Lawrence Okoye Thread of Epic Awesomeness

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Posted this in the draft forum:

Monster athlete vs skilled professional...

If he was a first rounder, your hesitation could be warranted. But he's a udfa. He learns, he learns. He doesn't, cut him.

Originally posted by fropwns:

Originally posted by 190836:

What position? DL?

Originally posted by jimrat:

he is huge!!

My friends, the great experiment.

And then CroCop goes on to get his handed to him by a bunch of no-names in the UFC.

Originally posted by KowboyKiller:

Originally posted by thl408:
I'm excited to see the outcome of this, but I would not be one bit surprised if he amounts to zilch. It takes more than being a great athlete to make it in the NFL, and to be a good DE you have to know how to take on 300+ pounders while disengaging to wrap up the ball carrier. It's going to be a long process and I hope it doesn't take too much time away from developing Tank or Lemonade.

This, there have been a million workout warriors who actiually produced in college that amounted to jack squat in the NFL. Vernon Gholston anyone? The fact that Okoye is highly intelligent is going to help him immensely, but he's going up against players who are also athletic freaks with many years of coaching and developing their technique, which is a lot better than simply having brute strength. Gonna root for the guy, hope for the guy, but my expectations are low. Prove me wrong Okoye!

You mentioned the intelligence, but you forgot the hard-working intangibles and track record for absorbing a highly technical sport in a short period of time at a world class level.

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.

Originally posted by jimrat:

Originally posted by DarkKnight1680:

Originally posted by jimrat:
Guy is around 300lbs

I think he will likely slim down a bit, building mass for discus is different than football. Less cardio! But really, at say 285-290 and 4.75 speed, why is his weight an issue at TE? Inline blocking at 290? Sounds good! Speed down the field at 4.75? Good enough for me!

Its not an issue but guys that have been playing football all there lives (Delani,V.Mcdonald) have trouble catching passes can you imagine this guy trying to catch a Kaepernick pass lol, this guy is perfect for DL/OL

So how did Gates get so good at catching? It wasn't from playing college football, since he didn't. Some guys can catch and some guys can't. We just dont know with Okoye which it is. If he struggles catching the ball, you keep him away from offense - not a hard call. But if he shows some aptitude with his hands (and as a guy who played rugby and who was an olympian in a sport that involved manipulating a heavy object with his hands, I believe he may have some aptitude), then I think TE is his most interesting position in the NFL.

Originally posted by DarkKnight1680:
So how did Gates get so good at catching? It wasn't from playing college football, since he didn't. Some guys can catch and some guys can't. We just dont know with Okoye which it is. If he struggles catching the ball, you keep him away from offense - not a hard call. But if he shows some aptitude with his hands (and as a guy who played rugby and who was an olympian in a sport that involved manipulating a heavy object with his hands, I believe he may have some aptitude), then I think TE is his most interesting position in the NFL.

Gates played basketball. Ever try to catch a basketball that was thrown like a dart?

And we have McDonald, who is only 30 or so lbs lighter than this guy but just as fast. Are those 30 lbs going to make such a dramatic difference?

If he wants to play American Football he should gain 30 pounds and learn to play tackle, dudes hips are tight as hell. I could LMAO watching JJ Watt run circles around him, can we set that up.

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by DarkKnight1680:
So how did Gates get so good at catching? It wasn't from playing college football, since he didn't. Some guys can catch and some guys can't. We just dont know with Okoye which it is. If he struggles catching the ball, you keep him away from offense - not a hard call. But if he shows some aptitude with his hands (and as a guy who played rugby and who was an olympian in a sport that involved manipulating a heavy object with his hands, I believe he may have some aptitude), then I think TE is his most interesting position in the NFL.

Gates played basketball. Ever try to catch a basketball that was thrown like a dart?

And we have McDonald, who is only 30 or so lbs lighter than this guy but just as fast. Are those 30 lbs going to make such a dramatic difference?

Yes, he did play basketball. So you can develop catching skills outside of football. There si a good possibility Okoye has this skill as well - but we can't know unless they try.

McDonald isn't great at catching the ball either - even on his NFL.com profile they mention that he would drop the ball once a game. If Okoye has equal hands, but is bigger/stronger/taller, I think he'd be a more interesting TE prospect, wouldn't you?

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^^ Love the kid. Explosive. Smart. Powerful. He's right about Ansah and Hunt too...if he had decided to pursue college football instead of Discus, he might have been a first rounder.

Should be the most interesting story of camp.

Wow, dude looks like a block of chiseled granite... No homo.

Sounds like he is a very determined individual too, I bet tomsula is champing at the bit to work with this kid.

Would be funny when he makes the team. He will be the biggest star at the London game.

Originally posted by KegBert:
Wow, dude looks like a block of chiseled granite... No homo.

Sounds like he is a very determined individual too, I bet tomsula is champing at the bit to work with this kid.

I think that's what Harbaugh was saying. He's like adonis. Just a the way you draw it up. He's rare.

6'6" 306 lbs. Olympic world class athlete. 4.7's in the 40. My goodness..... Maybe we can teach him how to play. He's a worthwhile project.