Former Michigan Wolverines football center Cesar Ruiz became the first U-M player selected in this year's NFL draft when he was chosen by the New Orleans Saints at No. 24 overall last night, and linebacker Josh Uche became the second when the New England Patriots took him in the second round this evening (No. 60 overall pick).
The pass rushing specialist will now be reunited with a former U-M teammate in Foxborough, in defensive end Chase Winovich.
Uche's stock had skyrocketed in recent months after he announced his departure from Michigan, thanks in large part to Pro Football Focus naming him the single best player at January's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
"This is the typical New England Patriot pick, a guy that can play multiple positions," ESPN draft analyst Louis Riddick explained. "As a linebacker, he can play on the line of scrimmage and rush the passer, he can stack off the ball and play in a 4-3, he can stack off the ball and play a 3-4 — but the thing he can really do is get after the passer because he’s got tremendous first-step quickness.
"He’s got power, and he’s got power to rush the passer, stand up tight ends and offensive tackles in the run game, and he’s got an instinctive nose for the football — he always seems to be around the ball, never gives up, has tremendous speed, tremendous tackling ability and a strong upper body.
"He’s just one of those guys you wonder why didn’t he play even more for the Michigan Wolverines? He should’ve never come off the field because he’s that multi-positional player. [New England head coach] Bill Belichick is going to find a way to turn into a superstar."
Uche came to Michigan as a three-star recruit out of Columbus High School in Miami in the 2016 class, but made a minimal impact his first two years on campus.
He only appeared in four games in mop-up duty as a freshman in 2016, before tallying just three tackles and a sack in 10 games as a sophomore in 2017.
The 2018 campaign is when Uche really burst onto the scene, however, with defensive coordinator Don Brown utilizing him as a pass rushing menace in the Wolverines' front seven.
He racked up eight tackles for loss and a team-high seven sacks, before improving on those numbers in 2019 by registering 35 stops, 11.5 tackles for loss and a team-leading 8.5 sacks (led the club for the second straight year).
The 6-2, 250-pounder earned All-Big Ten honorable mention from both the coaches and media in 2018, second-team all-league honors from the coaches in 2019 and took home Michigan's Defensive Player of the Year award in the latter.
Uche wrapped up his Wolverine career with 56 tackles, 20.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 16.5 sacks in 39 appearances.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook
