Signing Day Capsule: LB Ovie Oghoufo
OVIE OGHOUFO - LINEBACKER
ISD: 4-star
Composite: 3-star
Farmington, MI (Harrison HS)
6-foot-3, 210 pounds
Senior Stats: 77 total tackles, 6 sacks, 31 receptions, 497 receiving yards, 5 receiving TDs
Recruiter: Todd Lyght/Clark Lea
Recruitment Rundown: Oghoufo became the fifth member of the 2018 class, when he committed in July of 2016. Oghoufo comes from the same high school as current Notre Dame defensive lineman Khalid Kareem, so that offered a great deal of comfort and familiarity within the Irish locker room. There was a brief time after Notre Dame’s disappointing 2016 season when it appeared Oghoufo could entertain other schools, but when Mike Elko was brought in as Irish defensive coordinator and talked about the role he envisioned for the rangy linebacker, Oghoufo was solid the rest of the way. He had offers from Michigan, Michigan State and Stanford among several others.
Harrison head coach John Herrington: “We’re looking for him as an outside linebacker and tight end. We figure he’ll keep improving. He’s got the frame they like in college. He’s 6-3 and weighs about 190 right now. His cousins got real big and I think he’s looking to do the same.
“Mario Ojemudia is his cousin who plays at Michigan. He left here at about 210, 215 pounds and went to 250, 260. He might be able to do that. He’s from a Nigerian background. Not to lump them all together, but those kids seem to get bigger as they get older.”
ISD expert Jamie Uyeyama: Oghoufo is at the top of my list for underappreciated Notre Dame commits in this class. One of the first members of the 2018 class, he had a phenomenal senior season at linebacker and playing multiple positions on offense. He’s simply a good football player no matter where he lines up and I think he will find a role on special teams immediately for the Irish.
In the long term, though, it’s going to be interesting to see where he ends up because he does some things well that could translate inside or on the perimeter at linebacker.
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