Mr. David Ojabo has become a DUDE!
I just watched a replay of the today's game and David Ojabo was spectacular - 2.5 sacks, 7 tackles, and a forced fumble! After his game saving forced fumble last week against Rutgers, he only ascended this week. On the season, he's forced 2 fumbles, has 3.5 sacks, and recovered a fumble. Ojabo has been a pleasant surprise on this year's defense, and has become a fine complement to the All-American Hutchinson. Ojabo's performance, thus far, has certainly allayed my earlier concerns about a 2nd edge rusher. He wasn't a highly regarded recruit (4 star in the 300 range), but he's developed into a highly productive player. I think the second half of the season will see the Michigan DL continue to grow into a dominant unit.
October 3rd, 2021 at 1:16 AM ^
He is awesome and it does not hurt that Hutchinson is getting double teamed all the time.
October 3rd, 2021 at 8:00 AM ^
Hutchinon's dominance is a big help. If he could have a year a la Chase Winovich benefiting from Rashan Gary double teams, that would be super.
Big question is how much of that performance is down to uncharacteristically poor Wisconsin O-Line play.
October 3rd, 2021 at 9:05 AM ^
I'm trying to figure out how every offensive line we play against is good to great until we play them and turrible afterwards. I read the previews which had Wisconsin with 4 out of 5 stars on the their offensive line (sure, one of those guys didn't play), but we were destroying ALL of their linemen in pass and run.
At some point, we're going to have to conclude that maybe all those lines aren't bad and maybe we're good?
October 3rd, 2021 at 9:47 AM ^
Wisconsin O Line is above average and elite at run blocking. I was a harsh critic about Michigan’s D Line until yesterday. I stand corrected. Their D Line stone walled and consistently reset the LOS. When Wisconsin was dropping back to pass the ball had to come out in a hurry because of the rush. Well done.
October 3rd, 2021 at 10:33 AM ^
Hinton is getting serious push right now and Mazi is doing fine as well.
October 3rd, 2021 at 10:36 AM ^
I don't want to scare it away but Hinton is looking like a dude.
October 3rd, 2021 at 12:57 PM ^
If Hinton and Mazi reach their potential instead of being just guys then the d-line could be very special. Ojabo is another one of those freak athlete boom/bust guys. Looks like he's booming.
October 3rd, 2021 at 11:09 AM ^
The guy that subbed in (Lyles) for the center was a senior that has played a lot of football and been on the watch list for best center in the land. He was not your average backup coming in.
We should feel really good about man-handling that o-line!
October 3rd, 2021 at 1:32 AM ^
I knew David Ojabo was going to be a beast partially based on a comment he made when he was in HS.
Ojabo was teammates with a player named Odafe Jayson Oweh at Blair Academy in Blairtown, NJ. His name should ring a bell. Oweh was a top 100 player overall and a DE at Penn State. (Oweh was drafted by the Ravens late in the 1st round and recently had a forced fumble on Clyde Edwards-Helaire that helped the Lamar Jackson-led Ravens finally beat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a thrilling comeback.)
Anyways, Ojabo made a comment in HS about him playing with Oweh and knowing that he was much better than Oweh. (If someone can find the article of him saying this it would be greatly appreciated.) So I was naturally curious, looked up Ojabo's tapes, and compared it to Oweh's tapes. Let's just say that I was giddy. I realized that Ojabo was underrated/underranked.
I knew if Ojabo was given some time to develop, he would be a baller. And he's showing out this season...
Now if Braiden McGregor and Julius Welschof can emerge too then we've got some more reinforcements...
October 3rd, 2021 at 2:37 AM ^
I remember this too. I think the comment Ojabo made was more along the lines of he was more athletic than Oweh but had not had enough time to learn the sport yet so he knew he could be better than Oweh in the future. I think Ojabo had only been playing football for a year or two at the time.
Also Ojabo had been part of his school's track and field team so yeah, definitely a better athlete and higher ceiling as a player. I agree.
October 3rd, 2021 at 1:39 AM ^
Dude went to the Dwight Freeney school of spin moves and I love it. I love our chances down the stretch if him and Hutchinson stay healthy.
October 3rd, 2021 at 3:56 AM ^
Watching our D yesterday reminded me of the Colts’ glory days where you had the feeling with every drop back that the QB would likely be hit or stripped by Freeney or Robert Mathis. Good times my friends, and more to come!
Ojabo is a Nigerian transplant who is still learning the game (he first played football in 2017!). His talent is through the roof, and one might argue that his ceiling is the roof. I like referring to Hutchinson and Ojabo as lighting and lightning: ⚡️ and ⚡️
October 3rd, 2021 at 1:44 AM ^
Just rewatched as well and had a similar thought. I recall scouts saying he's physically almost identical to Zack Harrison, and well... Christ, him coming off the edge is terrifying. He may be starting to play up to his physical gifts.
October 3rd, 2021 at 7:17 AM ^
Except that Harrison is a punk beotch?
October 3rd, 2021 at 2:05 AM ^
He was awesome chasing the QB today. Interesting to see the UFR and how he charted at other aspects.
October 3rd, 2021 at 2:18 AM ^
Great game Ojabo!
