BEREA: Three days before rookie Emmanuel Ogbah reported to Browns training camp, defensive line coach Robert Nunn called him to let him know he would be moved to end after spending the entire spring working as an outside linebacker.
Ogbah played defensive end in a 4-3 scheme at Oklahoma State University. The Browns drafted him in the second round (32nd overall) to play outside linebacker in defensive coordinator Ray Horton’s 3-4, multifront system. Now he’s been tasked with learning 3-4 end. He’s been in defensive line meetings and taken the vast majority of his reps at end thus far in camp.
Somehow Ogbah has managed to avoid resembling a deer in the headlights amid the changes. If his head is spinning, he’s not letting on.
“I came here with the mindset that I’m just ready to do whatever they ask of me,” he said Saturday before the second practice of camp. “Whether it’s outside linebacker, D-end, D-tackle or nose, I’m just ready.”
The Browns decided they would experiment with Ogbah on the line after starting defensive end Desmond Bryant suffered a torn pectoral muscle this month. He’ll miss the whole 2016 season.
“When I heard the news [about Bryant], I kind of figured I was moving to D-end, so I was prepared for it,” Ogbah said. “[Bryant is] one of the best players on our team. He was a sack leader for us, so that was a big loss for us.”
Xavier Cooper, a third-round pick last year, has practiced in Bryant’s spot with the starting base defense. Ogbah has played second-team end in base. In the nickel package, he’s toiled with the first string.
“I came here to compete,” Ogbah said. “I came here to be the best I can be to help this team. That’s what I’m looking for.”
Ogbah will have a chance to truly test himself at his new position Sunday when the Browns hold their first padded practice of camp. Coach Hue Jackson has promised live hitting.
“As a defensive line, we can’t be too aggressive with no pads on,” Ogbah said. “We can’t risk getting our guys hurt, but with pads on we get to attack.”
Ogbah is accustomed to attacking from a three-point stance. He occasionally appeared at defensive tackle in certain packages at Oklahoma State, so he downplayed the conversion to 3-4 end.
However, there’s a difference between the 4-3 end position he played in college and 3-4 end.
“It’s a huge difference because typically as a 3-4 defensive end you’re in a read-and-react mode where you’re reading the offensive tackle in front of you and you’re kind of mirroring what he does,” left tackle Joe Thomas said. “You’re two-gapping versus a 4-3 defensive end, really your job is to get up field and disrupt things. So it’s vastly different.”
Thomas, though, also opined the leap from college to the NFL means Ogbah would need to make seismic adjustments to his game anyway.
The coaching staff is confident he’s versatile and athletic enough to adapt to whatever it throws at him. His combination of size (6-foot-4¼ and 280 pounds), speed (4.63 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine) and production in three collegiate seasons (28 sacks, four in 2013, 11 in 2014 and 13 in 2015) is impressive. In a recent practice, Nunn even called him Osi Umenyiora, the former New York Giants defensive end who had 85 sacks in 11 seasons.
“He’s a big, physical guy with a lot of gift and talent, and we have some tremendous coaches,” Jackson said. “So I think [however] we think his skill set will help our football team, that’s what we’re going to use.”
Ogbah spent the spring learning to drop into pass coverage as a linebacker, and Jackson insisted moving him to the line isn’t an indictment on his ability to guard opponents.
“I promise you that’s not what it is at all,” Jackson said. “Matter of fact, it might give us some flexibility that way because he did do it all spring that if he is playing defensive end there’s some other packages that we give coach Ray Horton, the mad scientist that comes up with all this stuff, where we can drop Ogbah from a lot of different places. So I’m excited.”
Information overload should be a concern, though. Learning multiple positions on the offensive line hindered the development of first-round pick Cameron Erving last year. Now Ogbah is in a similar conundrum. He’s been leaning on Bryant for advice as he makes another transition.
“Coach Horton said if it gets too much for me I’ll just talk to him and tell him, ‘Hey, Coach, this is kind of a lot,’ ” Ogbah said. “This is my job now. That’s all I’ve got to do is focus on that playbook and learn that playbook inside and out, and the more flexible I am, the more I can help this team out.”
Ogbah might have fewer opportunities for sacks at end than he would at linebacker, but he’s looking at the silver lining.
“I’m closer to the quarterback this time,” he said.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.