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Frank Okam...

For those interested, here is a little Q&A with Okam from the Longhorn's website.

http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=40&url_article_id=3779&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2



Draft Day Q&A: Frank Okam

Q: What is it like now that the process is done, you've been drafted and you're staying in the state of Texas?

A: It's a life's dream becoming a reality. It's something I thought about since I was a little kid and it's finally come to pass. I'm almost speechless. On top of that, I get to stay in the state of Texas and getting to move to a great city like Houston is really a blessing.

Q: What do you know about the Texans?

A: It's definitely a great organization. I actually met with them a few weeks before the draft and met all the personnel. I really feel like it's a team that is going in the right direction. There in a very tough division, obviously, but they had a great season last year finishing 8-8 and just missing the playoffs.

Q: What are you looking to help them with?

A: The Texans are definitely one of the up-and-coming teams in the league and they have a lot of really good, young players on the defense. I think one of the things I can come in and help with is being able to stop the run.

Playing at Texas and being a part of a top 10 rushing defense the last few years is something you can hang your hat on. I also think I can help out by getting pressure on the quarterback. I'm just going to try and bring my talents to the defense and keep working towards being one of the best defenses in the league.

Q: How did playing at Texas help prepare you for this?

A: When you play at Texas, you are always playing against the top talent from across the country. While I was there, we had a chance to play the USCs, the Ohio States and the Michigans, so we got a chance to play against the nation's best. I think that makes the transition to the next level a little bit easier because you know you can compete on that level. It's why you go to Texas, for the competition, the academics and the whole environment. It really prepares you for the next step.

Q: What do you think about reuniting with Kasey Studdard?

A: It's definitely a great thing having a former teammate down there, especially when it's a great guy like Kasey. I think him going through the whole process last year will really help me. It will be good to have a familiar face there. We've actually been working out together in the offseason for a while, but now I can talk to him about the team and what it's like down there, so I should be able to use him as a resource and hopefully, that will make my transition a little easier.
 
Heck, I say just have him lay down with a cheeseburger in his mouth, and dare the RB to try and leap his stomach. :user:
 
AustinJB said:
For those interested, here is a little Q&A with Okam from the Longhorn's website.

http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=40&url_article_id=3779&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2



Draft Day Q&A: Frank Okam

Q: What is it like now that the process is done, you've been drafted and you're staying in the state of Texas?

A: It's a life's dream becoming a reality. It's something I thought about since I was a little kid and it's finally come to pass. I'm almost speechless. On top of that, I get to stay in the state of Texas and getting to move to a great city like Houston is really a blessing.

Q: What do you know about the Texans?

A: It's definitely a great organization. I actually met with them a few weeks before the draft and met all the personnel. I really feel like it's a team that is going in the right direction. There in a very tough division, obviously, but they had a great season last year finishing 8-8 and just missing the playoffs.

Q: What are you looking to help them with?

A: The Texans are definitely one of the up-and-coming teams in the league and they have a lot of really good, young players on the defense. I think one of the things I can come in and help with is being able to stop the run.

Playing at Texas and being a part of a top 10 rushing defense the last few years is something you can hang your hat on. I also think I can help out by getting pressure on the quarterback. I'm just going to try and bring my talents to the defense and keep working towards being one of the best defenses in the league.

Q: How did playing at Texas help prepare you for this?

A: When you play at Texas, you are always playing against the top talent from across the country. While I was there, we had a chance to play the USCs, the Ohio States and the Michigans, so we got a chance to play against the nation's best. I think that makes the transition to the next level a little bit easier because you know you can compete on that level. It's why you go to Texas, for the competition, the academics and the whole environment. It really prepares you for the next step.

Q: What do you think about reuniting with Kasey Studdard?

