Lawrence Okoye Thread of Epic Awesomeness

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:

Originally posted by NickSh49:
Cannot believe there are 47 pages on a guy who isn't even good odds to make the practice squad.

Welcome to the offseason, here's a chair make yourself comfortable.

Originally posted by nannite:
Okoye earned a trip to the olympics after only 3 years of training. He got accepted to a pre-law program at Oxford.

Lets assume that:
-he knows the difference between hard work and *really* hard work
-he is smart enough to fully comprehend that difference.
-when he says something, he puts more thought and brains into his statements than the average poster on this board.

He has to learn multiple techniques across the dline. He is probably starting off with the 3/4 technique and the 5 technique. Which requires a lot of mental training as well as physical training. The fact that he finds the mental aspect hard doesnt mean he is unprepared for full contact.

His statements can be interpreted a number of ways. Its pointless speculation to over analyze too much in the off season. Its even worse when people start cherry picking harbaughs statements and come up with wacky theories.

My guess is that his statement was meant to show that hes working his ass off. he probably assumed that his statements would be interpreted with his history in mind; that we would give him the benefit of the doubt because he has shown an ability to succeed despite tremendous odds before. But we didn't, we took the most simplistic interpretation of his statements.

Spot in IMHO. We are talking about a very cerebral person/player here. You don't become an Olympic medalist in anything unless you are an absolute perfectionist and are fully dedicated to your craft. This is a VERY young man who is putting off a supreme academic career. The only real question at this point isn't the experience as much as it is his dedication and long term commitment to the sport and 49ers. IF he is genuinely dedicated, this clean slate will learn the game at the pro level from the best coaches in the game. He won't be "unlearning" poor techniques he's picked up from past experience. Any developmental psychology professor will tell you it's much easier to take a clean slate and develop it properly vs. having to unlearn poor habits that have now become "instinct."

As a result, it's going to take him longer to learn everything...like Alex learning a new offense every year. Can he really do it in one off season? Probably not...the odds are against him but at the same time, he's in a perfect position b/c we are a team who has the time and patience (and resources) to develop players properly (CK, Jenkins, Lockette, LMJ and now, Dial, Tank and Lattimore).

Another thing to consider is that we aren't talking about a QB position here either. We are talking about learning the 3-4 DE position in a pretty vanilla, straight-up 3-4. The biggest challenges will be knowing his own assignments (where to line up, rush, occupy two, seal the edge, read and react on run vs. passing plays, screens, reverses, drop back) and then technique (leverage, hand work, firing off the LOS vs. staying back, wrapping up, etc.).

Between Tomsula and J.Smith and with a clean slate, I think his biggest challenge is convincing Fangio (hard task) that there won't be THAT big of a drop off in production with him subbing in for Justin. Dial and Tank share this same challenge but both have injuries right now so Okoye will get all the snaps which will favor his development that much more. It will be fun to watch once the pads come on.

Commitment is the biggest question-mark though IMHO. If he is serious and wants to make a career of this, this coaching staff will give him every opportunity. Then his developmental progress will determine where he goes from there (make the 53 but not dress up, make the 46 and plays, practice squad, etc.).

There's no question in my mind about his physical gifts and he certainly seems smart and driven enough to learn the game and listen to good coaching, but my questions still center around the hitting. In my opinion, nothing in his background is even close to the violence of hitting in an NFL trench. Rugby is a violent, physical game, but come on - it's just not close. If he can survive that aspect of the game - players like those on this o-line running at him and launching themselves at him with the intent of pancaking him, then he's got a great chance. The other thing about NFL players that people often overlook is the mental discipline it requires to play focused while struggling with pain. It seems easy for people to underestimate the amount of mental strength it takes to focus on very difficult tasks and pull them off while dealing with pain. We'll find out all about Lawrence Okyoe once the pads come on and they start playing something close to real football.

I'm assuming Okoye is the small woman in the middle?

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:
I'm assuming Okoye is the small woman in the middle?

That hottie is Jessica Ennis. Yum Yum!!

Finally some news

Originally posted by GNielsen:
There's no question in my mind about his physical gifts and he certainly seems smart and driven enough to learn the game and listen to good coaching, but my questions still center around the hitting. In my opinion, nothing in his background is even close to the violence of hitting in an NFL trench. Rugby is a violent, physical game, but come on - it's just not close. If he can survive that aspect of the game - players like those on this o-line running at him and launching themselves at him with the intent of pancaking him, then he's got a great chance. The other thing about NFL players that people often overlook is the mental discipline it requires to play focused while struggling with pain. It seems easy for people to underestimate the amount of mental strength it takes to focus on very difficult tasks and pull them off while dealing with pain. We'll find out all about Lawrence Okyoe once the pads come on and they start playing something close to real football.

rugby isn't far off if you're mixing with the forwards, some nasty s**t goes on at the bottom of scrums, but he wasn't anyway he was a winger and about as far away from that as he could be.

I agree it'll come down to whether he likes the ferocious side of it, if he doesn't then it's not something he'll grow to like either.

i can't believe there are 48 pages on this guy.

Originally posted by GNielsen:
There's no question in my mind about his physical gifts and he certainly seems smart and driven enough to learn the game and listen to good coaching, but my questions still center around the hitting. In my opinion, nothing in his background is even close to the violence of hitting in an NFL trench. Rugby is a violent, physical game, but come on - it's just not close. If he can survive that aspect of the game - players like those on this o-line running at him and launching themselves at him with the intent of pancaking him, then he's got a great chance. The other thing about NFL players that people often overlook is the mental discipline it requires to play focused while struggling with pain. It seems easy for people to underestimate the amount of mental strength it takes to focus on very difficult tasks and pull them off while dealing with pain. We'll find out all about Lawrence Okyoe once the pads come on and they start playing something close to real football.

The violence in rugby is at a high level but it is different than football...not less. I haven't seen too many football players with their ears taped back on during a game. Playing with broken noses is common place and the scrums can be very violent. Plus, every player is a ball carrier so they get hit while standing up. On the other hand, football DLmen hit from a short distance (excepting the wham) and the impact is not as jarring...more sumo-like...another great sport.

But I do agree that the sports are very different and some guys don't adjust well when making the shift. Football players have a difficult time protecting their heads when playing rugby...they are too use to putting their heads in front of the ball carrier!

Originally posted by xcfan:

The big white is biiger than Okyoe. We should get him too.

Originally posted by pd24:
The big white is biiger than Okyoe. We should get him too.

we should get her (for surviving this double team)

this dude a starter yet?

he's the only olympian on the roster.

I agree that rugby is violent, but because of the helmets and pads, the velocity in American football is a completely different deal. It's the hitting that I wonder about. If he can take the hitting, he might be able to adapt. But, he's also got to learn to play the game. It's a very complicated game - much more complex and complicated than a lot of people think.

Agree with that totally GNielsen! It is a very long shot for him to make even the PS. So many technical aspects of the game are overlooked. That is where I see him struggling most...the nuances of playing the position--very steep learning curve.