Texas Football: 3 transfer landing spots for LB Ovie Oghoufo

Eastern Michigan

Another in-state Group of Five program that could make a lot of sense for Oghoufo out of the portal this offseason is the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Head coach Chris Creighton and the Eagles are familiar with what Oghoufo brings to the table going back nearly a full decade.

There are a lot of similarities in terms of the appeal that Oghoufo could find playing for both Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan in 2023. Both schools are in Oghoufo’s home state of Michigan, and both coaching staffs have a lot of past connections to his recruitment out of high school.

Eastern Michigan is another one of the in-state schools that offered Oghoufo pretty early in his recruitment. In fact, Eastern Michigan offered him all the way back in the fall of 2018, well before he committed to Notre Dame in 2016. Eastern Michigan was just the second school to offer Oghoufo.

It’s insane to think that Eastern Michigan offered Oghoufo more than eight years ago.

And now, the Eagles could push to nab a commitment from him out of the portal during the 2023 offseason.

There are a couple of other factors that could appeal to Oghoufo in terms of wanting to play for a school like Eastern Michigan. First and foremost, Creighton clearly has this program headed in the right direction. Eastern Michigan just had a stellar 2022 season, winning nine games (including a bowl triumph over San Jose State).

That is good for the most wins in a single season, and the first bowl win, for the program since 1987.

Eastern Michigan has sustained some success too under Creighton, making bowl appearances in four of the last five seasons.

Another factor that could be appealing to Oghoufo in terms of playing for the Eagles is the development he could see as a pass rusher there. Eastern Michigan just developed breakout redshirt senior defensive end Jose Ramirez, who led the MAC with 12 sacks in 2022 (also good for No. 2 in the FBS).

The combination of the positive trajectory of the program under Creighton along with the player development along the defensive front certainly could be a good pitch to Oghoufo if this staff wants to pursue him in the portal.