Track Throwers = College Football Big-Time Tackles Part 2
Posted by Mark Branstad – Football Talent Advisors
A few months ago I blogged about several of college football’s best lineman and their high school backgrounds throwing the shot put and discus. Well, today I read an article (referenced by Bruce Feldman / ESPN.com) mentioning Texas high schools as a hot-bed for offensive tackles and saw a list on www.mockingthedraft.com of the top 10 senior and top 5 junior defensive tackles in college football.
Bruce Feldman believed at least one player was left off the list: “Can’t say I disagree with that pick at this point, although I would have had Georgia’s Jeff Owens above a bunch of these guys in the top 10 DTs”, claimed Feldman.
Regardless of whether or not I agreed with the list of names or NFL projections from the site or players mentioned in the article, I was struck by the number of players that threw the shot and discus in high school…and did it well! Of the 15 tackles listed on www.mockingthedraft.com 12 threw the shot put and or discus in high school, as well as all four offensive tackles named in the article by Mike Detillier. What about the three d-tackles that did not throw? Well, one was a state champion heavyweight wrestler in New York, the other two were individual standouts in baseball and basketball.
As always here’s the breakdown: (All listed heights and weights according to various recruiting site sources)
Four Senior Offensive Tackles: And yeah these guys were huge in high school…
Russell Okung / Oklahoma State – (6’05 250) Fort Bend George Bush HS – 155’09 discus
Trent Williams / Oklahoma – (6’05 290) Longview HS – 45’06 shot put
Ciron Black / Louisiana State - (6’05 315) Robert E. Lee HS – 54’05 shot put
Adam Ulatoski / Texas – (6’06 270) Southlake Carroll HS – 45’09 shot put
Ten Senior Defensive Tackles:
Ndamukong Suh / Nebraska – (6’04 278) Grant HS, OR. – 61’09 shot put state champion
Terrence Cody / Alabama – (6’05 365) Riverdale HS, FL. – 151’07 discus and 47’00 shot put
DeMarcus Granger / Oklahoma – (6’03 315) Kimball HS, TX. – 173’10 discus state runner-up and 55’04 shot put
Arthur Jones / Syracuse – (6’03 280) Union-Endicott HS, NY. – 275lb. wrestling state champion
Vince Oghobaase / Duke – (6’06 295) Alief Hastings HS, TX. – 154’00 discus
Geno Atkins / Georgia – (6’01 270) St. Thomas Aquinas HS, FL. – 59’01 shot put state runner-up and 158’07 discus
D’Anthony Smith / Louisiana Tech – (6’03 311) Pickering HS, LA. – 52’03 shot put 2X state champion
Dan Williams / Tennessee – (6’01 310) Memphis East HS, TN. – 53’00 shot put 3rd place state meet
Jared Odrick / Penn State - (6’05 303) Lebanon HS, PA. – 56’10 shot put 4th place state meet
Ekom Udofia / Stanford - (6’01 288) Chapparral HS, AZ. - 50’03 shot put 6th place state meet
Five Junior Defensive Tackles:
Gerald McCoy / