Tennessee missed out on several elite pass rushers in the 2019 recruiting cycle, and they’re trying not to repeat that in the 2020 class. The Vols are already in on a handful of high quality pass rushers this cycle, and one of their top targets just visited them for the fifth time in less than a year.
BJ Ojulari is a four-star defensive end who plays for Marietta High School in Georgia. He’s teammates with four-star quarterback and Tennessee commit Harrison Bailey, and it looks like he’s high on the Vols himself. He arrived in Knoxville and posted pictures of his visit on Friday morning.
?#GBO pic.twitter.com/EMTiSI5n3M
— Bj Ojulari?? (@Bj_O9) April 5, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Ojulari is the No. 144 overall prospect and No. 8 weak-side defensive end in the 2020 recruiting class. He holds offers from Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Michigan, Florida, Auburn, and many others.
Ojulari has already visited Tennessee multiple times over the past year, and the Vols are considered one of the favorites in his recruitment. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound pass rusher has already attended a Junior Day event on campus back in January of this year, and he visited twice during UT’s season last year. He was also in Knoxville for UT’s big BBQ event at the end of July in 2018.
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Not only is the talented defender teammates with Tennessee commit Harrison Bailey, but he’s teammates with several other top targets for the Vols in the 2020 class. Five-star athlete Arik Gilbert, four-star offensive tackle Jake Wray, four-star safety and Florida commit Rashad Torrence, three-star running back Kimani Vidal, and three-star wide receiver Kobe Stewart are also teammates with Ojulari.
As for Ojulari himself, he’s a very versatile defender who shows a lot of promise at the next level.
Ojulari plays as both a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end and an outside linebacker for Marietta, and that versatility makes him dangerous and hard to defend. He has really good speed off the edge to get into the backfield quickly, but he’s more than just a pass rusher; Ojulari is more than capable of stopping the run and catching running backs, too. He has good enough speed to play sideline to sideline as a linebacker. He’ll still need to learn some more techniques and more of the finer details of whatever position he plays in college, but his raw athleticism and solid football IQ are really good foundations to build on.
As a junior for Marietta, Ojulari totaled 104 tackles, five sacks, 18 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, two passes defended, and a blocked kick according to MaxPreps. In his last two seasons with Marietta, Ojulari has amassed 205 tackles, 14 sacks, 37 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, and four passes defended in 24 games.
Ojulari is also a standout on Marietta’s track team and competes in several events.
The Vols have made Ojulari a high priority in the 2020 cycle, and he seems equally as high on Tennessee. Considering this is his fifth visit to Knoxville in less than a year, UT’s coaching staff has to feel pretty good about where they stand with him.
