Olu Olawatimi

Pos: IOL

School: Michigan

Ht. 6’3″ 

Wt. 309

Games Watched: Maryland, Ohio State, Penn State

One Liner: Aggressive offensive lineman that wins with functional strength, technique, 

Strengths: 

  • Very good strength. Olawatimi is an aggressive, violent blocker who wins primarily with his strength to neutralize opposing lineman. He has good strength in his lower body, and uses his anchor to generate positive force and hold his blocks by engulfing opposing defenders.
  • Very good technique. Olawatimi has sound technique, and uses his hands effectively with solid placement on the pads. He demonstrates the ability to roll his hips as he shifts his body weight laterally on gap blocks. 
  • Good football IQ. Olawatimi plays with good football IQ, and plays well as a help defender, keeping his head on a swivel with good awareness and feel for stunts and twists in the pass rushing game. He could be better pre-snap to identify stunts and twists, but is able to recover with his awareness.

Weaknesses:

  • Adequate leverage. Olawatimi will overcommit at times, and lunge forward with his upper body far out in front of his toes, creating easy situations for defenders to take an advantage of. He plays with high pad level if the play extends for a long period of time, as he progressively stands up and becomes upright by the end of the play.
  • Adequate grip strength. Olawatimi generates good shock with his strong arms but his hands will need to be stronger on the pads and he will have to make sure that his grip strength matches his arm strength that allows him to neutralize opposing rushers. Too often defenders slip away due to Olawatimi’s adequate hand strength on pass and run plays.
  • Adequate athleticism. Olawatimi doesn’t have great range to be a swing blocker and won’t pull at the next level. He doesn’t find work too frequently at the second level, and will primarily hold his own at the first level. He has sufficient lateral quickness and mobility, but doesn’t have excellent range to work downfield in the running game.

Overall Assessment: Olu Olawatimi is a violent and strong pass blocker who is able to win with his functional strength and solid technique. He is a smart lineman that came from an award winning unit at Michigan. He primarily wins with strength and IQ at this point in his career, but Olawatimi has the potential to become a successful starter at the next level if he corrects some leverage issues and hand technique as a pass blocker. His ceiling is capped by limited athleticism, meaning an inside zone or gap scheme may be the best option for him at this point in his career, but he could be a solid and reliable center with the proper coaching and fixes to his game.

Scheme Fit: Gap scheme center that could be an inside zone blocker

Pick Projection: 4th round

Grade: 6.18