Loadholt Joins AD in Minnesota

[JLEW1818]

The Minnesota Vikings selected OU tackle Phil Loadholt with the 22nd pick in the second round (54th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. Loadholt was the first Sooner to have his name called Saturday evening at the world famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Loadholt is the eighth Oklahoma player drafted by Minnesota and the third in the last three years. The Vikings took Adrian Peterson in the first round of the 2007 draft and linebacker Rufus Alexander in the sixth round that same year.

Loadholt is the sixth offensive lineman drafted from OU in Bob Stoops' 10 seasons with the Sooners, the first since 2006 when both Davin Joseph (Tampa Bay, first round) and Chris Chester (Baltimore, second round) were selected. Loadholt is the first Sooner tackle drafted since Jammal Brown (New Orleans, first round) in 2005.

This marks the third straight year that an Oklahoma player who came to OU from the junior college ranks has been drafted. The previous two were RB Allen Patrick (Baltimore, seventh round, 2008) and DE C.J. Ah You (Buffalo, eighth round, 2007).

Loadholt is the 37th OU player drafted since Bob Stoops became the Sooners' head coach. Twenty-five of those have been taken in the first three rounds.

Quick quote from the NFL: "The Vikings pick a behemoth tackle prospect to insert into the lineup on the right side. Loadholt excels at blowing defenders off the ball and will thrive in the Vikings' power-based scheme. Though he has some trouble with quick rushers off the edge, his ability to dominate the line of scrimmage is what drove the Vikings to make the pick."

[JLEW1818]

Thanks for a great 2 years at Oklahoma, Phil!!!! Have fun blocking for AD!!!! I'm sure you wish you had the chance to do so at Oklahoma.. Good Luck and thank you!!

[StoopTroup]

Can't hardly believe Duke is still undrafted.

Glad Phil got his due...I was worried about him.

[JLEW1818]

Yep, I'm sure Iggy and Duke get drafted during round 3....

[StoopTroup]

I Nick Harris gets a shot. I'm thinking his Combine results hurt him...


Combine Results:
40 Yard Dash : 4.85 seconds
Bench Press : 15.0 reps
Vertical Jump : 31.5 inches
Broad Jump : 109.0 inches
3 Cone Drill : 7.07 seconds
20 Yard Shuttle : 4.38 seconds

[JLEW1818]

The thing about Nic is, does he play safety, or linebacker? ......

[Curly Bill]

At 4.85 he prolly plays linebacker...

...or not at all.

[JLEW1818]

At 4.85 he prolly plays linebacker...

...or not at all.

yep... might be in some trouble.. .

[Curly Bill]

I think he gets a shot, though I can easily see that being a free agent shot. Being a free agent is about as good as being a late round draftee though, as a free agent he can pick his spot.

[CrimsonJim]

If they keep takin' Sooners in Minnesota, even badger might start rootin' fer em. :)

[JLEW1818]

If they keep takin' Sooners in Minnesota, even badger might start rootin' fer em. :)

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[badger]

If they keep takin' Sooners in Minnesota, even badger might start rootin' fer em. :)

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:Sorry Badger, with most Sooner fans, pro football is still just about the Sooners.

[Jello Biafra]

i dont know about badger but im really worried about this pick. phil is a much better run blocker than pass blocker and you know what happens if you can give peterson some daylight....

[badger]

Sorry Badger, with most Sooner fans, pro football is still just about the Sooners.

A lot of Sooner fans have been Sooner fans since birth. I, however, have been a Packer fan since birth. Surely you can see the difference... and it doesn't help that the Vikes just signed yet ANOTHER Sooner outta undrafted free agency, argh argh arggggggggggggggh!!!

(I've started a new thread to track free agency, so I'll let you all check out who got picked up there... or I could just tell you here... nah, not unless you stop being Vike fans)

[ouleaf]

Surprised to see Phil as the first Sooner to go, but congrats to him. I hope he can make an impact right away, but I'm thinking he'll be 2nd or 3rd on the depth chart for a while until he can improve his pass blocking and adjust to the switch from LT to RT.

[soonerfan28]

Hopefully weedboy A.K.A. Percy Harvin can stay off da bong long enough to actually contribute to the Vikes and help take some of those 8-man fronts away.

[BornandBred]

Just cause he smokes doesn't make him a bad person. Doing it before the combine and KNOWN drug tests DOES make him a complete moron.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Loadholt was probably another one of those guys that was a reach that early but IMO, there was not that big of a talent gap between the late 1st\early 2nd and the 5/6 rounds....

[BornandBred]

Loadholt is supposed to step in and start at RT for the vikes, hopefully that'll be the case. As soon as people considered swapping him from LT to RT his stock rose, so I'm not surprised to see him go when he did, his measurables are hard to ignore.

I was surprised to see Duke fall so far, and see Coop go undrafted, even though he just got picked up. I wish them all be best and thank them for what they gave to the university.

[soonerfan28]

Just cause he smokes doesn't make him a bad person. Doing it before the combine and KNOWN drug tests DOES make him a complete moron.

Thats your opinion, but my point is that the NFL does have a drug policy and you can bet that they'll be keepin up w/him.

