Abi Okonji
Strengths:
· Run stopper. Abi does an excellent job with his run fits and doesn’t get caught up with offensive lineman and uses leverage well.
· Block shedding. Okonji uses his hands extremely well to shed blocks, especially in the run game. The one thing I was most impressed with was his ability to keep offensive lineman at arms distance, and then throw them off, then make the play.
· Burst off the line. Initial jump off the line sets up his speed rush, but then he causes tackles to overset in their drop, allowing him to work back under.
Weaknesses:
· I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t more clips of him pass rushing. MaxPreps had him with only two sacks this season. His team wasn’t very good this season, but even then I would expect more than two sacks from a D1-bound defensive end. His tape didn’t show an array of pass rush moves.
· Bit of a tweener: Rivals has him listed at 6’3” 240, but from the pictures I’ve seen of him next to Bryce Paup and some commits, I think he’s a bit smaller. I could be wrong there.
Okonji has a chance to be a player for the Gophers. I expected his tape to be more pass-rush focused than run-defense, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. His rush defense ability allows him to play early, however he’ll only be a two-down player for Minnesota until his pass rush abilities improve. He’ll most likely see time early as there aren’t many other DE options ahead of him.
Strengths:
· Run stopper. Abi does an excellent job with his run fits and doesn’t get caught up with offensive lineman and uses leverage well.
· Block shedding. Okonji uses his hands extremely well to shed blocks, especially in the run game. The one thing I was most impressed with was his ability to keep offensive lineman at arms distance, and then throw them off, then make the play.
· Burst off the line. Initial jump off the line sets up his speed rush, but then he causes tackles to overset in their drop, allowing him to work back under.
Weaknesses:
· I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t more clips of him pass rushing. MaxPreps had him with only two sacks this season. His team wasn’t very good this season, but even then I would expect more than two sacks from a D1-bound defensive end. His tape didn’t show an array of pass rush moves.
· Bit of a tweener: Rivals has him listed at 6’3” 240, but from the pictures I’ve seen of him next to Bryce Paup and some commits, I think he’s a bit smaller. I could be wrong there.
Okonji has a chance to be a player for the Gophers. I expected his tape to be more pass-rush focused than run-defense, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. His rush defense ability allows him to play early, however he’ll only be a two-down player for Minnesota until his pass rush abilities improve. He’ll most likely see time early as there aren’t many other DE options ahead of him.
