Levi

Onwuzurike

Decker will now miss his third game since Week 10 and was entirely unable to practice this week. Hopefully, the team is just taking the conservative route and Decker will be readily available for the stretch run later this season. The Lions will be woefully short-staffed in the defensive trenches, having also ruled out DL Josh Paschal (knee), DL Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring) and DL DJ Reader (shoulder).

Onwuzurike (6'2/293) shows rare acceleration for a player of his stature and can control blocks even as a nose tackle. With an array of pass-rushing tools on top of impressive strength (29 bench reps), he has all the physical traits necessary to make an impact in his first season with the Lions. He projects to start the year in a rotational role but could earn more snaps throughout his rookie campaign.

Onwuzurike (6'2/293) initially blossomed in 2018, registering 26 pressures and 19 stops in 391 snaps as a part-timer. He was promptly given the nod as a starter the following year, racking up 31 pressures and 29 stops in 504 snaps but admittedly lacked effectiveness on a weekly basis. Still, Onwuzurike shows rare acceleration off the line for a player of his size and can control blocks even as a nose tackle. With a nice array of pass-rushing tools and brute strength (29 bench reps), he has all the physical traits necessary to be an impact 3-tech at the NFL level.

Onwuzurike (6'3/288) did not play at all during the 2020 season, as he decided to opt out in order to begin preparations for the NFL Draft. Thus far in Mobile he’s shown no signs of rust, which is saying something given the fact that he’s gone more than a year without any game action. “Onwuzurike sat out the 2020 season to prepare for the NFL Draft. That preparation showed on Tuesday,” Cummings wrote. “I graded him as a Round 2 prospect prior to the Senior Bowl. If his NFL Draft stock continues to rise this week, he could play his way into Round 1 contention as the first defensive tackle selected in April.”

Onwuzurike is one of a handful of players who will be at the Senior Bowl this year despite not actually playing out their senior season. Before the Pac-12 kicked off, Onwuzurike decided to opt out and prepare for the NFL Draft. Onwuzurike (6'3/288) entered the year billed as a Day 2 prospect by many, so it is not as though he was some borderline draftable player who needed his senior season. Onwuzurike can probably go Top 100 with ease, especially with a decent showing in Mobile.

Onwuzurike’s timing is a bit peculiar with talks that the Pac-12 may actually return in the near future. The senior DL has decided that one more year is not the move for him, though, and he will instead be getting ready for the 2021 NFL Draft. A few months ago, Pro Football Focus named Onwuzurike (6'3/288) one of their top interior DL prospects heading into the year, praising him as a high Day 2 prospect. Onwuzurike is a flexible DL who can play both nose tackle and defensive tackle. In three seasons of play, Onwuzurike racked up 16 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

The only defensive lineman listed ahead of Onwuzurike is Florida State’s Marvin Wilson. Like Wilson, Onwuzurike was a potential candidate to enter the NFL draft, but the 6-foot-3, 288-pound defender is coming back for the 2020 campaign. “Onwuzurike has split time between nose tackle and defensive tackle since the start of 2018,” Treash writes, “and unlike most who do that, he earned top-10 grades at each alignment. If he puts up similar numbers in 2020, he’s a Day 2 candidate -- maybe higher -- in the 2021 draft.

He also recorded 34 tackles (6.5 for loss), three sacks, and 19 run stops. He’ll be expected to take a massive step forward next season as the Huskies lost three starters on the defensive line. Seattle Times’ Adam Jude even believes he could be the most productive defensive lineman in the PAC-12 next season. Onwuzurike is a player to watch in 2019.

Onwuzurike (6'3/266) did a slick job as is in 2018, earning conference first team all-academic recognition while putting forth 34 tackles (6.5 for loss) and three sacks across 13 games played. Jude notes that it felt as though the then-redshirt sophomore was “just scratching the surface” of his talent. The Huskies will be leaning on him as an upperclassman defensive leader in 2019, as he is the lone returning starter up front after the team lost Greg Gaines, Shane Bowman and Jaylen Johnson to graduation this winter.

Onwuzurike (6'3/266) is getting the start in place of Shane Bowman, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury. The redshirt sophomore has gotten plenty of run for the Huskies, but he’s going to need to play well going forward, as Bowman was one of -- if not the -- best pass-rushers on the team. He’ll get a good chance to get to the quarterback against the so-so UCLA offensive line.