A: It's definitely a great thing having a former teammate down there, especially when it's a great guy like Kasey. I think him going through the whole process last year will really help me. It will be good to have a familiar face there. We've actually been working out together in the offseason for a while, but now I can talk to him about the team and what it's like down there, so I should be able to use him as a resource and hopefully, that will make my transition a little easier.
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He seems smarter and more eloquent than most players; sounds like an offensive lineman.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
Yes. He was planning on going to Law School. He might have been accepted already.

But I've also heard a couple of people mention medical school but I don't know if they were just getting confused.
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The law school stuff was overblown. The medical school stuff was made up:

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=4285

(on what he said to defensive coordinator Richard Smith to convince him that he was a guy to be drafted by Houston) “I’m a competitor. I love the game, and I want to play in an organization that is heading in the right direction, and I really felt that they were doing that. Basically, I just want to let them see my talents and my focus personally. Before you can judge someone fully you have to get to know that person, and they brought me in and really sat down and talked to me. They just wanted to see where my head was, and they knew that I’m passionate about this game. I basically told them that they are going to get a guy that can stop the run and get at the quarterback when you need that.”
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(on dropping so low in the draft) “It was probably a lot of different factors and things. Probably, the reason talked about was the law school stuff. People wanted to know if I really wanted to play the game or go to school. There were people worried about my passion for the game. I think, just looking at the way things were brought up in the draft, there are still a lot of special type players that haven’t been drafted yet or maybe won’t be drafted. As long as you know what you want, that is really all I cared about. Football is football, the draft will take care of itself, and once you get there no one really remembers what round you went. In training camp, you have to go play.”
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I think Okam could be the steal of the entire draft.
 
J-Russ said:
what a steal.
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Excellent find. And that's not a misprint. He was considered a top 5 pick prior to a sub-par senior outing. But as I mentioned in a previous post, the Longhorn defense was poorly coached under a DC who was out of his league. As a consequence, that DC has been demoted to secondary coach (where he'll do fine). With the kind of coaching upgrade Okam will get in his move to Houston, we should see an absolute steal blossom. I, for one, am very stoked about this pick.
 
more
http://www.star-telegram.com/329/story/608012.html

NFLDraftScout.com probably described him best when it said Okam was "like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates -- you just don't ever know what you are going to get from him on game day."

That's why NFL coaches questioned his pro value and why he dropped to the fifth round of the draft.

And why Smith wanted to talk with him one final time before the draft.

"You can have all the talent in the world," Smith said Sunday, "but if you don't have heart, you're just wasting a pick on him.

"What I just wanted to do was to see how important football was to him. When we brought him in here last week, he said all the right things I wanted to hear."

Okam knows the knock on his playing ability.

"People wanted to know if I really wanted to play the game," he said. "They heard I was going to go to law school and they wanted to know if that was my first interest. They were worried about my passion for the game.

"The Texans just wanted to see where my head was. I told them I am a competitor. I love the game of football. I think the Texans are an organization headed in the right direction and I want to be a part of it."

Smith knows the Texans have some developmental work to do with Okam.

"His play was a little inconsistent in college," Smith said. "But that's our job as coaches to get it out of him.

"He has the size and dimensions we were looking for. We're really a little bit undersized at the tackle spots and to have a guy like him as a backup could help us. We think he's got great potential and we're excited to have him."

HOUSTON TEXANS DRAFT PICKS
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I saw some video on him somewhere, and for a guy of his size and bulk, he still has a good spin move.
 
I don't get it, he had the best year of his career (statistically) last year but he drops from 4th overall prospect to 5th round grade.

What causes the downfall again? It didn't look like it came from his gameplay.
 
J-Russ said:
I don't get it, he had the best year of his career (statistically) last year but he drops from 4th overall prospect to 5th round grade.

What causes the downfall again? It didn't look like it came from his gameplay.
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Bad defensive scheme came make the most talented of defensive players very ordinary. Maybe it started to get to him? For what it's worth, he was inconsistent at times last season, but he is one of the main reasons why the Longhorns remained competitive. There just wasn't as much of a "wow" factor as he had two years ago.
 
dalemurphy said:
He sure will make our situational line rotation a lot better. I sure like the idea of Okam over the center on third and short, while Okoye takes a breather and is fresher on passing downs.
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I can see Maddox relieving Okoye. I believe that if anyone is getting spelled, Okam will be spelling TJ as they play the same position on the line.
 