[SoonerShay]

We only allowed 11 sacks total last year and Loadholt was playing the majority of that time. To keep seeing post say he can't passblock is asinine. Last year his worst game was against Orakpo and other than that he was solid to spectacular. If he was as bad as people make him out to be on here he would of definitely not went as high as he did.

The Minnesota Vikings RT isn't very good also Loadholt out of college is already better than him. They want another Mount Mckinnie on the right side and they got him in Load.

[soonerfan28]

We only allowed 11 sacks total last year and Loadholt was playing the majority of that time. To keep seeing post say he can't passblock is asinine. Last year his worst game was against Orakpo and other than that he was solid to spectacular. If he was as bad as people make him out to be on here he would of definitely not went as high as he did.

The Minnesota Vikings RT isn't very good also Loadholt out of college is already better than him. They want another Mount Mckinnie on the right side and they got him in Load.

I think Loadholt will be a good pro, but he was not good or consistently good during Senior Bowl week and that hurt his stock. JHe'll make a good RT in the NFL because of his work ethic and he's very coachable.

[BornandBred]

Thats your opinion, but my point is that the NFL does have a drug policy and you can bet that they'll be keepin up w/him.

To date, I don't think he's violated their policy. He hadn't signed a contract yet so he could smoke away. But, it does speak to his character and mental preparedness that he would do this prior to the combine. I don't think it's an issue for the NFL Commish, but his team sure really keep an eye on it.


other than that he was solid to spectacular

Solid, yes. Spectacular, not quite. He had several mental lapses in his time at OU: snap counts, bad angles, etc. He was a bit of a project and made large strides between his first and second seasons at OU. I think with hardwork he can become a very successful RT in the league.

[badger]

He failed, as per pre-employment drug testing policies. The entire NFL Drug Policy can be viewed here. (http://www.nflplayers.com/images/fck/2008%20Substances%20of%20Abuse%20Policy%20(FINAL). pdf)

All players are tested at the Combine, because they desire NFL contracts, so they are subject to the drug policy, much like pre-employment drug tests at any job that has a drug policy. I've had to take pre-employment drug tests at several of my past jobs and their policy was "positive test means no job!" The NFL's policy is not that harsh, but "Percy Harvey" is definitely subject to this policy and as such, should he choose to be employed by the NFL, will suffer the consequences of his positive test.

Signing an NFL contract means being subject to nuisances like the drug policy, so if he wanted to be an NFL player, he should have taken this into account even before he was officially in the NFL. Of course, if he doesn't like it, he can always not sign with the NFL and play in that other professional football league that offers athletes millions of dollars for playing the sport :P

[BornandBred]

Yeah, I've had to take those tests too, but typically what that means is that they fail to extend the offer. Or, they make an offer on the condition of passing the test. I'm not lawyer, but I think whether the offer is NOT extended or revoked it doesn't matter, no job. Clearly it doesn't work that way here. So maybe they've extended the offer with conditions that he not fail another test or something. In either case, I still think this is an internal team issue, and not an NFL issue, yet.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

We only allowed 11 sacks total last year and Loadholt was playing the majority of that time. To keep seeing post say he can't passblock is asinine. Last year his worst game was against Orakpo and other than that he was solid to spectacular. If he was as bad as people make him out to be on here he would of definitely not went as high as he did.

The Minnesota Vikings RT isn't very good also Loadholt out of college is already better than him. They want another Mount Mckinnie on the right side and they got him in Load.

don't recall anybody saying he can't pass block..just that he needs to get better...which he does..there is a reason they are movin him from the left ot the right..they don't want him protecting the QB's blindside....his footwork will have to improve..Good thing going for him is that the Vikings are good at the guard spots, and Steve Hutchinson may be one of the best to have played the game and there to help him along

[badger]

I was just confused about what you were saying, because the way I read it and interpreted it was that because he wasn't an NFL player yet, he could smoke weed up until the day he signs the contract and after he signs the contract, then be subject to the policy... yeah, right! Nobody's gonna pass a drug test (without cheating) if they're clean for a day, tee hee :D

Corch Irvin Meyers needs to remind his pro prospects about that inconvenience. Hey guys! Don't smoke weed in the offseason preparing for the draft! You're gonna get tested at the Combine :rolleyes:

[BornandBred]

Corch Irvin Meyers needs to remind his pro prospects about that inconvenience. Hey guys! Don't smoke weed in the offseason preparing for the draft! You're gonna get tested at the Combine :rolleyes:

Or at least don't pull a Ricky Williams/Percy Harvin and forget to take the cover up stuff the day before.

[badger]

Or at least don't pull a Ricky Williams/Percy Harvin and forget to take the cover up stuff the day before.

I hear Asprin works pretty well... so does not smoking it in the first place:rolleyes:

[BornandBred]

I hear Asprin works pretty well... so does not smoking it in the first place:rolleyes:

That's like saying don't speed to some people. Or maybe telling you not to hate the NPD.

[badger]

That's like saying don't speed to some people. Or maybe telling you not to hate the NPD.

:D I'm open to not hating them again.