The mindset spurring Moro Ojomo's breakout season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Moro Ojomo is an extremely intelligent 24-year-old and, as Jordan Davis so eloquently put it this week, “the hardest worker in this motherf—er.”
So it makes perfect sense that as Ojomo tried to explain the hard-working, reach-for-the-stars mentality that has spurred his breakout season in 2025, he thoughtfully invoked the Parable of the Talents.
The passage from the New Testament tells the story of a wealthy master who entrusts three of his servants with different amounts of money (talents) before leaving on a journey. The first man is given five talents and doubles it. The second is given two and doubles it. But the third is given one and is too scared of losing so he buries it. When the master returns, he scolds the third man for not investing and earning more.
The lesson? Take what God gives you and make the most of it.
“I don’t want to be the guy holding on to the talent,” Ojomo said. “I want to exhaust every possible capability of my body.”
The mindset
There’s a confidence inside Ojomo that’s refreshing.
In his third NFL season, Ojomo is a breakout star on the Eagles’ defensive line, and he always knew this was possible.
“It stems a lot from the way my dad raised me,” Ojomo said. “I always try to believe anything is possible. Sometimes it can be surreal. I have maybe a more unique path than other guys. That’s how I live my life. I want to live my life like it’s 3 balls, 2 strikes, and I’m going to swing.”
Ojomo definitely has a unique backstory. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and lived there until he was 8, when his family emigrated to the United States. Ojomo played football as a kid but didn’t play varsity in high school until his junior season. He then enrolled at the University of Texas when he was just 16 years old.
Ojomo credits his father, Ololade, for a mindset that was instilled in him at an early age.
“My dad makes me believe that I can be the greatest human being, that I can be great at whatever I put my mind to,” Ojomo said. “That’s how I always have that mindset. I always want a better tomorrow so I always keep that hunger.”
That hunger has fueled a passion inside Ojomo that has impressed the Eagles from the moment he walked in the door as a rookie in 2023. It’s why they’re not surprised about his success either.
The breakout season
The Eagles drafted Ojomo in the seventh-round in 2023 and he barely played as a rookie. Last season, he became a solid part of the rotation.
This year? He’s blossoming into a star.
In 2025, Ojomo has helped replace Milton Williams, who left in free agency after signing a four-year, $104 million deal with the Patriots. It won’t be long before Ojomo cashes in too.
Ojomo in 2025: 10 games, 4 starts: 421 snaps (65%), 4 sacks, 23 tackles, 4 TFLs, 8 QB hits, 21 pressures
Ojomo in 2024: 17 games, 1 start, 388 snaps (37%), 0 sacks, 20 tackles, 0 TFLs, 5 QB hits, 23 pressures
While it might be a surprise to some around the NFL that Ojomo is having this type of breakout season, it is certainly not a surprise to his Eagles teammates and coaches in the building.
“His worth ethic is rare,” defensive line coach Clint Hurtt said. “Even for guys who have really good work ethics to them, he exceeds that.”
His teammates knew Ojomo was capable too.
“Super proud of him, but we all been saying that,” Davis said. “We all been knowing the type of player he is and the type of guy that he is. It’s just now being shown to you. We always knew that he was a top-tier rusher. He’s smart, he’s intelligent, not even just on the field but off the field.
“I’m just really glad that he’s getting a little notoriety and he’s getting his name out there and he’s making a name for himself because Mo’s been doing this for too long. Now he’s starting to come to light.”
Ojomo certainly showed glimpses over his first two years in the NFL that he could become a huge piece of the defensive line. Were there some questions about how the extra snaps would affect him? Sure.
But there was also a strong belief that Ojomo would work hard enough to make things happen anyway.
“A guy like that who loves football, who’s ultra tough, who gives everything he has every moment, God willing, those guys are going to reach their ceiling,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “They have no choice. There’s no other choice.
“You can’t put in the work that he puts in with the relentless effort that he puts it in with and not reach your ceiling, God willing. So as good and as talented as he is, as you hear it in my answer, it’s all about the other stuff that he has with how he kind of goes through about his business.”
The work that goes into it
When Hurtt was hired as the Eagles’ defensive line coach before last season, he heard some whispers that Ojomo was a difficult player to coach. But he wanted to find out for himself.
“He’s a guy that asks a lot of questions because he’s inquisitive for knowledge,” Hurtt said, “and he wants to know the why to everything.”
That’s fine with Hurtt.
Hurtt said after he was hired, it took Ojomo less than 48 hours to get into his office and start asking for critiques of his game. That thirst for knowledge continued during OTAs, when Ojomo would go home after a long day of practice and text Hurtt to ask about the purpose of a particular drill.
