Lawrence Okoye Thread of Epic Awesomeness

Originally posted by Jcool:

Originally posted by qnnhan7:

lol

I don't see this guys succeeding in the NFL. He's going up against some of the best athletes at any position, and they have been playing football for most of their adult life. But good luck to him all the same.

"BYU defensive end Ezekiel Ansah and SMU defensive end Margus Hunt each have limited football background, but their physical tools are unbelievable, and both will be working toward a starting role in the NFL courtesy of first- and second-round selections, respectively."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1621673-lawrence-okoyes-rookie-projections-with-san-francisco-49ers

Menilik Watson is another and he has only 2 years playing football.

4.75 and 305lbs, how about at FB? Harbaugh liked Soap and Tofu, but his size and speed can blow up LB if he learns leverage.

Originally posted by BrianGO:
Those players have proven, even if only for one snap, one game, one week, that they can actually do something on a football field.
If Okoye had played for a year and demonstrated something similar to those guys, then he obviously would have been drafted. For right now, he is just "some guy" with big muscles.

For every Margus Hunt, there are probably 10 similar athletes who couldn't cut it in football. Of course, you only hear the success stories, you never hear about the "Margus Hunts" who had no talent for the game.

Its rare in the first place for someone with no experience even tries for the NFL. Antonio Gates never played a down of college football. Carlton Haselrig was a college wrestling champ who made the pro bowl at guard in 1992. Sam Clancy played 10 years as a DE in the NFL after playing college basketball. Stephen Neal a former guard for NE (started 81 games and won 3 Superbowl's) was a college wrestler.

Originally posted by Jcool:

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Those players have proven, even if only for one snap, one game, one week, that they can actually do something on a football field.
If Okoye had played for a year and demonstrated something similar to those guys, then he obviously would have been drafted. For right now, he is just "some guy" with big muscles.

For every Margus Hunt, there are probably 10 similar athletes who couldn't cut it in football. Of course, you only hear the success stories, you never hear about the "Margus Hunts" who had no talent for the game.

Its rare in the first place for someone with no experience even tries for the NFL. Antonio Gates never played a down of college football. Carlton Haselrig was a college wrestling champ who made the pro bowl at guard in 1992. Sam Clancy played 10 years as a DE in the NFL after playing college basketball. Stephen Neal a former guard for NE (started 81 games and won 3 Superbowl's) was a college wrestler.

Our own Jeff Stover is another and he was a shot putter at Oregon

Originally posted by BrianGO:
Those players have proven, even if only for one snap, one game, one week, that they can actually do something on a football field.
If Okoye had played for a year and demonstrated something similar to those guys, then he obviously would have been drafted. For right now, he is just "some guy" with big muscles.

For every Margus Hunt, there are probably 10 similar athletes who couldn't cut it in football. Of course, you only hear the success stories, you never hear about the "Margus Hunts" who had no talent for the game.

What is intriguing is his athletinc past. I would agree with you in almost any other case, but you have to wonder with this guy. He is with the right organization, to have the best chance.

with that discus swing i bet he can have a wicked swim move....
i guess its all a matter of what he does after he gets hit real hard.. does he cry to mama for crumpets or does he BEAST up and start knocking fools out

dude looks like he reeks of B.O.

I honestly think the skepticism is over the top. What are you guys worried about? That he's not going to know how to put on pads? That he's not going to know how to hit people? If he had ONE YEAR of college football with even mediocre production, he'd be a bigger version of Ansah. You guys really don't think he could have gone and racked up 5 sacks in the WAC last year?

People also keep saying stuff like "for every Hunt and Ansah, there are [insert hyperbolic number] raw foreign prospects who failed miserably at football." Who are these prospects? Any names? Are you accounting for the fact that Okoye is a superior athlete to just about every single DL currently playing in the NFL?

Low risk, potential high reward. What's the issue?

Dude is 6' 6" 300 with next to no body fat. Monsters.

Originally posted by NineFourNiner:

Low risk, potential high reward. What's the issue?

Dude is 6' 6" 300 with next to no body fat. Monsters.

I say make him a tight end. He knows how to handle the ball from rugby.

My only concern with him is, how good does he feel he needs to become to turn down his acceptance to the Oxford school of law in 2017? It would suck for the team if he's turned into a good to above average player in the NFL and decides to leave.

Originally posted by LieutKaffee:
I honestly think the skepticism is over the top. What are you guys worried about? That he's not going to know how to put on pads? That he's not going to know how to hit people? If he had ONE YEAR of college football with even mediocre production, he'd be a bigger version of Ansah. You guys really don't think he could have gone and racked up 5 sacks in the WAC last year?

People also keep saying stuff like "for every Hunt and Ansah, there are [insert hyperbolic number] raw foreign prospects who failed miserably at football." Who are these prospects? Any names? Are you accounting for the fact that Okoye is a superior athlete to just about every single DL currently playing in the NFL?

Even if this guy is a colossal flop.......................who cares? He didn't cost the 49ers a draft pick, they really have nothing to lose and everything to gain by offering him a shot.

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Originally posted by NineFourNiner:

Low risk, potential high reward. What's the issue?

Dude is 6' 6" 300 with next to no body fat. Monsters.

I say make him a tight end. He knows how to handle the ball from rugby.

Great, after a reception he will lateral it back to KW who will fumble it ....

Considering we tried Dobbs at TE and tried Tufuaku at FB, I don't think it's a stretch at all that we might see Okoye doing those things. I think they'll start him at DE because it will be easier to pick up and because that's what his current size is really prototypical for. We know Okoye was much slimmer before he started discus training. If the the whole Okoye experiment does pan out, I could see us trying to slim him down to work at TE.

6'6 300 pounds yeah im liking that. We also have the best Dline coach to get him caught up. Got the talent now we just got to get it out of him.