Word of advice, just don't show any appreciation to Coach Nua.
It's frowned upon I guess.
October 3rd, 2021 at 7:00 AM ^
Some guy just happened to make a post that was a little over the top and accusatory toward anyone who thinks he's not the best coach ever. Maybe we just need to see what he can do without brown for a year first...
October 3rd, 2021 at 10:16 AM ^
I light heartedly showed my appreciation for a coach I like, and was accusatory toward those who wanted him to lose his job.
I can live with that.
October 3rd, 2021 at 9:05 AM ^
I think they negged you because if all the Nua haters had to eat grow it would destroy the ecosystem...and your post was over the top.
I am also not sure Ojabo falls under Nua's responsibility in the new system but Hinton seems to be hitting his stride.
October 3rd, 2021 at 2:18 AM ^
I think a lot of us were waiting for this to happen. When he committed he had only played seven football games (I believe) so he was a bit off the radar, yet he still managed to get offers from UM, ND, OSU, TAMU, Clemson... and ran a sub 11 sec 100M as a DE, which I found pretty crazy. That's Willie Henry / Frank Clark raw athleticism that a proper S&C program and good coaching will turn into an NFL player.
October 3rd, 2021 at 2:55 AM ^
Great to have this guy size + speed and having Hutch on the other side is cool
October 3rd, 2021 at 4:02 AM ^
I love Mr. Ojabo and am extremely happy to see him ball out, especially today. I have little to no doubt that he'll be a special player.
October 3rd, 2021 at 6:02 AM ^
Obligatory
October 3rd, 2021 at 7:22 AM ^
Imagine being this good at your job only 5 years in.
October 3rd, 2021 at 7:49 AM ^
According to one article, Obajo came to US to play basketball in Blair Academy, ended up switching to football after people saw him running 10.8s 100m as a freshman.
October 3rd, 2021 at 7:51 AM ^
Seth had mentioned that their LT was a trouble spot and Ojabo exposed him.
October 3rd, 2021 at 8:00 AM ^
Well said. Mr. Ojabo is a gifted athlete with a high ceiling. Especially like his speed and how he forces fumbles.
October 3rd, 2021 at 8:06 AM ^
Ojabo’s and Vastardis’ play this year has transformed our DL/OL. On to Nebraska!! HAIL!!
October 3rd, 2021 at 8:34 AM ^
Sure, why not...
October 3rd, 2021 at 8:48 AM ^
He's getting better and better every game, and will clearly be one of the top edge rushers in the nation by next year. Some people are wondering what's taken him this long given his great athletic ability. But like others have pointed out above, he only started playing football in 2017. It'll be exciting to see what he develops into.
October 3rd, 2021 at 9:11 AM ^
This was a Brown project, along with Uche. And MacDonald is getting it out of him. A shout out to all the naysayers here, it's time to admit that MacDonald was a great hire.
October 3rd, 2021 at 10:33 AM ^
I liked the hire and what I've seen so far but we also have not played an offense. Don Brown also looked great early with someone else's recruits. We probably won't be 100% for a year or two.
October 3rd, 2021 at 11:56 AM ^
MacDonald and his defense are improving each week now that the competition has gotten stronger in conference play. Whodda thought? A bigger test comes this weekend against Nebraska. If Michigan can hold them to 20 points or less, then they'll win big.
Very impressive so far and kudos to MacDonald, his staff and how much they are getting out of these players. They are playing like they are on a mission and also play hungry and with anger. Gotta love it!
October 3rd, 2021 at 9:19 AM ^
Ojabo was named national player of the week at something called the Pro Football Network. Would be nice if the NFL didn't notice him for another year though:
https://www.profootballnetwork.com/college-football-players-of-the-week-2021-cfbwk-5/
October 3rd, 2021 at 9:40 AM ^
Ojabo came to Michigan as a guy, and now he’s playing like a guy bring a dude.
October 3rd, 2021 at 9:45 AM ^
He's still kind of lost in situations that aren't pass rushing but he is an elite pass rusher already.
October 3rd, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
Between Harrell, McGregor, Upshaw, and Morris the team can allow Ojabo to be one-dimensional. I think that is the strength of this new defense.
October 3rd, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^
I am appreciating him more so each game. He is a rising star. His only blemish was that celebration flag he got in the WMU game which is no big deal. I liked his post game interview after the Wisconsin game as he is humble and soft spoken.
All the best to David Ojabo and GO BLUE, #55!!
October 3rd, 2021 at 12:26 PM ^
He plays mean. Looks mean. Is mean.
?
October 3rd, 2021 at 12:52 PM ^
What does he need to do to play more on standard downs? Seems like they don't quite trust him to hold up to the run quite yet. If he can develop into an every down DE opposite Hutchinson, that could go a long way toward teams scheming around Aiden.
October 3rd, 2021 at 1:24 PM ^
David Ojabo when asked about Saturday's game "We don't want to do too much talking. It's just silence, violence, take care of business and go back home."
https://fb.watch/8pD-nCFtaa/
October 3rd, 2021 at 10:05 PM ^
This may be one of my favorite quotes ever!!
October 3rd, 2021 at 2:17 PM ^
He starting to look Frank Clark esque.