MOBILE, Ala., — Defensive end Oshane Ximines from Old Dominion has put himself on the map as one of the pass rushers to look out for in the pre-draft process. He said working with 49ers pass rush specialist Chris Kiffin all week at the Senior Bowl was invaluable.
“Oh man he’s great,” Ximines said. “I love all the techniques he coached me on. I feel like I definitely got better in these three days.”
Knowing that the 49ers are looking for pass-rush help was not the only reason he saw working with the 49ers coaching staff as a benefit.
“Not just because they are looking for an edge rusher, but also because I’m looking for knowledge," Ximines said. "That’s an NFL Coaching staff and having the opportunity to get coaching and different techniques from an NFL coaching staff, that’s big. It means everything to me.”
Ximines added that he will take the new things he learned with him as he moves through the pre-draft process.
“Definitely some things I’m going to put in my toolbox,” Ximines said, “and will probably help me out at the next level. If I could do this another time, I definitely would.”
Ximines didn’t want to name a particular NFL player that he models himself after. Rather, he watches all of the edge rushers in the league and takes what he sees from them, and tries to implement it at practice.
San Francisco 49ers
His goal at the Senior Bowl was not only to learn, but also to make a great impression at the first stage of his NFL job interview.
“I want to show teams exactly what they’re getting if they pick me in the draft,” Ximines said. “I go hard and I like to win.”
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Players that come from smaller schools like Old Dominion tend to play with a chip on their shoulder. But Ximines says that his school's status isn’t why he played like that.
“I feel like I’d have a chip on my shoulder if I played at Alabama,” Ximines said. “It’s something I always try to carry myself with. I always go hard and I always try to play to the best of my abilities. I want to show teams my relentless effort.”
Ximines hopes his time at the Senior Bowl will show NFL teams that he can play in any situation.
“I want to be more versatile,” Ximines said. “I want to have rushes from the inside, I want to have rushes from the outside. I want to stand on my feet. I just want to show everyone I’m not one dimensional. I don’t just have to be a single edge rusher. I can do other things as well.”
The buzz among scouts makes it sound like Ximines has definitely gotten a good start at showing teams he could be a great addition to a defensive line.
Whenever he gets drafted -- ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. had Ximines going No. 21 overall in his latest mock draft -- he will likely be able to afford more than Taco Bell, which Ximines admitted was all he ate when he attended Old Dominion.
That first NFL contract can't come soon enough.