasingly committing 5* athletic freak Nyckoles Harbor on offense, as opposed to at EDGE like had long been the case. Thus, things are a bit in flux at this positional group, but I would look to names like Joseph Mupoyi (if he can ever get an undisclosed issue figured out) or Neeo Avery as the next candidates on the board, although we should get more clarity on the priorities moving forward in the coming days. 

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
RB	Cole Cabana	MI	4.2⬆⬆	Speedy receiver back
RB	Benjamin Hall	GA	3.7	Battering ram with vision
SL	Semaj Morgan	MI	3.8⬇	Homegrown Gattis-ian slot
WR	Fredrick Moore	MO	3.6	Crafty, Roundtree 2.0
TE	Deakon Tonielli	IL	3.9	Catchy bouncy bballer
OG	Amir Herring	MI	4.1	West Bloomfield's interior mauler
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Brooks Bahr	IL	3.7⬇	Long grow-a-3-tech
SDE	Enow Etta	TX	4.3⬆	Poor man's Rashan Gary
WDE	Collins Acheampong	CA	4.1⬆⬆	Long/tall athletic freak
WDE	Aymeric Koumba	FRA	3.7	Long/French athletic freak
MLB	Semaj Bridgeman	PA	4.0	Formerly elite, WLBish
PK	Adam Samaha	MI	3.1⬇	Local #1 kicker