Film Don't Lie: Osita Ekwonu
Defensive coordinator Clark Lea was able to put his first stamp on the defensive personnel at linebacker helping to land a collection of long and fast athletes to play at the second level. Now Lea just helped land another one to add to the linebacker room who fits the same mold.
Osita Ekwonu has an impressive frame and the kind of length that coaches love. He also eats up ground with his strides while chasing down the opposition like a lion chasing a gazelle. He’s grown considerably as a football player in the last year and I expect that to continue to happen with him at Notre Dame.
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 220
Projected Position: Rover or Buck
ISD Grade: 92 (4-star)
National Average Grade: 91.7 (4-star)
What he does best:
There is no replacement for speed and the Irish have increased their athleticism at linebacker in recent years. Ekwonu is someone who can impact the game with his speed. This blitz is a perfect example of that.
Look at where this starts from. He’s inside shade of the slot and it’s not a narrow slot. The acceleration here is not normal. There is a linebacker blitzing far inside of him and Ekwonu blows right by that player to run down the quarterback.
He is long and he plays long. Ekwonu essentially plays the Rover role for his high school and he does a terrific job of attacking blocks on the perimeter. He creates separation before disengaging to make a play.
Ekwonu is a physical presence out there. There are a lot of space linebackers that try to win by slipping blocks and when they arrive to the football, they don’t exactly arrive with violence. That is not the case with Ekwonu. He wants to plant runners into the ground after he wraps up.
His reaction and awareness within the play really jumps out. He doesn’t get caught up with what his initial assignment is and can see the bigger picture.
This is a terrific job of getting the jam on the receiver here, but not getting caught up with that man. He plays with his eyes, reacts to the crosser, and then uses those long arms to break up the pass.
What he needs to improve:
I think the most glaring thing that he needs to work on is his instincts when lined up off the ball in the box. He’s a bit slow to recognize what’s coming. It just doesn’t look natural for him in there yet and that’s an area where he needs to get better.
It matters because his frame might force him to move inside to play Buck or Mike. Even with some plays outside, he needs to be quicker to react to some looks. He runs some stuff down because he can at the high school level, but he may miss against faster players if he hesitates.
Ekwonu looks a little bit tight in his lower body to me. His change of direction is pretty good and I think playing running back helps with his feet, but it may be just how it is with him if it’s not a flexibility issue.
What’s his ceiling?
I think a lot of how good Ekwonu can be depends on how big he will be. While he plays as a space backer/Rover right now and could play that at the next level, if he ends up getting to around 240 pounds at Notre Dame, then playing inside is probably a better fit for him.
If Clark Lea can help him make that transition and be quick to diagnose the inside run, then I think he can be an outstanding player. He has the speed to cover sideline to sideline and that physicality might be better suited between the tackles.
Notre Dame fans may not like this comparison because he plays for a rival, but Ekwonu reminds me of Stanford’s Bobby Okereke who was a highly regarded outside linebacker recruit and has become a very good player for them at inside linebacker.
I think that’s the kind of player Ekwonu has the potential to become at the next level and if it happens, Irish fans will get to watch a highly productive player that can make as much of an impact as a blitzer as he does as a run-stuffer.
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