Former NFL Head Coach Talks Azeez Ojulari and 2021 NFL Draft
Jim Mora Jr. entered the realm of professional football at the bright young age of 24-years-old as a quality control assistant with the San Diego Chargers. He then went on to spend the next 24 years of his adult life coaching in the NFL.
He reached the pinnacle of the profession in 2004 when he was named the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. So, he's uniquely qualified to speak on matters such as the NFL Draft.
Mora joined us on Dawgs Daily to discuss the NFL Draft potential of former Georgia edge rusher Azeez Ojulari and he had a very interesting player comparison.
"There's been comparisons to him and Joey Porter, who was obviously a great outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I think they are very, very similar. Joey was a guy that when he was coming out people weren't quite sure where to play him. But we knew one thing, he was a great football player. So, you were going to find a spot to play him, you were going to adjust your defense for him."
Mora went on to say that Ojulari has tremendous versatility as an edge defender: "We play in an era now where everything is so spread out. The days of two backs, two tight ends, and one receiver just doesn't exist very often. When everything is so wide open, I think he adapts well to that."
It's something we've discussed here on Dawgs Daily on SI.com. Sure, Azeez Ojulari isn't your prototypical defensive end from a decade ago. He's simply too thin compared to guys like Bruce Smith or Reggie White who were considerably bigger than Ojulari.
He looks a lot more like today's edge defenders that are having success in today's game that has become much more about space and athleticism than size and strength.
However, it wasn't the play of Ojulari that stood out the most to Mora. It was the fact that Ojulari was the first and only freshman to be named a captain at Georgia under head coach Kirby Smart.
"This young man was named team captain as a freshman. I would like to go back in the annals of college football and see how many freshmen have been named team captain. When you are an NFL executive, you want to populate your locker room with great players who are high character individuals like this. This young man has it all."
Mora seems to be sold on Ojulari's chances to be a first-round pick and a future star in the NFL.
