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Thread: Okoye

  1. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by RavenScallywag View Post
    Brock Lesnar once wanted to play football too...

    Just saying.
    I forgot about that. That guy is such a tool.
    “Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”

    –Eleanor Roosevelt





  2. #14
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    Re: Okoye

    Daily Mail piece listed him at 21 stone = 294 lb.

    Fascinating case - what do you do with an outstanding athlete who's also highly intelligent, but has never played the game? Some coach will take the bait to play Henry Higgins with this guy.

    Another idea might be to come over here for grad school and learn the game.

    Anyone got Jim Margraff's # at JHU handy?

    BS





  3. #15
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    I'd grab him as an UDFA on physical potential alone. Let him give it a shot on the PS and see if the doctoral level brain can learn the game.
    My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging. -Hank Aaron





  4. #16
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    Re: Okoye

    Im from england and regrettably have never played a down of football.

    That said I have watched the NFL solid for more than a few years now, and I would say that pass rushing DE, WR or RB would be the easiest positions to pick up for a gifted athlete with the physical skillset as okoye obviously has.

    Would any of y'all you have played football at any level have opinions on the easiest positions to pick up for a non-football player?





  5. #17
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    Re: Okoye

    Quote Originally Posted by sid214 View Post
    Having said that, with the growth of the sport in this country, I think it's just a matter of time before a Brit makes a big impact in the league.
    I'm sure the NFL is eager to have it happen, in the hopes that it will cast more British eyes in their direction.

    Quote Originally Posted by mmi16 View Post
    No matter the physical gifts, I can't seeing one picking up Doctoral level football, without ever having gone through Elementary School, Junior & Senior High as well as the normal College eduction in the sport.

    The game, at the NFL level, is predicated upon instantaneous decision making without the luxury of having time to think about the options. Decisions that have been honed in the years of competition leading up to the NFL.

    Best of luck, but it is a taller mountain than Everest to climb.
    I think your overstating this a bit. I'm not saying it would be easy to learn the NFL game in a short period of time, but it's not rocket science. You don't have to devote your entire life to it to figure it out.

    Plus if someone is gifted enough physically then, depending on the position, you can usually do some things to simplify the game for them so that they can take advantage of their physical skills.

    Again, that's not to say this guy would work out. I agree it's more likely that he never becomes a solid NFL player. Just not overwhelmingly so.





  6. #18

    Re: Okoye

    If he were a straight-ahead running back, like another Okoye who came to football very late:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Okoye

    he might have a chance, but a defensive end needs years to refine his skills. Good luck to him, but it's a real long shot.
    "This space for rent" - Roger Goodell





  7. #19
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    Re: Okoye

    Quote Originally Posted by Kyle Cactus View Post
    I think your overstating this a bit. I'm not saying it would be easy to learn the NFL game in a short period of time, but it's not rocket science. You don't have to devote your entire life to it to figure it out.
    I don't know because I haven't experienced it, but from what I hear, it really is kind of a full time job just learning what's expected on a given play. A guy I know was a Div III player, who transferred to ECU to play as a walk-on D-lineman. He told me the X's and O's from high school to DIII were a very difficult transition; then when he went from DIII to ECU ( a low-end D1 program) he said it was mind boggling. And this guy went on to become a lawyer, so he's not dumb. He said it took him the whole first season to figure out what the hell was going on.

    Have there been dumb guys in the NFL? Sure. But how many of them didn't understand the game? Or at least, the techniques of their position? That's the question. Sure in theory a guy could pick it up, but outside of some guys in the 80s becoming return men (Ron Brown, Skeets Nehemiah) I can't think of a lot of instances where it's happened, and I can imagine a lot of crazy athletes out there have wanted to give it a go.

    Might as well speculate that Usain Bolt could play in the NFL. 6' 6", fastest man on earth. Shouldn't he be able to run 9 routes and learn to catch a football? Seems pretty easy when you frame it that way, but like they say, if it was easy, everybody would do it.





  8. #20

    Re: Okoye

    There have been a few guys who came into the NFL in recent years that have little or no experience even at the college level. Jimmy Graham, Tony Gonzales, Antonio Gates. They are all TE's but they are all very good to great players. This guy is probably a long shot, but there is precedent.





  9. #21
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    Re: Okoye

    Quote Originally Posted by NC Raven View Post
    I don't know because I haven't experienced it, but from what I hear, it really is kind of a full time job just learning what's expected on a given play. A guy I know was a Div III player, who transferred to ECU to play as a walk-on D-lineman. He told me the X's and O's from high school to DIII were a very difficult transition; then when he went from DIII to ECU ( a low-end D1 program) he said it was mind boggling. And this guy went on to become a lawyer, so he's not dumb. He said it took him the whole first season to figure out what the hell was going on.
    Point well taken, but in college you have other focuses outside of football. Not being able to pick it up in college is different than not being able to pick it up in the NFL where it's a full time job. Again, I'm NOT trying to say it's easy or likely to happen. I just felt that this point was originally overstated.

    Quote Originally Posted by NC Raven View Post
    Might as well speculate that Usain Bolt could play in the NFL. 6' 6", fastest man on earth. Shouldn't he be able to run 9 routes and learn to catch a football? Seems pretty easy when you frame it that way, but like they say, if it was easy, everybody would do it.
    Just because he's big and fast doesn't mean he has the hands and body control to be an effective receiver. There are so many skills that go into most NFL positions that even a great athlete like Bolt could be derailed by a deficiency in 1 or 2 areas.
    Last edited by Kyle Cactus; 04-03-2013 at 09:38 AM.





  10. #22
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    Re: Okoye

    Quote Originally Posted by londonraven View Post
    Im from england and regrettably have never played a down of football.

    That said I have watched the NFL solid for more than a few years now, and I would say that pass rushing DE, WR or RB would be the easiest positions to pick up for a gifted athlete with the physical skillset as okoye obviously has.

    Would any of y'all you have played football at any level have opinions on the easiest positions to pick up for a non-football player?
    I like that he has a rugby background too. Said he played a bit of wing, boys built like a bigger version of Lomu





  11. #23

    Re: Okoye

    Quote Originally Posted by londonraven View Post
    Im from england and regrettably have never played a down of football.

    That said I have watched the NFL solid for more than a few years now, and I would say that pass rushing DE, WR or RB would be the easiest positions to pick up for a gifted athlete with the physical skillset as okoye obviously has.

    Would any of y'all you have played football at any level have opinions on the easiest positions to pick up for a non-football player?
    Punter?
    "A moron, a rapist, and a Pittsburgh Steeler walk into a bar. He sits down and says, “Hi I’m Ben may I have a drink please?”
    ProFootballMock





  12. #24

    Re: Okoye

    I played DL in HS. Started out as a big fat freshman DT starting on a stacked JV team, then slimmed down to a dominant DE. The reads the skills and the assignments are simple. Size and athletic ability are what sperate the stars there. Tackles with 30 pounds on me had no chance to block me if they did not have longer reach and very fast feet, which in local HS squads was just not happening. Measurables matter.



    :T2:





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