Michigan lineman Michael Onwenu speaks to reporters Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, in Ann Arbor.
It may not be his given name, but it’s darn close by now.
Almost everyone calls Michael Onwenu “Big Mike.” That’s simply who he is.
Onwenu, Michigan’s dual-threat lineman, may be a revelation to the U-M fan base. But those in Detroit have watched him grow.
In every way.
“The most important thing about Big Mike is people don’t know how strong he was and how quick he can move,” said Cass Tech coach Thomas Wilcher, who mentored Onwenu in high school. “Big Mike is a very strong, big man, very agile.”
On Tuesday night, Onwenu said he weighs 375 pounds, which likely makes the true freshman the largest Wolverine by 40 pounds or more. He has no problem with his own size, so he doesn’t see why it should be an issue for anyone else.
He says he eats less than many of his teammates, going with fruits over starches, which he has cut from his diet.
“With him, he’s just naturally big. So his weight is not a problem,” Wilcher said. “You just make sure you don’t get overweight so it becomes a problem. His weight is something he can very much manage and control.
“The most important thing that I told the Michigan coaches was you were going to be surprised with how great he can move.”
Most football players that heavy have a large belly and appear to be out of shape. But Onwenu looks like a professional wrestler, carrying the weight in his powerful torso and massive thighs.
“I’ve never been little, but I’ve always had a little quickness,” he said with a subtle jab.
His feet are what have allowed him to excel so far at Michigan. He arrived as a four-star guard recruit but had played on both sides of the ball at Cass Tech. So Michigan coaches continued to tell him that options were open.
It’s not unusual for a player to be examined at a position other than his own under U-M coach Jim Harbaugh. But to play on both sides, as he did in Saturday’s 63-3 win over Hawaii, is unique.
Harbaugh said on his radio show the other night that he didn’t expect Onwenu to play both ways in the game. Offense was his priority, and he worked in there at right guard as soon as the blowout was underway.
The wrinkle came in the second half, after U-M was suddenly without three defensive linemen because of injuries.
“It came as a surprise,” Onwenu said. “The down had ended, and I just sat on the bench, and they’re like ‘Mike, Mike.’ And I was looking at the other Mike, Dwumfour, and he had just come off the field. So everybody was looking me.”
So he popped in the game on defense and showed why U-M might want him there also.
“The weight, how he moves, everything,” nose tackle Ryan Glasgow said, calling Onwenu “impressive.” “The technique is pretty good for a freshman. His tenacity. I don’t know if you saw his defensive snap. Rocketed off the ball, got hit in the hip a little bit, fell down but knocked his guy back about three yards. So he’s got it all working for him.”
The ability to play both ways usually is rare in a lineman because of the consistent pounding. But Onwenu seems to thrive with it.
“He’s always been able to manage playing both sides of the ball,” Wilcher said. “It’s just, how many reps are we going to give him? For us, he could just ball out in his last year. … Not the whole year, but he did play both ways. We just used him as we needed him as the play goes. The more you played him, the stronger he got, the better he got.”
This would seem to be an ideal week for Onwenu to work as a defensive lineman, with nose tackle Bryan Mone on crutches with a knee injury and Taco Charlton likely out because of an ankle problem. Yet Onwenu said his work Tuesday came on the offensive line.
“I’ve always played both, so I really don’t have a favorite,” he said. “I’ve always played offense more than defense. But I feel like I can be better on defense.
“I feel like I can play both. Whichever one pans out, whoever wants me to play which position, I’ll be fine with doing it.”
For the Wolverines, who lost impact players on both lines after last season, it’s a great problem to have.
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