David Ojabo's rise to surefire NFL draft pick captures Michigan football's ascent
Mike Macdonald could barely stifle a laugh as he reflected on the past 11 months of his life. The meteoric rise of Michigan football’s rookie defensive coordinator would seem almost unfathomable if it didn’t transpire before everyone’s eyes.
“I felt like it's almost a year ago this whole thing got started and we were on a plane to Ann Arbor in the snow, and now we're down here in sunny Miami,” he said Tuesday at the site of the Orange Bowl playoff semifinal.
Perhaps no person better understood how the young assistant felt in that moment than David Ojabo. The third-year pass rusher has experienced a similarly remarkable ascent since the start of 2021.
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Playing predominantly on the opposite side of Heisman Trophy runner-up Aidan Hutchinson, Ojabo has transformed from a nameless reserve into an All-American and a potential top-flight NFL draft pick that has the football world atwitter.
One NFL personnel executive told the Free Press he’s a potential “first-rounder” and a “definite second-round choice.”
It’s easy to understand why. Since Week 2, he has 11 sacks and forced five fumbles, terrorizing opposing quarterbacks who have become increasingly aware of the threat he poses. Like bishops on a chessboard, Hutchinson and Ojabo have traced diagonal paths before toppling their targets. With a versatile scheme that features a slew of simulated pressures, Macdonald has become Michigan’s resident chess master and has manipulated his best two pieces to the Wolverines’ advantage. Their impact reverberates at all levels of the defense, which has afforded Macdonald the flexibility to rush four players, drop the maximum number into coverage and reduce the blitz rate.
“He uses his personnel to the best of our ability,” defensive tackle Mazi Smith said. “He's got packages for everybody, and he's trying to get the most out of us.”
Without question, he has extracted every last drop out of Ojabo, a player whose athleticism had long tantalized his coaches and teammates.
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Despite picking up the sport only four years ago following a childhood spent on three continents, he arrived in Ann Arbor as a consensus four-star recruit. In practice, glimpses of Ojabo’s raw ability were seen. The speed flashed. The power and explosiveness did, too.
“Since the day he got here, everybody knew that this is what he could be doing,” Smith said. “He’s just a monster.”
But until this year, Ojabo wasn’t unleashed on unsuspecting opponents. He redshirted as a freshman and then played 27 snaps as a sophomore.
Following Kwity Paye’s departure in the offseason, Michigan needed to identify an edge defender to pair with Hutchinson. Macdonald quickly pinpointed Ojabo and hoped the combination would prosper. In an elevated position, Ojabo shadowed Hutchinson, whose reputation as a hard worker preceded him.
“I just told him I was going to be in his hip pocket,” Ojabo said. “It was a smart thing to do. ... You've got to grind. You've got to put it on film. I guess it's the mentality part. And then the stars kind of aligned with my physical traits, and then it kind of took off.”
Ojabo, Hutchinson, Macdonald and the Michigan defense soared together before reaching heights no one could have envisioned.
A season after the Wolverines offered little resistance to opponents as they stumbled to a 2-4 record, they have suppressed their competition, allowing 16.1 points per game, the fourth-lowest average in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
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The marked improvement is largely the result of Macdonald’s performance. The 34-year-old has imbued the players with confidence and put them in positions to succeed. Hutchinson, who tripled his career sack total in one season, is a testament to that. So too is DJ Turner, who emerged as the team’s best cover cornerback after beginning this fall as a reserve.
And then there is Ojabo, a ferocious pass rusher who realized stardom overnight.
Together, their fortunes changed just as their team’s had.
It is quite the story.
“Yeah, definitely,” Ojabo said. “Coming into the season ... I was unknown. Looking back at it, seeing where I'm at now, it's a blessing.”
Macdonald, who seemed on the verge of pinching himself Tuesday, would likely agree.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Big Ten newsletter.