Curtis Lofton among top 100

[sluggo sooner]

Link: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/lists/NFL-football-top-100-player-rankings#sport=NFL&photo=11333391

[goingoneight]

Ha... remember all of the talking usernames saying he was an idiot for leaving early?

[cheezyq]

Ha... remember all of the talking usernames saying he was an idiot for leaving early?

I wasn't one of them, but as Stoops says "Why play for a discount?". He clearly had the skills and NFL talent. Leaving a year early, people doubted whether he was fast enough to translate his game to the NFL. If he stays one more year and dominates on the way to a MNC or something, he proves the doubters wrong and probably increases his draft stock and is already super-rich.

It's all speculation at this point, but I don't think this proves that he was WISE for leaving early, either. All we can say is that it simply "worked out" so far.

[OU-HSV]

I also noticed that if you click on the right hand side of that page where it says "QB power rankings", Sam Bradford is coming in at #24

[BoulderSooner79]

Curtis had a monster year in '07 and another season wasn't going to make him any faster. I *wished* he had stayed because, who knows, maybe he could have been the difference in title game. Our D actually played pretty well, but Curtis had a knack for big, game changing plays.

[cheezyq]

Curtis had a monster year in '07 and another season wasn't going to make him any faster. I *wished* he had stayed because, who knows, maybe he could have been the difference in title game. Our D actually played pretty well, but Curtis had a knack for big, game changing plays.

That and his attitude is what I (and I think "we", as in the OU defense) missed the most. He wasn't quite Torrance Marshall, but his aggressiveness set the tone to "attack" rather than defend.

[OK2U]

Good for Curtis. He's one hell of a player and great young man. Hopefully Dom' Franks can have a similar impact on the Falcon's D in his first two seasons.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/blogs/post.aspx?blogid=12&entry_id=8858

Franks hopes to get as lucky as Lofton
6/28/2010 10:49:19 PM

Two years ago, linebacker Curtis Lofton turned pro after contributing mightily to the Oklahoma defense. No harm in that, except that OU coaches were of the belief Lofton could have positioned himself much better had he played another year with the Sooners. As it was, Lofton was taken in the second round by Atlanta.

He is having tremendous success with the Falcons, and is on his way to earning the kind of money that would have been his had he been a first-round pick. It looks like things are going to work out for the former Kingfisher Yellowjacket.

Now, you wonder if fate will be as kind to a former Union Redskin.

Like Lofton, cornerback Dominique Franks played a pivotal role on the OU defense. Like Lofton, Franks felt the time was right to move on, despite the feelings of his coaches that another college season would have served him better. Like Lofton, Franks wound up a Falcon. .

Franks would do well to repeat Lofton's success story. He may be harder pressed, seeing as how he was drafted in the fifth round and not the second, but at least he's leaning on his old Sooner teammate as he launches his own pro career.

Here's an excerpt from Franks' recent interview with Steve Hunt of FoxSportsSouthwest.com...

Q: "How has your time in Atlanta been?"
A: "It’s been great. It’s been a pretty smooth transition for me. I have a former teammate in Curtis Lofton that has really had open arms to me. He’s really helped me learn the defense."

Q: "You were projected to go much higher in the draft. Does it bother you that you slipped to the fifth round?"
A: "I really didn’t care. All I wanted was somebody to give me a chance to make their team. It didn’t really matter what team, what round or anything like that. It worked our perfectly for me, to be able to come here and be with a former teammate like Curtis Lofton, an Oklahoma guy that I can ask questions at any time. It’s really helping me. This is the perfect place for me."

Q: "Were you and Curtis Lofton pretty close at OU?"
A: "Yeah, we were pretty good friends. He actually called me and told me he was going to take care of me and whatever I need like learning the defense to always give him a call or whatever. He told me he’s just here to help make this transition as smooth as possible."

-- Guerin Emig

[stoopified]

Quie often the question isn't IS THIS PLAYER GOOD ENOUGH TO BE IN THE NFL<THE QUESTION IS,DOES LEAVING EARLY MAKE ECONOMIC SENSE.I agree with Stoops in the case of Lofton and Franks.In my memory Stoops and the coaches have only advised three players NOT to leave early Wilkerson,Lofton,Franks.The first two have proven to be NFL caliber but cost themselves money,Franks has yet to prove anything but has likely cost himself money with his decision.

