College Coach Admits Mistake With Usage of Lions UDFA Eric O'Neill

Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano addressed a mistake made with a current Detroit Lions undrafted free agent signing.

O’Neill was a transfer to Rutgers prior to the season after a season at James Madison where the prospect put up an eye-popping 13 sacks in 2024. In his one season with the Scarlet Knights, however, O’Neill regressed to 2.5 sacks despite comparable pressure numbers.

When scouting O’Neill, the main concern was this drop in production, as there was concern about him getting washed out of the play and an inability to finish a play and get a sack.

Schiano was asked about the EDGE during Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday, where the head coach revealed what led to his recruitment out of the transfer portal.

In addition, the head coach lamented his own usage of O’Neill to begin the season.

“What we saw coming out of James Madison was a guy who played incredibly hard, played with great passion. And technically, he was pretty proficient,” Schiano complimented his pass rusher. “I think we made a mistake with Eric O’Neill for the first half of the year. We played him in the wrong position.

"When we finally moved him to what I believe was the right position, I thought he showed what he could do in the back half of the season. He played very well. Had he been able to do that the whole year, I think he would have helped our defense and (it) would have helped Eric (O’Neill’s draft stock). So I’m really hopeful that he does well in Detroit and gets to stay a part of the team.”

It is worth mentioning that Schiano is speaking on draft stock as a coach that has spent time in the NFL, with stints as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and as an assistant with the Chicago Bears.

O’Neill’s natural position is in a wider 7- or 9-technique, where an edge rusher lines up outside the tackle as opposed to aligning straight on the opposing lineman.

When reviewing film, it is clear why the EDGE rusher is better at the wider angles. O’Neill is undersized for a defensive lineman, at 6-foot-3, 249 pounds. With the smaller height, keeping a lineman’s hands off the edge rusher is critical to successful plays.

In addition, O’Neill’s weakness typically lies in his inability to have a set plan when rushing the passer, as he takes the extra second to start a pass rush move. In part, this comes from the New York native jumping up from Long Island University to James Madison, then to the Big Ten, in a three-year span. That will be compounded by now jumping into the NFL.

The more natural spot of being out wide helps cover O’Neill’s flaws, which led to better results in the second part of the season. However, the one flaw that may have kept O’Neill from being drafted was a lack of explosiveness.

O’Neill is a power rusher, but needs to improve his initial jump off the ball to succeed at the professional level in Motown.

However, the positives for the lineman include his high motor and relentlessness, which are two things that Greg Schiano emphasized during his time with the media. The former Buccaneers head coach has hope and belief that the one-time Scarlet Knight can excel in the league.

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