'12 NC DE Romeo Okwara (Notre Dame Signed LOI)

[BGIF]

Okwara’s pledge makes a dozen recruits for 2012 | Inside the Irish

Keith Arnold
7/11

If you watch tape of Okwara, it’s clear the Irish see pass rushing ability in him, as just about every inch of tape has Okwara playing with a hand on the ground and wreaking havoc in an opposing offense’s backfield. Okwara continues a good trend for the Irish, pulling good players out of the Carolinas. His offer list is filled with Southeastern schools, with every major program in North Carolina offering, as well as offers from Miami, Michigan, Virginia Tech and Clemson on board. H/T to Irish message-board oracle Hobbs, who notes that Okwara is an absolute perfect fit for a 3-4 defense, with Al Groh at Georgia Tech, Mike London at Virginia, Al Golden at Miami, and Bob Diaco at Notre Dame all chasing Okwara, with each of those defenses holding the same philosophies, passed down from Groh, one of the forefathers of the 3-4 defense.

There are reports that Okwara just turned 16 last week, which would lead you to believe he’s not done growing yet and could turn into a monstrous player. He’ll be a great developmental prospect at Cat linebacker, where the Irish are stockpiling a pretty diverse set of passing rushing talent to fill in after Darius Fleming graduates

 

[TerryTate]

Love this pick up. Wasn't too familiar with him before his commitment, but I've watched his film and read several write ups on him. He's a rare combination of size, strength, and speed. At 15, he still has a lot of room to grow.... scary.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Love this pick up. Wasn't too familiar with him before his commitment, but I've watched his film and read several write ups on him. He's a rare combination of size, strength, and speed. At 15, he still has a lot of room to grow.... scary.

Off Topic, but I saw Transformers 3 last night, and you were fabulous Triple T.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Back on topic, did you see the picture in the above posted article? His legs are MASSIVE. I have no doubts about his previously listed lifting measurables. Son of a beast!

 

[DomeX2 eNVy]

Back on topic, did you see the picture in the above posted article? His legs are MASSIVE. I have no doubts about his previously listed lifting measurables. Son of a beast!

Either that or he wears his pads underneath his skin.

 

[woolybug25]

First of all, welcome to the family Romeo. It is always awesome to add a hard hittin' linebacker named Romeo (he's a lover, not a fighter).

Second of all, can someone explain to me why is only 16 years old. He will obviously redshirt, correct?

 

[Old Man Mike]

I think I have the answer. He's only 16 years old because he was born in 1995. Yep I'll bet that's it. No promises though, strange things happen in North Carolina and Montana

 

[johnnykillz]

No promises though, strange things happen in North Carolina and Montana

His moms a sheep?

 

[Bogtrotter07]

First of all, welcome to the family Romeo. It is always awesome to add a hard hittin' linebacker named Romeo (he's a lover, not a fighter).

Second of all, can someone explain to me why is only 16 years old. He will obviously redshirt, correct?

I think I have the answer. He's only 16 years old because he was born in 1995. Yep I'll bet that's it. No promises though, strange things happen in North Carolina and Montana

His moms a sheep?

Come on guys!

He is sixteen because he was born two. That is how his mom got him in at school when he was four, and he skipped. You see this guy is soft spoken, brilliant, and I think he eats quarterback's arms for lunch. (Someone will have to make sure he doesn't room with Rees or Golson. You had better be nice to Romeo, because he has the distinct possibility to be an All-American for ND.

(Boy I've said that a lot about players lately.)

 

[Whiskeyjack]

First of all, welcome to the family Romeo. It is always awesome to add a hard hittin' linebacker named Romeo (he's a lover, not a fighter).

"He's a lover, not a fighter... but he's also a fighter, so don't get any ideas."

 

[koonja]

Let's move him on up to the 'commits' list.

 

[Cali_domer]

Let's move him on up to the 'commits' list.

He is listed.

 

[koonja]

He is listed.

It says "Notre Dame Verbal" next to his name, but he's below the bar where all of our verbals are.

 

[BGIF]

It says "Notre Dame Verbal" next to his name, but he's below the bar where all of our verbals are.

One of the mods has to make this thread a "sticky" and then it will go above the line.

 

[NCDomer]

Welcome Romeo.

NCDomer,

We do alright in the southeast for sure. We usually snag some guys from Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas every year. Texas is our weakest area.

I wasn't referring so much to FL because Southern FL isn't quite different form the rest of the SE in terms of demographics. You're right that ND does well in GA and FL. The numbers below reveal that. The Carolinas seem to be an area we're poaching more and more these days. A lot of talent comes from there, and SCar and Clemson are the only football schools around both of which aren't exactly football powerhouses. SCar became what they are now from the Ol' Ball Coach getting the Carolina talent to stay home.

We're definitely struggling in LA, but few schools really pull talent from LA. It's all about getting the DL talent mentioned in this SI article.

