The one big thing I noticed on his HUDL was how instinctive he is on defense. You can teach ball skills, you can't teach speed and a nose for the ball...he has both of those.
You can "teach" speed persay. It is actually learning how to run and cut, and then training for it. You can also teach "nose for the ball" Some may be better at it than others, while others may not have a skill for it at all. But you can definitely teach it.
Florida State offered him today. IMO by signing day, we'd be fortunate to still have him because I'd be willing to bet that his offer list is quite impressive by that time.
I had the fortune to attend a coaching clinic in Nebraska about a decade ago, and got to hear Tom Osborn speak. He started his presentation with those exact words "You can't teach speed or instinct". He followed it up with an hour long discussion about how to use technique to maximize a players ability. I've coached high school football (defensive line) for the past 12 years. I stand by my statement, you can't teach speed or instinct. Sure, you can teach technique that can help a player run more efficiently, and you can teach a player technique to position themselves better to make a play on the ball, but you can't teach a player to be a ball hawk. I can tell within 5 minutes of watching a D-lineman if he is going to be good, or not. I can help his technique, but I cannot teach instinct. Some kids just play with wreck-less abandon, and some don't. It's kind of like the military, you can't teach courage. Some guys are just born with it.
OU was the first of (soon to be many) big time programs to offer this kid. They have to get him on campus ASAP. The good news is that this kids seems really sold on OU "giving him the first serious consideration". At this point, everyone else is going to be playing catch-up. Other than the actual verbal commit, the best thing OU offers is the ability to play corner in a league that will showcase talent. That, and Mike Stoops.
A rare get for you guys out of the Deep South, especially Mississippi. Congrats on what looks to be a nice pickup. Most of his measurables seem to be very good.
yeah, although OU is so far inferior to SEC teams, we have a little history on our side. still shocked when players want to come to OU.
I think you and 75 are circling around the same concept. Everyone has a maximum athletic threshold that can't be taught. Some Examples of various physical limitations (which can be overcome by some type of anabolic agent (steroids/suma/etc) Lean Body Mass - http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/whats-my-genetic-muscular-potential.html Maximum Muscle Size - http://www.weightrainer.net/bodypred.html Body Fat % - http://usmc.pftcalculator.com/PftIndex However, not everyone is near that maximum athletic potential. Because we are humans, most kids will vary between 33 and 66% of that potential (1 standard deviation). Athletes who are trained will skew that distribution and probably be from 45% to 78% of that potential with some outliers being farther/lower up the scale than that. As a coach, it is pure joy to watch these low end kids bust their butts and get to an elite level (say 90%) but this is rare. In other words, there is normally a very easy reason why they are at 45% and it is that they lack that motivation. A good example of this is Mark Clayton who came to OU with his amazing 5.03 40 yard dash. 5 years later, he left OU with around a 4.4 and a 1st round NFL grade. What this means that he was on the low end coming out of high school and very near the high end when he left. He didn't get taught speed, he had it all along. What he got taught was how to shed the bad habits that were making him slow. He also paid a price for his gains in the form of injuries. There were things that he did at 5.0 speed that just do not work at 4.5 speed because of the increased torque on the joints. However, what more than paid dividends for him (and Wes Welker for that matter) was that they didn't have any of the bad habits that fast people get playing the game (like taking plays off, not blocking, jogging, etc).
