Michael Onwenu () (born December 10, 1997) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

College career

Playing at

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

, Onwenu was the top-ranked recruit in the state of Michigan for his class and committed to

over

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

and others. He played on both the offensive line and defensive line his freshman year before spending the final three years of his career at right guard, starting the final two and earning third-team all-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

honors his junior and senior seasons.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Onwenu was drafted by the

in the sixth round (182nd overall) in the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

. During the early portion of his rookie season, Onwenu played across the offensive line after injuries affected the normal lineup; Onwenu took snaps as a sixth offensive lineman/jumbo

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

, at right tackle, and at both guard positions. After starting the first two games as a sixth offensive lineman, Onwenu made his first career start at left guard against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

. He helped the Patriots amass 250 rushing yards in a 36–20 victory. Despite alternating between guard and tackle, Onwenu finished the year ranked as one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL and started all 16 Patriots games. Following the departure of Joe Thuney and the acquisition of Trent Brown, Onwenu moved to left guard for the 2021 season, however Onwenu struggled and was benched in favor of Ted Karras and finished the season as a backup guard and often being used as a sixth offensive lineman. The 2022 season was a bounce back season for Onwenu as he moved to right guard as rookie Cole Strange was the starting left guard, Onwenu impressed at the position, being PFF's No. 4 ranked guard.

Personal life

Onwenu is of Nigerian descent; his parents were born in Nigeria but later moved to the United States.

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onwenu, Michael 1997 births Living people American sportspeople of Nigerian descent American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Michigan Wolverines football players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Detroit Cass Technical High School alumni