Who could be next years Ojabo?
So before the season, Ojabo had one career tackle, now it appears he will be off to the NFL as a first round pick. Obviously we still have a ton to play for this year so not trying to think too far ahead, but if you look at the roster, we have a lot in place to be very talented on both sides of the ball. Biggest challenge will be likely having to replace both Hutch and Ojabo. We will need another young player to take a big leap like he did this year. My hope is that Harrell and McGregor step up in those roles, but a guy like Upshaw could have a big senior season as well.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:19 AM ^
Hoping its Ojabo that is next year's Ojabo.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:22 AM ^
I am too but I have serious doubts. His stock is red hot. I’d say 95 pct chance he will go.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:46 AM ^
Exactly. I can’t imagine a scenario where I or my kid would be a 1st round pick and I would want to or advise my kid to pass on the money for another year while risking injury and the future career. I get why some guys do it, but man…high risk low reward financially to return for an extra season if you can get paid.
November 16th, 2021 at 9:28 AM ^
Maybe Hutch will explain to Ojabo why he did it.
I think Ojabo will (should) go, but you don’t have to look far to find an example of a guy in that situation that didn’t.
November 16th, 2021 at 9:31 AM ^
I hope Hutchinson's reason from last year becomes a moot point when we win the B1G this year.
November 16th, 2021 at 9:44 AM ^
At this time last year Hutchinson was a mid-late round 2 / round 3 projection in most mock drafts. If Ojabo's trajectory doesn't fall, you're looking at a top 20-25 pick --- quite a different decision and equation to consider than where Hutch was.
November 16th, 2021 at 9:59 AM ^
I think Ojabo could use another year. Watching him a lot against Penn State taught me that. But if he's going to be a 1st rounder based on potential, he'd be a better man than I to not take it.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:24 AM ^
Can’t we buy a lot of Ojabo shirts/mugs to give him a $$$ reason to stay?
November 16th, 2021 at 1:03 PM ^
In all seriousness, I wonder how much $ he can make after a year of NIL getting up and running and being potentially pre-season All American. I know there was talk of Bama QB making ~$1 million. Could Ojabo make $250K? $500K?
November 16th, 2021 at 11:44 AM ^
You "can't imagine" a scenario where you or your kid would stay at Michigan another season if you had a shot at getting drafted?
Can't imagine?!
Quite the statement on your fandom & love of U of M!
November 16th, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^
Quite the statement on your fandom & love of U of M!
Or quite a statement on his realism and love of his child.
November 16th, 2021 at 12:00 PM ^
Care to elaborate? Where do "realism" or "love of child" factor in?
He said "can't imagine" - which states no educational, team or personal goal could even be imaginable as being as important as $.
Or rather, the Jake Butt chance of not making that $ (or more) a year later.
Speaking of which, can we name any other players besides Jake who've seen their draft stock & future earnings so completely shattered by an injury they could have avoided simply by opting out of a game? I know it happens, but not that frequently, right?
November 16th, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
For my education and entertainment, please provide examples of when someone says "I can't imagine" and means it literally rather than as hyperbole.
November 16th, 2021 at 4:03 PM ^
ND LB Jaylon Smith won the Butkus Award, given annually to college football's top linebacker in 2015. During the Fiesta Bowl game, Smith suffered with tears to the ACL and LCL. Prior to his injury in the Fiesta Bowl, Smith was projected to be a top-five pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. After the injury, NFL draft experts and scouts projected Smith to be selected as early as the second round to as late as the sixth round.
November 16th, 2021 at 4:21 PM ^
if you'd use the phrase "I can't imagine" in relation to opting to play football for Michigan - even as hyperbole - I question your love for the school.
Not David Ojabo the Nigerian Scotsman's love - your love, as an Mgoblog article consumer & message board poster!
So, now we have Butt & Jalen Smith (who went on to a decent NFL career) as people who were injured & had it affect their professional future. Not a lot, but certainly still a risk... what if NIL could pay for insurance against such an occurrence?
Could it then be possible to fathom a player staying at Michigan beyond their first opportunity to get drafted? What if playing another season lifted his draft stock from ~15 to top 5, or top 2?! How much is that worth in $?
November 16th, 2021 at 2:31 PM ^
you have an unrealistic view of the world sir.
if he has first round talent he should go, at his size and ability he can be a situational pass rusher from day 1 in the NFL and work his way to full time starter.
he can still finish school.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:20 AM ^
The next Scotch-Nigerian to play organized football for two years, come to Michigan and blow up, and then get drafted in the first round? That’s a pretty tall order…
November 16th, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
Scotch-Nigerians are hard to come by. But I've heard that Welsh-Ugandans and even the coveted Swede-Mongols may be taking an interest in playing American football next year.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^
"There's a lot of things you never see and you don't know you don't see them because you don't see them. You've got to see something first to know you never saw it. Then you see it and say, "Hey, I never saw that." Too late, you just saw it.
I know things you never see. You never see a Rolls Royce with a bumper sticker that says "shit happens." You never see a really big, tall, fat Chinese guy with red hair. You never see a wheelchair with a roll-bar. You never see someone taking a shit while running at full speed. And, you never see a picture of Margaret Thatcher strapping on a dildo." George Carlin
November 16th, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
Well I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac... ?♂️
November 16th, 2021 at 11:51 AM ^
"You never see someone taking a shit while running at full speed."
I have. Marine Corps boot camp. August of 1991.
November 16th, 2021 at 12:10 PM ^
I'm rooting for the next Scotch-Romanian....like John Coctostan....
November 16th, 2021 at 1:14 PM ^
Can I borrow your towel? My car just hit a water buffalo.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:52 AM ^
Scotch is a drink. Scottish is a person.
