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

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Bogtrotter07

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


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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.

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Who is this "we?" Is it a royal we? Or the official we? How about the staff we?
 
Whiskeyjack

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TerryTate said:
He's referring to the coaching staff
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Is that post from one of the subscriber boards? I couldn't find it on the free one.

Was it IrishinOntario, FightingIrish44, etc.? Just curious.
 
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Bogtrotter07

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He's referring to the coaching staff
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Hearing that ends my feeling of en"we"!

Thanks, TT!

It is nice to have everything laid out plainly. This validates other things I have seen and heard, particularly how the evaluation of a prospective player has such a prominent psychological component; how traits are viewed as predictors of behavior, and success. This is very much like how the military selects prospects for elite groups.
 
BeauBenken

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Has Romeo not been competing in competitions like some of our other commits?

He seems to be the most quiet so far.

Well, and Daly. lol
 
RDU Irish

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Rocket89 said:
Yes it is. :)
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The Raleigh area alumni group recently moved to either the biggest or second biggest "class" of alumni groups. I think I heard one of the club yuckity-yucks say there are over 1000 ND alums in this region now.

Pretty much no-one is from here and most move from the NE or midwest. The city I live in (Cary) is know as the Containment Area for Relocated Yankees. It has grown from about 21,000 in 1980 to 135,000 in 2010. We also have the "half-back" phenomenon where people retire to Florida and then move half way back home to North Carolina for a variety of reasons. North Carolina is where it's at, yo.
 
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BGIF

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ISD Freebie

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Okwara A Youthful Leader

Christian McCollum ISD
8/15/11

Comments from his head coach Adam Hastings

He’s a great kid. ... He’s a good student. He’s a team leader and a really hard worker in the weight room. He’s one of our strongest guys on our team. He’s a 365-pound hang-cleaner, over 600 pounds in the squat. He has a 35-inch vertical. He’s a 4.8, 4.7 kid 40-wise. He just turned 16 about a month ago, so he’s very young. The sky’s the limit for him.
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I know that academics was the number one thing in his decision. ... The athletics and academic prestige at Notre Dame definitely played a big part in it.”

Recruited as a OLB/DE
 
Whiskeyjack

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His measurables are staggering for a high school kid, let alone one as young as Romeo. Even if his senior year production is average, he'll likely garner a 4th :s: on his upside alone.
 
IrishLax

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He has 3:s: film with 4:s:+ upside. Will be interesting to see how he develops as he ages. If he can continue to get bigger, faster and stronger the world is his oyster.
 
Old Man Mike

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You are always looking for exceptional talent and there's a lot of it "out there". But you are particularly boggled when you run into a freak physical specimen. There are NOT many of those. Even if Romeo's weight-lifting numbers are inflated by not doing the lifts the hard way formally, they are still WAY out of the norm. This young man has the aura about him of the rare physical freak --- and a long way from "trained up". I felt that way last year about Stephon Tuitt. Probably would have felt the same about Nix had I had more info. I sort of get that from Perkins. These guys become unblockable wrecking balls who destroy what offenses try to do. It's almost inconceivable to me what line-ups containing destroyers like these guys at several positions might do.

The quarterback comes up to the line. "Romeo, oh Romeo, whereforth art thou, oh Romeo?? For I want to shift my tight end and my running back towards your side. ... or my own vulnerable tight end will verily be in a sling".
 
Whiskeyjack

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Great trope.

Opposing QB sees EJ, Nix, KLM, Shembo, and Flemming, with Ishaq, Lynch, and Tuitt waiting on the sideline. Looks at his undersized TE and RB. Thinks "We're gonna need more blockers."
 
Old Man Mike

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BGIF and Whiskey: hah! Reminds me of a slight testiness that I witnessed at the end of one of my classes between one kid and a non-traditional student who was a cop. The regular student [not quite meaning it] picked up a can of pop and brandished it. The cop said: "you're going to need a bigger can."


A lot of QBs are going to need bigger cans against us, or they will spend the majority of their time on their own.
 
Whiskeyjack

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Old Man Mike said:
BGIF and Whiskey: hah! Reminds me of a slight testiness that I witnessed at the end of one of my classes between one kid and a non-traditional student who was a cop. The regular student [not quite meaning it] picked up a can of pop and brandished it. The cop said: "you're going to need a bigger can."


A lot of QBs are going to need bigger cans against us, or they will spend the majority of their time on their own.
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You're on fire tonight, OMM.
 
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Bogtrotter07

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Great trope.

Opposing QB sees EJ, Nix, KLM, Shembo, and Flemming, with Ishaq, Lynch, and Tuitt waiting on the sideline. Looks at his undersized TE and RB. Thinks "We're gonna need more blockers."
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And the thing is you didn't mention T'eo and no one included Niklas, who may be the biggest monster in the class before all is said and done.
 
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Bogtrotter07

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How do you like that Warren Central? 12 players have been offered D-1 scholarships, including our own Sheldon Day.
 
Irish2015

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Not to be a debby downer, but I doubt that 600 pound squat is accurate. Their seems to be a big difference between what high schoolers consider proper squat depth and what Longo would consider proper squat depth. That being said I am basing this purely on my own experience with kids in my highschool vs proper power lifting technique and I would love to have Romeo prove me wrong.
 
Whiskeyjack

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Irish2015 said:
Not to be a debby downer, but I doubt that 600 pound squat is accurate. Their seems to be a big difference between what high schoolers consider proper squat depth and what Longo would consider proper squat depth. That being said I am basing this purely on my own experience with kids in my highschool vs proper power lifting technique and I would love to have Romeo prove me wrong.
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Tell that to Romeo's quads.

romeo-okwara.jpg
 
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BGIF

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Irish2015 said:
Not to be a debby downer, but I doubt that 600 pound squat is accurate. Their seems to be a big difference between what high schoolers consider proper squat depth and what Longo would consider proper squat depth. That being said I am basing this purely on my own experience with kids in my highschool vs proper power lifting technique and I would love to have Romeo prove me wrong.
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If you go back earlier in this thread probably in the first few pages you'll find considerable discussion on his lifting numbers.
 
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Bogtrotter07

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And on his quads . . .

And seriously. I am never again, not going to believe this kids on their numbers. There are two points. Notre Dame does not embellish measurables, particularly 40 times. Never saw it. The only ND players that had fictitious times listed, were from high school or some camp. Secondly, I went with OldManMike through the lofty goals set by Stephon Tuitt, and then he came into camp and WOW !
I think we would agree that there was no bad technique or BS there! The overarching point that you cannot minimize, is that these are guys who have integrity, and tell the truth. That is part of what Kelly offers and expects.
 
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