Tag: Ochaun Mathis

It’s time for the Rams to end the Michael Hoecht experiment at OLB

Michael Hoecht has struggled to begin the season and the Rams should consider starting someone else at OLB moving forward.

Out of pure desperation, the Los Angeles Rams had Michael Hoecht make the transition from interior defender to edge rusher during the 2022 season. Hoecht would make six starts last season, tallying 4.5 sacks (the most by an edge rusher on the Rams not named Leonard Floyd) and four tackles for loss.

After finishing last season as the starter opposite Floyd — and with Floyd departing in free agency — Hoecht has gotten the nod to start again at outside linebacker this season. Through the first three weeks, the experiment of deploying Hoecht as a starting edge rusher appears to be headed toward disaster.

In Monday night’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Hoecht was a liability against the run and as a pass rusher against a hobbled Joe Burrow. It was just more of the same of what we’ve seen from Hoecht in the first two games for the Rams.

Following the Week 3 loss to the Bengals, Hoecht has just seven total pressures on the season, according to PFF. For comparison, Aaron Donald and rookie Byron Young lead the Rams in pressures with 14 and 13, respectively. Trey Hendrickson of the Bengals finished with 10 total pressures just in Monday night’s matchup.

Missed tackles have also been a major concern for Hoecht, who has only two fewer missed tackles (5) than pressures (7) through Week 3. If Hoecht isn’t going to generate consistent pressure and he’s a liability in the run game, why should he continue to start?

At this point, Hoecht remaining a starter could be telling of the lack of trust the Rams have in their other edge rushers. Aside from Young and Hoecht, Zach VanValkenburg and Nick Hampton have seen minimal playing time.

Also, rookie Ochaun Mathis was placed on injured reserve before the season began because of a knee injury he’s been dealing with since training camp. And even after a strong showing in the preseason, the Rams haven’t shown any intentions of promoting Keir Thomas from the practice squad.

The Rams had just one edge rusher they could lean on in 2022 and it feels like that is transpiring again with Young carrying the load as a rookie. While the options in free agency and on the trade market are limited, the Rams would be wise to consider all of their options instead of continuing to start Hoecht moving forward.

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Former Husker placed on Injured Reserve by LA Rams

A former Nebraska Cornhusker football player was placed on Injured Reserve just before the start of the NFL season.

A former Nebraska Cornhusker football player was placed on Injured Reserve just before the start of the NFL season. Linebacker Ochaun Mathis has been placed on IR by the Los Angeles Rams.

Mathis was a sixth-round draft pick by LA. He has been dealing with a knee injury after missing all four preseason games.

He spent one year at Nebraska, playing in 12 games and making 48 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. The blackshirt player came to Lincoln after spending the previous four seasons at TCU.

Mathis will be eligible to return to the roster after the first four regular season games. The Rams will kick off the season.

Find a photo gallery of Ochaun Mathis’ playing career below.

Rams place Ochaun Mathis on IR, opening up a roster spot

The Rams now have a roster spot after putting Ochaun Mathis on IR, which will force him to miss at least 4 games

Sean McVay said earlier this week that only one player would be placed on injured reserve after the Rams trimmed their roster to 53. It took a few days, but on Friday, Los Angeles officially put Ochaun Mathis on IR, thus sidelining him for at least the first four games of the regular season.

Mathis had to make the 53-man roster before going on IR in order to be eligible to return this season, so that’s the reason for the Rams taking that approach. Otherwise, if he were put on IR before roster cuts, he would’ve been ruled out for the entire year.

Mathis has been dealing with a knee injury since early in training camp, causing him to miss all four preseason games in August. He was a sixth-round pick this year and brings talent to the outside linebacker group, which the Rams will hopefully see sooner rather than later.

With Mathis going on IR, the Rams now have 52 players on their active roster, meaning they have an open spot available. They did not announce a corresponding move with Mathis going on IR.

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Rams rookie OLB Ochaun Mathis to start season on IR

Rams rookie edge rusher Ochaun Mathis will start the year on injured reserve, causing him to miss the first four games of the season

Ochaun Mathis was one of 14 drafted rookies to make the Rams’ initial 53-man roster on Tuesday but he won’t be active for very long. Sean McVay told reporters that Mathis will start the season on injured reserve, which means he’ll miss at least the first four games of the regular season.

In order for a player to be eligible to return from IR, he has to make the 53-man roster first, which is why the Rams kept Mathis instead of putting him directly on IR. Had they placed him on IR before final cuts, he’d have been ruled out for the season.

Mathis has been dealing with a knee injury for weeks, causing him to miss all three preseason games and most of training camp. The Rams would’ve loved for him to be healthy for Week 1, but by putting him on injured reserve, it’ll open up a roster spot, potentially for a kicker or another edge rusher such as Keir Thomas.

The good news is McVay said Mathis will be the only player to start on IR, so the Rams should be close to full strength for the start of the season.

Mathis was selected by the Rams in the sixth round out of Nebraska, one of three edge rushers drafted by Los Angeles this year.

Rams rookie Ochaun Mathis out a few weeks with knee injury

Rams rookie pass rusher Ochaun Mathis injured his knee in practice Monday and will miss a few weeks

The Los Angeles Rams are already pretty thin on talent at outside linebacker and it’s not going to help that rookie edge rusher Ochaun Mathis is going to miss some time in training camp. Sean McVay told reporters Tuesday that Mathis injured his knee in practice Monday and will likely miss “a few weeks.”

With the preseason beginning next weekend, that’s unfortunate news for the rookie edge rusher out of Nebraska. He’s among the young players competing for reps at outside linebacker, along with Michael Hoecht, Byron Young, Daniel Hardy and others.