[rawlingsHOH]

I wasn't one of them, but as Stoops says "Why play for a discount?". He clearly had the skills and NFL talent. Leaving a year early, people doubted whether he was fast enough to translate his game to the NFL. If he stays one more year and dominates on the way to a MNC or something, he proves the doubters wrong and probably increases his draft stock and is already super-rich.

It's all speculation at this point, but I don't think this proves that he was WISE for leaving early, either. All we can say is that it simply "worked out" so far.

Lofton definitely needed to come back to school and improve his height and speed.

[cheezyq]

Lofton definitely needed to come back to school and improve his height and speed.

Yeah, because that's what I said. :rolleyes:

I stated that another year of domination at the college level likely would have improved his draft stock and made any arguments about his speed (or height, for that matter) moot. But please feel free to misread my posts anytime.

[Sooner-N-KS]

I'm happy for Curtis. But he's not getting paid what he deserves. Had he stayed at OU for one more year he would be making much more money right now.

[rawlingsHOH]

Yeah, because that's what I said. :rolleyes:

I stated that another year of domination at the college level likely would have improved his draft stock and made any arguments about his speed (or height, for that matter) moot. But please feel free to misread my posts anytime.

Didn't say you did.

[rawlingsHOH]

I'm happy for Curtis. But he's not getting paid what he deserves. Had he stayed at OU for one more year he would be making much more money right now.

He probably would have been drafted in a similar position, but would have had one year less of NFL earning potential.

Smart move for Curtis. Smart move for Malcolm. Maybe not so for Reggie and Dominique. But you got to do what's best for you. No sense in coming back if your heart ain't in it.

[BoulderSooner79]

Quie often the question isn't IS THIS PLAYER GOOD ENOUGH TO BE IN THE NFL<THE QUESTION IS,DOES LEAVING EARLY MAKE ECONOMIC SENSE.I agree with Stoops in the case of Lofton and Franks.In my memory Stoops and the coaches have only advised three players NOT to leave early Wilkerson,Lofton,Franks.The first two have proven to be NFL caliber but cost themselves money,Franks has yet to prove anything but has likely cost himself money with his decision.

That's commonly the question, but not always - these players are real people. Clearly, AD made the right monetary decision going after 3 years, but he was genuinely torn about the decision. He would have been the leading Heisman guy starting the next year and had unfinished business as far as the BCS title goes. It's not much of a stretch to think we're in the title game against tOSU had he stayed. He had no way of knowing how good Sam would be his first year, but I wonder if some part of AD wishes he had stayed. (He could never say that publicly and snub the Vikings fans).

[stoops the eternal pimp]

He probably would have been drafted in a similar position, but would have had one year less of NFL earning potential.

Smart move for Curtis. Smart move for Malcolm. Maybe not so for Reggie and Dominique. But you got to do what's best for you. No sense in coming back if your heart ain't in it.

This...

Lofton had a monster year..stat wise, no where to go...all his measurables stay the same...why stay?...

Remember Lofton saying he wasn't gonna leave unless he was a top 15(?) pick? That just wasn't gonna happen so he went ahead and left...Great choice for him...

Great choice for all of them if thats what they wanted to do...

btw, dominating the college game isn't that impressive to NFLers, especially at the LB spot...

[BoulderSooner79]

...
btw, dominating the college game (for another year) isn't that impressive to NFLers, especially at the LB spot...

This really proved to be true for Sam and Gresh. It's amazing how high Gresh went after being injured and out of the game for a year. I'm sure it impacted his pick a little, but TEs don't go much higher than he did anyway. Trent going at #4 after a year where he wasn't talked about very much surprised me too. It seems the pros don't care about college results at all in some instances.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

exactly..I remember quite a few "discussions" with people here when those guys were hurt and I said it wouldnt change either one's draft status....