Here's how we fared historically (I don't include TX, FL, or anything North of VA **note: most VA recruits came from NoVA too, which isn't really the South**):
'02 - 1 NR WR from GA
'03 - 3* WR from VA, 3* CB from AL, 4* RB from VA
'04 - 3* RB from GA, 3* QB from TN
It's really sad that Willingham recruited so poorly from the Carolinas when he's from NC (actually from the neighboring town to where Mario Williams played in hs).
'05 - 4* OL from GA
'06 - 3* LB from GA, 3* DE from GA, 4* OL from AR (if you count AR being in the Southeast)
'07 - 4* S from TN, 4* WR from TN, 4* CB from SC, 3* OT from VA, 4* DE from NC
'08 - 4* WR from VA, 4* S from GA, 4* CB from NC
'09 - 4* OT from TN
'10 - 4* WR from GA, 3* LB from NC
'11 - 5* DE from GA, 4* QB from SC, 3* LB from NC, 3* CB from NC

 

[NCDomer]

I also meant representation in the alumni sense as well. Decent presence in GA and FL, but sparse through the Carolinas. It's not all about football.

 

[Rocket89]

It's not all about football.

Yes it is.

 

[phork]

Are we able to move him up with the rest of the verbals?

 

[Rhode Irish]

I wasn't referring so much to FL because Southern FL isn't quite different form the rest of the SE in terms of demographics. You're right that ND does well in GA and FL. The numbers below reveal that. The Carolinas seem to be an area we're poaching more and more these days. A lot of talent comes from there, and SCar and Clemson are the only football schools around both of which aren't exactly football powerhouses. SCar became what they are now from the Ol' Ball Coach getting the Carolina talent to stay home.

We're definitely struggling in LA, but few schools really pull talent from LA. It's all about getting the DL talent mentioned in this SI article.

Here's how we fared historically (I don't include TX, FL, or anything North of VA **note: most VA recruits came from NoVA too, which isn't really the South**):
'02 - 1 NR WR from GA
'03 - 3* WR from VA, 3* CB from AL, 4* RB from VA
'04 - 3* RB from GA, 3* QB from TN
It's really sad that Willingham recruited so poorly from the Carolinas when he's from NC (actually from the neighboring town to where Mario Williams played in hs).
'05 - 4* OL from GA
'06 - 3* LB from GA, 3* DE from GA, 4* OL from AR (if you count AR being in the Southeast)
'07 - 4* S from TN, 4* WR from TN, 4* CB from SC, 3* OT from VA, 4* DE from NC
'08 - 4* WR from VA, 4* S from GA, 4* CB from NC
'09 - 4* OT from TN
'10 - 4* WR from GA, 3* LB from NC
'11 - 4* QB from SC, 3* LB from NC, 3* CB from NC

What about the 5* DL from GA in that class?

 

[WabashFalcon]

With this commit, we have all our needs really covered. We need to spend the rest of our scholarships cherry-picking. I wanted to see a few 5 stars get offered. NAOW!!!

 

[koonja]

With this commit, we have all our needs really covered. We need to spend the rest of our scholarships cherry-picking. I wanted to see a few 5 stars get offered. NAOW!!!

Couldn't agree more.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

With this commit, we have all our needs really covered. We need to spend the rest of our scholarships cherry-picking. I wanted to see a few 5 stars get offered. NAOW!!!

I want a couple of Running Backs. We are pretty thin there for sure.

 

[AdmiralBackhand]

With this commit, we have all our needs really covered. We need to spend the rest of our scholarships cherry-picking. I wanted to see a few 5 stars get offered. NAOW!!!

Eh? We need RBs.

 

[koonja]

Eh? We need RBs.

All of the RBs we have targeted are 4/5 star, or at least considered 'elite talent'. Two birds, my friend.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

With this commit, we have all our needs really covered. We need to spend the rest of our scholarships cherry-picking. I wanted to see a few 5 stars get offered. NAOW!!!

Right MEOW!

 

[OCIrish]

Right MEOW!

MEOW did you say?

 

[Whiskeyjack]

MEOW did you say?

Do I look like a cat to you, boy? Am I jumpin' around all nimbly bimbly from tree to tree?

 

[Rhode Irish]

Do I look like a cat to you, boy? Am I jumpin' around all nimbly bimbly from tree to tree?

Am I drinking milk from a saucer?

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Am I drinking milk from a saucer?

DO YOU SEE ME EATING MICE?

 

[TerryTate]

From a well-connected poster on II re: Okwara:

It's not so much that we want "massive OLBs" cliff, as much as we want guys athletic and flexible enough to be able to make explosive plays in space (upfield and in some coverage areas) while also being stout enough to "set the edge" physically and in terms of reach/extension. That's a complex and somewhat rare skill set.

As far as Okwara, we really like this kid a lot (just as other Groh-discipled 34 staffs do, too, not to mention Butch Davis and others), and love his potential for development -- athletically and in football skill sets -- given his raw talent, frame and innate "desire traits" since he is, in fact, just a kid. The highlights and game tapes reveal all this -- yet he's only a 15-year old in them. He has as much room for development, as noted, as almost anyone. It's all ahead of him -- there's no telling how good he may be in time if he stays after it, something his background and profile suggests will happen.

Also, he's another of the "hybrid/combo" types (in this case, RushOLB/RushEnd) that will add a lot of scheme versatility and "hidden depth" to the defenses we'll run, though based in the 34 front. This type of player today is becoming extremely important to multiple defense teams like us, Texas (now), Florida (now), SC (under Carroll), Miami, etc.