- Michigan
STATE CHAMPS! SCOUT TEAM: River Rouge’s run-stuffing DT Pius Odjugo commits to CMU
Pius Odjugo may not have begun the 2019 football season as a starter, but he ended it as a champion — and now he’s a Division I commit.
The run-plugging River Rouge defensive tackle announced his commitment to Central Michigan University on Twitter Sunday evening.
At 6-foot-3 and 324 pounds, Odjugo is related to former River Rouge defensive end Ruke Orhorhoro (Clemson), as well as Farmington Hills Harrison products Michael (Iowa) and Mario (Michigan) Ojemudia.
The Nigerian-born former soccer player is a late-bloomer on the football field, and hasn’t played a ton on the gridiron, starting last season as a reserve, but he’s a run-plugging, gap-stuffing nose tackle who helped the Panthers post five shutouts en route to the Division 3 title last fall.
According to 247Sports, Odjugo is a three-star prospect, ranked as the No. 43 player in Michigan’s Class of 2021, and the No. 74 defensive tackle in the nation.
Central Michigan’s 2021 recruiting class has a heavy defensive flavor, with six of the nine hard commits expected to play on that side of the ball. It’s also heavily loaded with five in-state products, including Macomb Dakota’s D.J. Stepney and Eric Reese, Saginaw Heritage’s Chris Parker, and Ypsilanti Lincoln’s Trevor Jones.
— MATTHEW B. MOWERY
