Lawrence Okoye Thread of Epic Awesomeness

You guys are f**king crazy if you think they are gonna put him at TE lol

Originally posted by mrwoodz:
It's a comparison thing really - he may have 2 years on practice squad - but even if it takes that long he'd still be younger than some rookies. 24 and 25 year olds get drafted all the time, and he's only 21.

I don't expect to see him on the team this year - but he must have special teams possibility just because of his size and speed.

If there is a roster spot, keep this bloke. You're right, he's still young. The 49ers have the coaches to develophim. With his speed and athletic ability, JH may put him just about anywhere. He has the physical tools, but he needs to learn football terms, leverage, reading plays and techniques. I'm not sure how intellegent this guy is. But, I'll have his mammoth butt in a goaline as a fullback.lol

Originally posted by WINiner:
I want this kid on the DL. He says he believes he can play like Watt. He believes having no training gives him an edge learning purely from professional coaches and only skills applicable to professional ball. He wants to be a 49. He was hoping to be drafted by the 49ers and quickly signed with us after the draft. He knows he will have to and is willing to play on the practice squad for a few years to learn and I believe he would refuse a claim from another team.

If the Niners will be patient with this kid he could really turn into an absolute dominant force on our Dline and still be relatively young when ready to play on Sundays.

I am rooting for him, his attitude is right, thats for sure.

I am pretty sure that the longest any player can be on a practice squad with the same team is 2 years. I think there is a good chance he winds up on the PS for this year anyway.

Originally posted by LieutKaffee:

Originally posted by BrianGO:
This is what happens when a monster human being with no skill tries to compete with a skilled athlete...

That is just... not analogous at all.

Actually, the story of Christian Okoye is more analogous. A Nigerian with freakish measurables who came to the US without any knowledge of football in a very short time became a monster on the field at running back and dominated the NFL (until knee injuries took their toll and he quit while he was still reasonably healthy). Granted, DL requires different skills than RB, but still an apt analogy. No telling how this will turn out.

Wow, but what a TE this guy would make if he could catch the ball and learn how to block...

Okoye's quickest path to making the team might be as the short yardage FB, replacing Dixon.

Originally posted by Wrathman:

Originally posted by jimrat:

See ya later Dobbs! We have better DL prospects now.

Hasn't Dobbs progressed a lot every season?

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:

Originally posted by susweel:
son of Christian

Nigerian nightmare???

He's not the son of Christian Okoye. Lawrence was born in England to Nigerian parents in 1991 when Christian was playing for the Chiefs.

I hope the Barrows or Maiocco find out what kind of plan Tomsula or Harbaugh put Okoye on. How are they going to teach football 101 to this guy? For instance, do they start off teaching him some sort of niche like short yardage defense?

Originally posted by OKC49erFan:

Originally posted by gold49er2183:

Originally posted by gold49digger:
https

is right. That dude sounds DRIVEN.

Was that his 4.7 40?
He appears like he's just doing a light jog.
Wow, huge potential. Tomsula has a lot to work with.

It kinda looks like he was floating.

Originally posted by YungAce:

Originally posted by Wrathman:

Originally posted by jimrat:

See ya later Dobbs! We have better DL prospects now.

Hasn't Dobbs progressed a lot every season?

Not really, the only reason he made the team last year was by playing as a backup TE,FB, and DL. We need backups that are actually good at those positions. He also got a DWI and was hurt last year. When he did get to play, he wasn't impressive. We can do much better than Dobbs!

Originally posted by Buchy:

Originally posted by babarvaart:

Originally posted by eastcoast49ersfan:
and yeah, he wasn't anything special as a rugby player, but they're different games - you don't get breaks in rugby, so there aren't many 300 pounders because they don't have the endurance. Linemen in general would not be good at rugby, because you need to be able to move in space (some DE's like JPP would be successful though). It's bizarre to me that this guy played wing given he's not very fast - I would expect him to have played forward, but maybe he's afraid of contact which would be a major concern.

rugby wingers are usually fast but you sometimes see big guys out there like Lomu for NZ, if you can run over people it's just as good as going around.

Lomu was a freak, he ran the 100m in ~10.8 seconds.

Watch the Okoye interview with Jamal Anderson. He specifically mentions running a 10.9 100 meters at age 18 at the height of his rugby career before bulking up and training for discus.

I guarantee Okoye makes the team. DE/TE/FB, something will stick early.

Originally posted by LieutKaffee:

I guarantee Okoye makes the team. DE/TE/FB, something will stick early.

Harbaugh will find a place for his talent.

I'd say practice squad unless he just blows up in training camp

Okoye will be a great story line to follow throughout TC.