Mathis was the 189th overall pick in the draft this year, going to the Rams in the sixth round.

Sean McVay revealed why the Rams haven’t brought in a veteran edge rusher

The Rams have yet to sign a veteran edge rusher this offseason and Sean McVay explained why.

The Los Angeles Rams took three edge rushers during the 2023 NFL draft and many believed they would still potentially add a veteran to round out the pass-rushing unit. The Rams reported to training camp without a veteran edge rusher on the roster this week and Sean McVay explained why the team has decided against adding an experienced outside linebacker thus far.

“I think there was,” McVay said of whether there was consideration given to adding a veteran edge rusher. “When the trajectory of the draft unfolded the way that it did that we were able to get three players that are all kind of different in their own right when you talk about Byron (Young), you talk about Nick (Hampton) and you talk about Ochaun (Mathis) from that outside linebacker position. In addition to watching Michael Hoecht continue to show himself, Daniel Hardy was a guy that did not get a lot of opportunities last year because of some health issues that really flashed in the spring. And so, because we have got so many young guys at that position that are really competing, it was something that we talked about but I think just based on the landscape of the roster and the way that we ended up drafting three players from that position you had some other young guys, did not want to go that direction and then there was some limitations in terms of alright, what are you able to do and what kind of player are you able to really bring in at a position like that?”

During this year’s draft, the Rams took Byron Young, Nick Hampton, and Ochaun Mathis in hopes to bolster their pass-rushing unit. All three of them bring different skill sets and there’s a chance that all of them get an opportunity to see meaningful snaps sooner rather than later.

Besides the rookies, McVay spoke about the emergence of Hoecht last season. He made the transition from interior defender to edge rusher in 2022, and he’s continued to take all of his snaps off of the edge this offseason.

Hardy, who was a seventh-round pick by the Rams in the 2022 NFL draft, is another name that McVay mentioned. Hardy was extremely productive in college, but injuries prevented him from seeing the field much as a rookie last season.

There are still some solid veterans available at the edge rusher position like Jadeveon Clowney, Yannick Ngakoue, Justin Houston, and Melvin Ingram. Even though the Rams could use experience at the edge rusher spot, McVay believes in the young guys the team currently has.

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Bathroom break caused Ochaun Mathis to miss Rams’ draft call

Ochaun Mathis missed the Rams’ draft call because he was in the bathroom, but he came out to a celebration

Ochaun Mathis was probably sitting with one hand on his phone for the last two days as he awaited a call from an NFL team telling him he’d been drafted. He got that call on Saturday afternoon when the Los Angeles Rams selected him with the 189th overall pick, but he missed it.

Because timing is everything, Mathis happened to be in the bathroom when the Rams called him to share the good news. When he came out, he was greeted to a celebration at his draft party.

It’s not the way he hoped his draft day would go, but hey, at least it makes for a funny story.

Mathis joins the Rams as the third edge rusher they’ve selected in the draft this year, along with Byron Young and Nick Hampton. He was somewhat of a sleeper after putting up poor testing numbers at the combine, but he should help the Rams’ pass rush as a situational player on defense.

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Rams select Nebraska OLB Ochaun Mathis with 189th overall pick in 2023 NFL draft

The Rams have used the 189th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft on OLB Ochaun Mathis out of Nebraska.

The Los Angeles Rams continue to make a concerted effort to turn their fortunes around when it comes to rushing the passer. To give them their third edge rusher in the 2023 NFL draft, the Rams have selected Nebraska outside linebacker Ochaun Mathis with the 189th overall pick in the sixth round.

Mathis spent the first four years of his collegiate career at TCU before transferring to Nebraska in 2022. In his lone year at Nebraska, Mathis tallied 48 tackles, five tackles for loss, and three sacks.

At the NFL scouting combine, Mathis registered a 4.74 40-yard dash and a 1.64 10-yard split. Mathis is a taller, lengthier edge rusher at 6-foot-5 with 35-inch arms, and despite his lack of sack production, he has the traits to develop into a formidable edge defender for the Rams.

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Does Texas football now have championship level defense?

We might be underestimating the Texas defense.

You have heard plenty about the Texas offense since the end of the 2022 season. Led by big-name talents Kelvin Banks, Xavier Worthy, Quinn Ewers and Ja’Tavion Sanders, the unit will rightfully garner attention. The state of the opposite side of the line of scrimmage merits recognition as well.

The Texas defense, led by Pete Kwiatkowski, went from awful to good last season. It has the ability to become great this season.

The Longhorns lost a handful of key pieces from that side of the football. Keondre Coburn, Moro Ojomo, DeMarvion Overshown, D’Shawn Jamison and Anthony Cook leave the biggest voids. However, the returning players paired with impact recruits and transfers make Texas a force to be reckoned with on the defensive side.

Let’s look at a few reasons Texas could have a championship level defense in 2023.

Prospect preview: Nebraska Huskers top prospects for Week Zero

Prospect preview: Nebraska Huskers top prospects for week zero

The 2022 college football season has arrived and we have been blessed with a pretty exciting match-up right off the rip in the Nebraska Huskers against the Northwestern Wildcats in a week zero Big Ten conference match-up. Now, most of the drama will be filled with talk of Scott Frost and his job security. In all honesty, Nebraska should destroy Northwestern, but for the purposes of Cleveland Browns fans, we will likely be watching this game to see any possible future Browns.

The Huskers have always had a fairly talented roster and last year featured stud offensive lineman Cam Jurgens and stud defensive back, Cam Taylor-Britt. Let’s see what Nebraska has for us this season.