NFL Draft Profile: Moro Ojomo, Defensive Lineman, Texas Longhorns
In this story:
Moro Ojomo
Texas Longhorns
#98
Pos: iDL
Ht: 6024
Wt: 292
Hand: 1038
Arm: 3448
Wing: 8338
40: 5.04
DOB: 8/15/2001
Hometown: Katy, TX
High School: Katy
Eligibility: 2023
One Liner:
Ojomo is an explosive defensive lineman with a high motor, good arm length and athletic traits, and experience in several unique roles, but he’s an undersized tweener who struggles against double teams and lacks a developed pass rush plan.
Evaluation:
Ojomo is a redshirt senior entering 2022 with more than 1,200 defensive snaps from a variety of alignments under his belt. He spent a lot of time in the A-gap as a 1-tech in 2019, outside the tackle in 2020 (5-tech), and shifted along the line from 3-tech to 4-tech in 2021. Ojomo projects best in a 4i to 5-tech role in the NFL with some snaps at 3-tech mixed in. This role prevents him from facing too many doubles teams along the interior. Ojomo reminded analysts that he’s a legitimate draft prospect with a standout performance early in the 2022 season against Alabama. He explodes off the line with good leverage and quickly engages his hands to beat offensive linemen to the punch. Ojomo has good arm length and active hands, which he uses to attack the lineman’s hands and arms early in the rush. His initial explosiveness and violent attacks knock linemen backward, disrupting plays. Ojomo displays solid change of direction skills and good linear speed for a player his size. He redirects off the first block, flows down the line to the ball, and displays high effort in pursuit. Ojomo excels at sliding off blocks and he has a swim move that he’ll use in run and pass scenarios. The redshirt senior occasionally communicates shifts and adjustments to other linemen pre-snap. However, Ojomo is an undersized interior player with a tweener build and skill set. He’s dealt with penalties and missed tackles in the past. The fifth-year Longhorn struggles against double teams, especially in the run game. He doesn’t consistently have the strength to win the point of attack and has a bad habit of letting linemen into his chest. Ojomo lacks a developed pass rush plan and arsenal of moves. He puts out a lot of effort as a rusher but displays little refinement. His rush sometimes leads him to surrender gap integrity. Ojomo’s pad level rises too high throughout the play, and he doesn’t have a deep bag of counters to revive his rush once his initial push dies. He lacks the bend to play as a pure edge rusher.
Grade:
4th Round
Background:
Ojomo was a three-star recruit from Katy High School in Katy, Texas in the class of 2018. He was the No. 390 recruit according to the 247Sports Composite board and No. 345 (four-star) for On3.com. Ojomo was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals. He was an unranked four-star recruit for ESPN with an 80 grade out of 100. Ojomo was born in Lagos, Nigeria, moved to California when he was seven, and moved to Texas when he was in the seventh grade. As a high school senior, he produced eight sacks, 15 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. Ojomo was the 2017 Defensive Most Valuable Player of District 19-6A and led Katy High School to an appearance in the 6A state semifinals. He produced three sacks and four tackles for loss as a high school junior and earned Second-Team All-District 19-6A honors. For 2020, 2021, and 2022, Ojomo served on The University of Texas’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), “a group that works with athletic department administrators on issues relating to the management, operations, and rules governing the athletic department and its sports teams while representing the diverse backgrounds, views, interests, and concerns of student-athletes.” Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian prevented Ojomo from speaking to the media for a period in 2022 after the redshirt senior made controversial comments about some of his younger teammates. Ojomo earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors in 2021.