See, Ojomo is only a difficult player to coach if the coach isn’t up to the task. Hurtt says it has been a pleasure.
“You gotta be a confident coach to coach somebody like him,” Hurtt said. “That kid wants answers. For me, I love it because I’m gonna have them for you. You’ve got to be a confident coach, you’ve got to be an experienced guy with Ojomo. Because I think he is a pleasure to coach. He’s going to push you for things. He wants to know the why.”
Ojomo’s yearning to improve is two-fold. He wants to be in the best physical shape possible. He’s constantly working on his body to improve his strength, flexibility and range of motion.
“I guarantee you he’s in that weight room right now lifting weights,” Davis said this week.
Jalen Carter said Ojomo is always leading the way in the box drill and any conditioning drill the Eagles do.
“He never gets tired,” fellow DT Byron Young said. “He’s always doing extra work. He’s always pushing other people to do more. He brings people along with him.”
But Ojomo wants to learn everything he can about football too. Hurtt called Ojomo a “sponge” for football knowledge. He doesn’t just want the basics. Ojomo wants to know his job, the defensive concept, offensive alignments, everything.
“He’s always seeking knowledge and is hungry,” Hurtt said. “It’s not going to change. It’s just naturally who he is. It’s accelerated his development as a player but it always starts off with work ethic. He has a burning desire to get better.”
‘Inside zone this way!’
The Eagles were on the team bus heading from Lambeau Field to the airport after their 10-7 win over the Packers a couple weeks ago when defensive backs coach Christian Parker sent the clip to Hurtt, who is admittedly not a social media person.
In the wake of the win, a video of Ojomo had started to go viral. On a crucial 4th-and-1 play in the fourth quarter, Ojomo shouted out, “Inside zone this way! Inside zone this way!” to his teammates before a huge stop with just 1:26 remaining in a three-point game on the road.
“It was a proud coach, proud uncle moment hearing that,” Hurtt said.
Hurtt said he learned in college about the importance of being aware of backfield sets and formations, so it means something to him to pass on that type of knowledge years later.
“Good technique, fundamentals and effort, you’re going to make the plays you’re supposed to make,” Hurtt explained. “The guys who become different and special and All-Pros and all that kind of stuff are the guys that can steal four or five plays because they put in the study habits to identify stuff.”
It’s one thing to notice something on the field, but it’s another thing to speak up. This was a close game in the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. The fact that a young player in a breakout season had the confidence to yell to his teammates says a lot too.
“That speaks to the studying and the work,” Hurtt said. “If you put in the work, you have confidence.”
Ojomo is smart on and off the field; he’s an intellectual. He was a business finance major at Texas and was an eight-time Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll member in college.
He’s also an avid reader. On flights to and from games, while most of his teammates have their headphones on, listening to music in the dark fuselage, there’s normally a glow above Ojomo’s head. He always has the light on; he’s always reading. Heck, it was Ojomo who recommended the book “Inner Excellence” to A.J. Brown last season.
But because Ojomo is so smart, Hurtt does have to coach him a little differently.
“The thing I have to guard against is to make sure he doesn’t try to do too much,” Hurtt said. “When you’re trying to see and do so many things that it slows you down. And for Mo, that can be a challenge. Because he’s very fine line. He does not like being told what he cannot do, which I absolutely love. But I always tell him it’s not about what you can’t do; I want you to be able to play free and not be thinking so much you have paralysis by analysis.”
The chip on his shoulder
Because Ojomo has always had this belief in himself, being a seventh-round pick drove him and is still driving him.
“I think I was hungry,” Ojomo said. “Being a later-round draft pick, I was one of 23 defensive tackles taken and I felt like I was better than some of the guys who were picked before me. I was hungry. And I was next to the guy who was the No. 1 of 23. Just wanting to be hungry and wanting to not be satisfied. Not still satisfied.”
The Eagles in that 2023 draft took Carter with the No. 9 overall pick. They selected Ojomo two days later with pick No. 249.
“I think it definitely does stick with me,” Ojomo said.
Ojomo is the first Eagles player drafted in the 7th round or later to have 4 sacks in a season since Clyde Simmons and Seth Joyner, who were drafted in the 8th and 9th rounds of the 1986 class. And Ojomo is just getting started.
During the last couple years, Hurtt has seen that drive. The veteran D-line coach knows that sometimes the motivation of being a late-round draft pick will wear off, but he’s not worried about Ojomo finding other ways to motivate himself.
“I don’t know if I’ve had a guy as driven as him and I’ve had a lot of good ones,” Hurtt said. “He’s unique from that standpoint. I don’t see him ever getting complacent. That’s not in his DNA.”
from https://ift.tt/VXCN6Jq
No comments:
Post a Comment