[85sooners]

:gary:

[SoonerShark]

Curtis had a monster year in '07 and another season wasn't going to make him any faster. I *wished* he had stayed because, who knows, maybe he could have been the difference in title game. Our D actually played pretty well, but Curtis had a knack for big, game changing plays.

If he would have stayed one more year it might have helped take the 2008 title. If Roy Williams would have stayed it might have led to a 2002 title.

[rawlingsHOH]

If he would have stayed one more year it might have helped take the 2008 title. If Roy Williams would have stayed it might have led to a 2002 title.
you are right. assuming he stayed and was healthy, we not only beat florida (who exposed the MLB position pretty good), but we go into that game undefeated.

[cheezyq]

Didn't say you did.

No offense, but you kind of did. You replied to my post specifically, and stated that "he needed to stay to improve his height and speed". My sarcasm meter may not be tuned to perfection, but I'm pretty sure it detected the intended measure of irreverence. If you didn't intend the comment for me, you shouldn't have replied to my post.

Nothing Lofton does in the NFL proves beyond a doubt that it was a WISE decision for him to leave early. It only proves that it worked out, which is great. In reality, the better he does, the more it proves that he LIKELY would have benefited from another year in school to improve his draft stock.

If he sticks around and faces all those potent offenses from 2008 in the Big 12, and proves his worth once again, he creates a larger body of work for scouts to work from. In fact, with him, we likely defeat UT and perhaps shut down the UF offense completely, and he has at least another Big 12 championship to brag about as well.

I'm happy for him and hope he makes a lot of money in the NFL. But unless he was looking at a draft situation like Gerald McCoy, you can't accurately say his decision was wise.

[Sooner-N-KS]

He probably would have been drafted in a similar position, but would have had one year less of NFL earning potential.

Smart move for Curtis. Smart move for Malcolm. Maybe not so for Reggie and Dominique. But you got to do what's best for you. No sense in coming back if your heart ain't in it.

No way in the world he doesn't get drafted higher with another year like his last. He was a surprise that year. One more year of consistency, and he's a high first round pick.

[rawlingsHOH]

No way in the world he doesn't get drafted higher with another year like his last. He was a surprise that year. One more year of consistency, and he's a high first round pick.

wasn't in the cards for him.
a) MLBs rarely go "high first" to begin with.
b) MLBs with fringy measurables, not happening.

[rawlingsHOH]

No offense, but you kind of did. You replied to my post specifically, and stated that "he needed to stay to improve his height and speed". My sarcasm meter may not be tuned to perfection, but I'm pretty sure it detected the intended measure of irreverence. If you didn't intend the comment for me, you shouldn't have replied to my post.

Nothing Lofton does in the NFL proves beyond a doubt that it was a WISE decision for him to leave early. It only proves that it worked out, which is great. In reality, the better he does, the more it proves that he LIKELY would have benefited from another year in school to improve his draft stock.

If he sticks around and faces all those potent offenses from 2008 in the Big 12, and proves his worth once again, he creates a larger body of work for scouts to work from. In fact, with him, we likely defeat UT and perhaps shut down the UF offense completely, and he has at least another Big 12 championship to brag about as well.

I'm happy for him and hope he makes a lot of money in the NFL. But unless he was looking at a draft situation like Gerald McCoy, you can't accurately say his decision was wise.

i quoted your post because i was too lazy to scroll down to reply

[stoops the eternal pimp]

wasn't in the cards for him.
a) MLBs rarely go "high first" to begin with.
b) MLBs with fringy measurables, not happening.

This again...

Not sure why anyone would think another high stat year would land him higher...What do you guys think an NFL team bases their decision on?

To them...thats a fresher body..a body is only gonna hit and tackle someone so many times before it breaks down...They look at a guy like Lofton and say

He is so big and this is how fast he is
He has this skillset
money is made and draft statuses are made after the season is over

heck they would send guys like me to games to watch him..I would have a sheet that said

Curtis Lofton

est. ht. wght.

strengths
weaknesses
grade(person's ability not "good game" or "bad game")

Truthfully, especially at his position, only about 5 games of film is all you need

[diegosooner]

that water has long gone under the bridge.