Michigan Football: 5 bold predictions for Wolverines in 2021
By Alex Hinton
David Ojabo will have 8 sacks this year
Speaking of players that could benefit from a scheme change, David Ojabo is another one. Michigan football has Aidan Hutchinson entrenched at one standup outside linebacker/defensive end spot.
At the other one, the Wolverines have a group of talented and young but also unproven pass rushers in Ojabo, Jaylen Harrell, and Braiden McGregor. They will likely all play but I like Ojabo to win the starting spot right now.
Ojabo had a rough 2020. Ojabo grew up in Scotland and he was there when Covid-19 turned the world upside down. He spent part of the year unable to re-enter the US because of the pandemic. He was separated from the team and that slowed down his development a bit. He did make it back to the US before the start of the season and appeared in six games and recorded one tackle.
Ojabo has always possessed elite physical traits. At 6-foot-5 and 250 lbs, he won the New Jersey state title in the 100M with a time of 10.75. He has also been clocked in the 4.6-4.7 range in the 40-yard dash.
Ojabo’s length and athleticism make the ideal prototype to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. Ojabo was a bit raw in terms of technique out of high school like most edge prospects are. Now in his third year, Ojabo has had a couple of years to hone his technique to go with his physical gifts.
New defensive coordinator Mike MacDonald is likely licking his chops thinking of ways to unleash Ojabo’s athleticism. Ojabo should play the BUCK outside linebacker in MacDonald’s scheme.
Even if he is in a rotation, Ojabo is capable of producing 8 sacks. In 2019, outside linebacker Josh Uche had 8.5 sacks while playing 41% of Michigan’s defensive snaps. Michigan recorded 9 sacks as a team in 2020. If Ojabo is able to generate that kind of pressure, it will go a long way towards getting Michigan’s defense back to standard.