Getty Julian Okwara sacks Trevor Lawrence in a College Football Playoff Semifinal game.
The last few seasons, the Detroit Lions have not been able to get the job done on the defensive side of the ball, which has been the root of a lot of the team’s problems.
With a new outlook and a new coaching staff, it’s time for the team to start pondering how they will turn the page. That’s just what defensive lineman Julian Okwara wants to see the team do as they get ready to start a new season on the field.
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Speaking with the media on Friday, August 6, Okwara spoke in no uncertain terms about what he wants to see, and as he admitted, it’s time for the Lions to come together and improve up front.
“We need to do a lot of things better this year and just become a better defense, defensive line. Just play together honestly. Knowing your help and becoming a more dominant defensive line. That’s something that we need to improve upon this year,” Okwara said.
A big way the Lions can become better is by having more players get to the quarterback and find more pressure up front. As Okwara said, he believes the team will be equipped to get that done in a better way this coming season.
“I don’t want to give too much, but we’re going to have pressure everywhere. A-gap, b-gap, c-gap. Don’t matter. I think we got a lot of things coming in this year that we can take advantage of,” Okwara explained.
No matter what secrets the Lions have planned, the team needs to find a way to get after it in the trenches and improve upon a unit that has only collected 52 sacks the last two seasons on the field.
Credit Okwara for speaking up about what he believes needs to happen for an improvement.
Julian Okwara Chasing Double-Digit Sacks This Season
Coming into the 2021 season, Okwara has not been bashful about what he wants to see happen on the field for his team but also himself, and the goals he has outlined are pretty significant heading into a new year.
After joining the team as a rookie last season, Okwara wasn’t able to make the biggest impact given the injury troubles he had on the field. With him being healthy and his brother re-signed to a new deal, though, all systems are go for a major turnaround, and that’s just what Okwara wants to see.
Speaking with the media back during the minicamp period on June 3, Okwara said it’s his goal to have him and his brother both crack the 10 sack mark at the same time together, which Justin Rogers of the Detroit News tweeted about.
Julian Okwara said he wants to build a legacy that starts with both he and brother Romeo getting double-digit sacks.
If that would happen, the Detroit pass rush would be boosted in a huge way and the team would benefit. Regardless, it’s nice to hear Okwara wanting to go after a dream and make it come true. It would be a big way that the Lions could improve their defensive standing as well.
Okwara’s College Stats and Highlights
Seeing Okwara speak in a motivated way is a very good thing for the Lions, and while he has yet to realize some of his potential in the league, it’s clear there is plenty of that potential to rely on. While at Notre Dame, Okwara was a dominant pass rusher until injury slowed him down in a major way during the late-stages of his college career. Still, Okwara was able to put up numbers. With the Fighting Irish, Okwara put up 79 total tackles, 15.5 sacks, 24 tackles for-loss, collected 2 interceptions and 4 forced fumbles. He was the kind of explosive player off the edge that the Lions are looking for to do some damage to opposing quarterbacks.
At the professional level, injuries have once again prevented Okwara from taking off considering he has only put up 3 tackles and 2 tackles for-loss as the extent of his production thus far.
Here’s a closer look at what made Okwara special in college:
Seeing Okwara get back to that point is something the Lions want to witness in 2021. The good news seems to be that he is just as motivated to get there and find a way to push not only himself but his teammates to that level as well.
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Julian Okwara Sends Motivational Statement to Lions Defense