'18 TX DT Otito Ogbonnia (UCLA signee)

#35
#35
Geaux_Vols said:
Took me forever to realize thats our Smokey Grey pant on his left leg. Looked like Washington purple.
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Glad you said that. I stared at it for like 2 minutes thinking we had been left off since the right leg with the UA logo couldn't be us.
 
#38
#38
Following an impressive senior season, Katy Taylor (Texas) defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia saw his stock soar, with UCLA, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Tennessee and others all extending offers in the last two months.

The 6-foot-4, 285-pound 3-star lineman has taken official visits to Texas Tech, Ole Miss and UCLA, and Ogbonnia has a trip set for Tennessee this weekend. Notre Dame and Nebraska are competing for his final OV before National Signing Day, but he locked in his visit with the Vols after meeting the staff in person last week.

“After the in-home visit (with Tennessee) I just looked at everything and decided I needed to take a visit after what they had to say,” Ogbonnia told VolQuest.

Since earning a Vols offer on Jan. 2, Ogbonnia has been in steady contact with both Tracy Rocker and head coach Jeremy Pruitt, and both coaches went in-home with the defensive tackle's family a week ago. They assured him that he was needed on Rocky Top and that Tennessee was worth a look.

“They’ve both been contacting me pretty often. Just getting to know each other,” Ogbonnia said.

“They’ve really just told me that with all their experience combined they have, and everything they can do, especially with the other guys they’ve gotten on the staff, that they need more people like me up front.”
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The Lone Star State prospect was overshadowed a bit on a high school defensive line that included 4-star ends Max Wright and Braedon Mowry, but Ogbonnia's intriguing athleticism — he's one of the best shot putters in Texas — has garnered interest from colleges across the country. Even in-state powerhouses Texas and Texas A&M have routinely maintained contact with Ogbonnia in the last month.

“I have a pretty big punch and I bull rush (opponents) and once get my hands on them, I make (plays),” he said. “I think it’s just one of those things where I’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of really developing my game. Once I get around a really good coaching staff I think that’s where I’ll really be able to show my skills.”

Ogbonnia said he feels like a priority for Tennessee’s staff and he’s ready to get a look at the campus and school. Academics are very important, as is the possibility of also competing in track and field in college.

How would he fit in with Tennessee’s new defense?

“They said they’re going to rotate between a 3-4 and a 4-3 defense, so they want to use me as a 3-technique, a nose guard and sometimes as a pass rusher with that ability that I have.”
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VQ
 
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#49
#49
IN HIS WORDS
On Ole Miss, where he took an official visit in November

“I think that it was a good experience,” he said. “It’s definitely a great option to have. I definitely enjoyed it there and it was a great visit. I think that they’re on the comeup because everyone is buying into Coach (Matt) Luke’s program. You heard the stories about players that were going to try and transfer if he didn’t stay, so I think that shows how much they really want him to be there.”

On Nebraska

“They win some ground with being compatible with football and track,” he said. “I think that I would be around good people out there because they took the whole staff with them from UCF - you really don’t see that a lot. Coach (Scott) Frost was a actually shot putter himself, so you know for sure that he is open to doing both.

“I also watched the Peach Bowl and I saw how they basically dominated that game. Again, it just shows the type of people they are … they could have just went to Nebraska and started their recruiting and all that but instead they came back for their guys and went 13-0.”

On Tennessee, where he’ll visit this weekend

“They have been able to make up some ground considering how late the came in,” he said. “They’ve also reassured me I can do both, so they’re setting up to meet with track while out on the visit … I don’t think I’ll be looking for anything specifically (on his official visit), I think the only thing is probably the people that are there.

“I think that you have to be around good people to be successful. Also just how I feel when I get there; some places you go and it’s just not you.”

On Texas Tech, where he took an official visit for track

“They told me that if I come in and work hard that I can maybe make an immediate impact,” he said. “When you look at where they were last year, they were basically one of the worst defenses in the country and they moved up I don’t even know how many spots, and you know that they are still getting better from there … On the D-Line, they’re losing their senior nose guard, and I think that kind of opens things up if I were to go there.”
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- Nick Krueger, Texas Recruiting Analyst, Rivals
 
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