Levi Onwuzurike turning heads, moving past his back injury

Levi Onwuzurike’s body is finally cooperating with football for the first time since college, and his early on-field performances have been encouraging.

Dan Campbell, the coach of the Detroit Lions, was quite circumspect in what he said, reminding everyone in the press conference that it is challenging to assess line play at minicamp—when padded workouts are still prohibited. Even so, it was evident that he was pleased with fourth-year defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike’s performance thus far.

“Levi is having a really good spring, but I just want to be careful because we’re not in pads,” Campbell remarked. Josh Paschal is also, but Levi, given his background and everything he’s had to deal with, has just kept going to rehab, working out and training his body, gaining weight since his back can now support it. We helped him get through the previous year so that he can bank some reps, and this spring is going pretty well for him.

Campbell made these remarks following a very successful practice on Tuesday, which I detailed here. Onwuzurike put up a strong showing on Wednesday, recording at least one sack and an extra pressure in team play.

Onwuzurike was picked by the Lions in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, but since then, he has struggled with back injuries. He wrote a fantastic piece about how crippling it was for the first two years of his work last year. Fortunately, Onwuzurike survived 2023 without any problems, and he now claims that this is the first time his body has worked as a unit.

Your lower body and upper body are divided by your back. Thus, everything is moving as one, which is the greatest explanation I can think of, Onwuzurike remarked. “My entire body feels like one, all together, speed to power.”

Even though Onwuzurike didn’t think much about his back ailment during the previous year, he claimed that it still had certain limitations. It wasn’t until Detroit’s playoff run, when he was playing at his best, that that limitation truly vanished. Now that his body is functioning as a unit entering his first offseason, he is prepared to enter his contract year focused on atonement. On the other hand, he is not attempting to overburden one season.

Onwuzurike responded, “No, I don’t really think about (being in a contract year).” “I just take things day by day, like I said.” I want to give it my best when we practise next, so I want to come out here and do well today.

Now that his back was more stable, the Lions requested Onwuzurike to add some weight. Last year, he was playing between 280 to 285. He weighs 300 pounds now. The Lions have been increasing his role to include some defensive end reps in specific subpackages, which has put extra mental pressure on him (pardon the pun). After a period of time spent doing so in high school, Onwuzurike is happy about the extra chances to get to the quarterback.

Onwuzurike stated, “You want to take advantage of all those opportunities you can.” “You’ll get out there more the more you can play and the more spots you can play.”

Onwuzurike only recorded one sack in the previous season, and his 132 defensive snaps placed him tenth among Lions defensive linemen. Despite the Lions selecting Josh Paschal, Brodric Martin, and Mekhi Wingo in the three rounds following Onwuzurike’s arrival, he will still have the chance to play more. He’s still getting a lot of first-team defensive practice. The crucial aspect, though, will be for him to maintain this impressive spring performance during training camp in the summer.

“I am aware of my abilities. I am positive about my capabilities. I got my bag in, I got my duffel now that I’m well and can work out anytime I want. What I can do, I know. I have to complete it. That concludes it.

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