Naperville Central senior Maverick Ohle knows some people doubt he is big enough to be a defensive lineman at the Division I level.
Ohle had a banner season as a defensive end in 2022, when he racked up 30 tackles, 8.5 sacks and a fumble recovery and was named the DuPage Valley Conference defensive lineman of the year. But some college recruiters want him to get bigger.
“I’m only about 6-1 1/2 and weighed about 240, so that was a big problem,” Ohle said. “On the defensive side of the ball, they want to find a guy who is oversized for his position but he’s so athletic he can play it.
“They want to move me closer to the ball when you go to the next level. I’m a 4 or 5 technique, so some guys want to bulk me up and play me inside at D-tackle. You can get away with being smaller, like 275, in the middle.”
That would require Ohle to get significantly bigger, of course, which isn’t a big problem for the weightlifting devotee. But which position he plays depends on the college. Some want him to be a defensive tackle, some want him as a defensive end and others want him on offense.
“St. Thomas, they have three down defensive linemen like we have at Central,” Ohle said. “So they want me to stay at defensive end.
“Some coaches I’ve talked to want to put me at fullback. I’m going to be playing that for school this year in some sets, so that will be fun blocking out of the backfield and running the ball.”
Ohle, who won the Class 3A state championship in the discus in May, got his first five scholarship offers — from Division I Football Championship Subdivision programs St. Thomas and Valparaiso, and Division II programs Minnesota State, Bemidji State and Northern State — soon after competing in a high-profile camp at Lindenwood in early June.
“It was a big mega camp where athletes from all over the nation come,” Ohle said. “Probably 40 Division I colleges were there. It was padded, so you could hit and show everyone what you got. I performed very, very well.”
More Top Picks Are You Looking For A Perfect Bacon Cookers So Here We Have The 5 Best Microwave Bacon Cookers
Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich soon found out just how well, and it wasn’t Ohle who told him.
“I’ve got four or five different coaches that reached out to me out of the blue at about the same time that afternoon,” Ulreich said. “I think it was a Friday afternoon, and I got a bunch of messages — unsolicited — about how well he was doing at camp. It was hilarious.”
There’s nothing hilarious about the havoc Ohle can wreak on opponents. Combine a body that is a tightly wound coil ready to snap with a desire to be the best, and you’ve got a football player who is fun to watch but terrifying to play against.
“I think his greatest attribute right now is his intensity and his explosiveness off the ball,” Ulreich said. “He’s so quick-triggered. His ability to get out of his stance and the explosiveness and power is impressive. We hope it’s going to create problems for offenses.”
Ohle has certainly created challenges for Naperville Central’s offense in practices, where he is matched up against left tackle Grant Ellinger, a Virginia commit. They are helping each other.
“Maverick has been a pretty destructive force in practice every single day, so he’s definitely making us a whole lot better because of it,” Ulreich said. “We’re thrilled with the summer he’s had just in terms of his leadership with the younger guys and his practice habits.”
But Ohle hasn’t been practicing only with the defense. He saw some time at tight end last year and is expected to play a bigger role on offense for the Redhawks (6-4), who start the season at Hinsdale Central on Aug. 25.
“He’s a big, explosive guy, so he could be an old-school traditional fullback,” Ulreich said. “He’s going to be a difference-maker again at defensive line, and wherever he can help us on offense, that’s where we’re going to use him.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.