November 16th, 2021 at 1:12 PM ^
You may want to check on that. It is a plural noun for the people of Scotland, used interchangeably with Scottish - and, as in my particular genealogical heritage, often preceding Irish. I am Scotch-Irish.
November 16th, 2021 at 7:33 PM ^
I'm Scottish-American and only the Scotch-Irish (and some Irish, and some asshole English) still use the archaic "Scotch" to describe people. "Scots" is sometimes used as the adjective.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:21 AM ^
Having Ojabo stay would be OSU level luck. We ain't got that.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:23 AM ^
Luck has nothing to do with it. We treat our football players like college kids. They treat theirs like celebrities.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:34 AM ^
Zach Harrison might be on our bench right now wanting more playing time.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:11 AM ^
More likely is that he would have taken Ojabo's practice reps and Ojabo may never have gotten this opportunity to blossom. I've always wondered how many players in any sport could have been superstars if they were in a different situation. Right place at the right time sometimes has merit.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:55 AM ^
Harrison would absolutely be at best third on our depth chart right now, which is very funny
November 16th, 2021 at 9:02 AM ^
Or they just have a winning culture. Could be that.
November 16th, 2021 at 9:11 AM ^
only 4 10 win seasons in the past 7 years, WIN MORE
November 16th, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^
That's what causes players to pass up millions of dollars to stay an extra year in college?
November 16th, 2021 at 5:18 PM ^
Yes? Why do you think it happens much more there, than it does here?
November 16th, 2021 at 11:40 AM ^
Or maybe all the inane comments on why osu players might remain at osu even after they have a shot at getting drafted have some degree of truth, and also an equal amount of bitterness?!
November 16th, 2021 at 8:52 AM ^
Ojabo staying OSU level luck? Aidan Hutchinson disagrees.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:22 AM ^
Probably no one. Ojabo was talked about as having the athletic-freakism to be a 1st round pick if he can develop fundamentally. I remember Brian maybe mentioning an article about how guys like Ojabo are basically the way to recruit defensive ends. AFAIK we don't have anyone who fits that on D.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:31 AM ^
Welschof is an athletic freak. Maybe he slims down a little next year, moves from DT to DE, and starts treating opposing tackles like those little flags on the downhill ski runs.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:38 AM ^
That would be nice.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:19 AM ^
I agree, there's no other Ojabo on the roster. The closest approximation from an athleticism standpoint is probably Kechaun Bennett, but I doubt he'd be ready to unleash next season and is a step or 2 below athletically anyway. Current commit Kevonte Henry is probably in the same mold as Bennett looking to the future.
Now, if we're only talking potential breakout pass rushers, maybe Harrell, McGregor, or the forgotten man, Gabe Newburg (depending on what his injury is).
November 16th, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^
We've seen only slightly more of Harrell than we had of Ojabo by this time last year. But he was purported to have "burst & bend" in his crootin profile.
But Upshaw would be my guess of closest D.O. comp - unless it's someone in the class of '22!
November 16th, 2021 at 1:54 PM ^
I've liked what I've seen of Upshaw the last couple games. Apparently he'd been "working through something" first half of the season, but he seems like a guy who can get off blocks and likes to get after the quarterback. Son of an NFL guy. He could blow up next season.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:23 AM ^
I think Mike Morris could be in line for a great season. Obviously Harrell/McGregor are right there too. What great examples they are getting to see this year.....
November 16th, 2021 at 8:33 AM ^
It will either be Tim, Jeff, Eric, or Stefanie
November 16th, 2021 at 8:36 AM ^
If Don Brown gets fired at Arizona, and if he doesn't take the head coaching job at UMass, and if he doesn't have anything else to do, Michigan should hire him as Head Recruiting Consultant: Northeast and Southeast Regions. Didn't he find Ojabo in NJ and Uche in Florida? Set him loose to find hidden gems.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:49 AM ^
The coach who led Ojabo’s recruitment was defensive coordinator Greg Mattison who left Michigan for Ohio State before Ojabo got on campus.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:01 AM ^
His recruiting is what got his ass fired. He didn’t recruit to fit his heavy pressure man to man defense but he also didn’t adjust his defense for the personnel he had. His defenses could hold even OSU in check when he had (Hoke’s recruits) DTs like Mo Hurst and Ryan Glasgow or a freak athlete viper like Jabrill. He never recruited to replace those DTs or Viper and then we had Dwumfour & Kemp getting blown off the ball while OSU focused on doubling Winovich and/or Gary in 2018, Jordan Glasgow lined up as DT in a 3-4 against Wisco 2019, Khaleke Hudson trying to cover JK Dobbins on a wheel route, etc. Unless you’d like to see Wisco running for 300 yds again, keep Don Brown the fuck away from any recruiting.
Ojabo was also a composite 4 star (not some unranked gem) from NJ so his primary was Partridge. Uche was committed to Miami (YTM) at one point and had offers from Alabama, Florida, and Auburn. Both were not some gems that no one else know about that Michigan found.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:04 AM ^
Name checks out?
I like Don Brown and kinda tighten up when people get a little loose with their "Don Brown slander" around here. The man gave his all and wanted to win as much as anyone else. It worked until it didn't.
That said, even in the abstract this doesn't make much sense for a young DC to have his predecessor anywhere on the staff. If we're to "brain storm" your idea, we should do the "poach Wisconsin OL" recruiting technique, where we see any obscure DE talent that Don Brown appears to be going hard for, and offer them too!
November 16th, 2021 at 6:45 PM ^
IF [notice the big I and the big F since this is all just some fun talk] someone were to hire a former Michigan coach in regards to recruiting, Brady Hoke should be near the top of that list. Hoke may not have been much of a Head Coach, but he could identify talent on the line.