Fighting Irish on the Rise | Ade Ogundeji
Ade Ogundeji was the least hyped of the defensive ends that Notre Dame signed in 2016. He was a 3-star prospect and the lone one of the group who redshirted. He’s basically been a year behind the others in just about every aspect.
2018 was the first year he found a spot in the rotation, but without many chances to rush the passer compared to three defensive ends ahead of him on the depth chart, he managed only 1.5 sacks.
One did come against Clemson in the Cotton Bowl, though, when he beat unanimous All-American Mitch Hyatt around the edge. He dipped his shoulder and turned the corner to sack Trevor Lawrence.
Whether it was a confidence builder or not, it showed that he had the ability to be a great pass rusher. It took awhile for that to shine through in 2019, but Julian Okwara’s injury allowed him to play more and gain confidence while doing so.
He went from a solid player in the rotation to someone on the verge of something much bigger in the final three games of the season. During that time he had 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles and it all started with a great performance at Boston College.
Here he is getting a chance to play in Notre Dame’s Dime defense and he beats the right tackle with a quick swipe. He is able to strip the football and finish as well, which he also did against Stanford on a play that resulted in a touchdown.
He’s not just a pass rusher either. He’s so long and has learned to use that length to his advantage like on this goal line play against Boston College. He owns the right tackle here with his punch and separates to make the tackle on big AJ Dillon.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah received most of the attention on defense for his play against Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl, but Ogundeji had just as big of an impact on the game. You can see the swipe is becoming a go-to move for him as he knocks the tackles hands away and bends to the quarterback. He had a sack and four pressures on the day.
The nail in the coffin moment in the game came when JOK had a sack on 4th down, but a closer look shows how he was able to get that sack. Ogundeji uses a long arm and has the left guard on skates, which forces Brock Purdy to stop rolling out. Then comes JOK to clean it up.
It’s a shame we didn’t get to see Ogundeji this spring because I have a feeling we’d be talking about him coming out of it as a star in the making. Maybe those three games are enough to already call him that. He was a dominant player to finish the season and if he continues that level of play, the sky's the limit for the kind of season he can have.