This could be the slogan for our Texans defense when Okoye and Okam line up together:

"The Houston Texans Defense showing you there O face."

I saw on the Texans website that Okam's nickname was "The Nightmare."
 
J-Russ said:
What causes the downfall again? It didn't look like it came from his gameplay.
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These players are put on a pedestal by internet scouts, then torn down after undergoing the massive scrutiny of NFL scouts. I do think Okam dropped a couple of rounds due to getting so out of shape in the offseason. The reality is that he was never more than a 2nd day pick.

But, that was then. As Okam himself said, "...Once you get there no one really remembers what round you went."
 
I don't believe his reduction in performance was from a lack of motivation. I believe it was caused by poor conditioning, and that is something that he and the Texans staff can partially remedy, if not entirely, by the time the season starts.
 
Texans_Chick said:
The law school stuff was overblown. The medical school stuff was made up:

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=4285





I think Okam could be the steal of the entire draft.
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How many strip club dancers are "going to" law school or medical school?

Yes, I agree, he will concentrate his focus on the task at hand. With our coaching and our intense fitness program and his ever strengthening support cast, Okam will be showing his value sooner than later.

He reminds me of Curley Culp from the days I grew up in Kansas City with the Chiefs of old......His nickname was appropriately "The Stump." BTW, Okam already has earned a nickname as a Longhorn........"Nightmare"" as well as "Big Frank"
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
How many strip club dancers are "going to" law school or medical school?

Yes, I agree, he will concentrate his focus on the task at hand. With our coaching and our intense fitness program and his ever strengthening support cast, Okam will be showing his value sooner than later.

He reminds me of Curley Culp from the days I grew up in Kansas City with the Chiefs of old......His nickname was appropriately "The Stump." BTW, Okam already has earned a nickname as a Longhorn........"Nightmare"" as well as "Big Frank"
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Culp was also an Oiler. I met him at the Luv Ya Blue reunion.

I think the Okam = too interested in law school is the same sort of pre-draft crap as DeMeco = not athletic enough. All these pre draft things on DeMeco said he wasn't athletic, but if you checked his key combine stats, they were off the chart, not to mention is great performance in the SEC.

Draft report information is very superficial. That's why you need to do your own homework. I guess the Texans did when they brought Okam in. In 2006, they said that Eric Winston didn't do short interviews very well. It seemed to me that he might have been too bright--he is a very bright and engaging person--but kind of a smartass.
 
Texans_Chick said:
Culp was also an Oiler. I met him at the Luv Ya Blue reunion.

I think the Okam = too interested in law school is the same sort of pre-draft crap as DeMeco = not athletic enough. All these pre draft things on DeMeco said he wasn't athletic, but if you checked his key combine stats, they were off the chart, not to mention is great performance in the SEC.

Draft report information is very superficial. That's why you need to do your own homework. I guess the Texans did when they brought Okam in. In 2006, they said that Eric Winston didn't do short interviews very well. It seemed to me that he might have been too bright--he is a very bright and engaging person--but kind of a smartass.
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Glad I am not a GM because that would have sold me on a guy right then and there. :splits:

Of course with Eric it would have been the right move.
 
Fox said:
Some game footage of Okam:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/fo...8/video/?c=Player&p=215789&s=3030742&i=213854

Big guy can still move. Should be nice for short yardage situations. Btw, you can get game footage of basically all of our picks except Molden and Brink here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2008/draft/tracker/draft_selections/round1.html
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They're going to need an extra taackle for the last eight games. There's a roster spot for him if he hustles up.
 
All I know is that Okam is a LOAD! :devilpig: Lets hope he can keep his weight down and not get hurt (knees).

beefvx1.jpg
okamespnju4.jpg
 
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