Michigan State is recruiting an intriguing defensive lineman out of Illinois in Chicago St. Rita’s Ohimai Ozolua.
His head coach, Martin Hopkins, played at Iowa and coached at Iowa, so he knows what a Big Ten player looks like, and Ozolua is that. He stands 6-foot-6, 250 pounds with long arms and room to grow. What makes his upside tantalizing to schools is he is very new to football.
“Last year was his first year playing football,” Hopkins said. “He’s raw but very talented.”
That first season was at Romeoville High School. Ozolua transferred to St. Rita, and Hopkins knew he was getting a physically talented player, but given his newness with the sport, the most important piece was his approach.
“He got over in January and the thing I can tell is, obviously he’s a big kid. He’s got size, but he’s very eager to get better,” Hopkins said. “He asks a lot of good questions. I can tell he wants to be coached by just how he shows up every day and his approach to working very hard. At his size, he’s a very good athlete, too. He moves well. Those are things you can’t coach — his size, speed, movement, the athleticism with his size.”
While he grew up playing basketball, Ozolua paid some attention to college football and has quickly learned the programs recruiting him. All in an effort to make a college commitment before his senior season begins.
“He has a good understanding of college football,” Hopkins said. “I’d say a recent understanding. A lot of these kids know the last five to 10 years. I know he will visit schools throughout spring ball and into May and June. He’s narrowing his list down right now.”
Ozolua has one official visit set so far, Michigan State on May 29.
Defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III and head coach Pat Fitzgerald quickly have made the Spartans a top contender.
“Yeah, Coach Debo from Michigan State came by the school, and Coach Fitz came by,” Hopkins said. “Coach Fitz actually recruited me in high school. Then we competed against each other when I was at Iowa, then I coached against him at Iowa and then when he was coaching at Loyola. So I’ve seen a lot of him. Ohimai was very impressed on his visit. He was even more excited about what Michigan State could offer after he took that visit.”
Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Miami (Florida) are some of the other programs Ozolua is considering.
Rivals ranks Ozolua the No. 17 junior in the state of Illinois and rates him a three-star prospect.
Race tightens for Ohio defender
Ohio State offered Lyndhurst (Ohio) Brush edge Munir Lewis on Tuesday.Lewis is a top target for the Spartans. He has an April 3 unofficial with Michigan State, then a June 5 official. Louisville is getting a May 29 official.
While he likes in-state Ohio State, the plan is still for Lewis to take all of his visits.
Allen Trieu covers Midwest football recruiting for On3. He has been featured on the Big Ten Network on its annual Signing Day Show. His Michigan and Michigan State recruiting columns appear weekly at detroitnews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Trieu: Michigan State impresses ‘raw’ Chicago defensive lineman
Reporting by Allen Trieu, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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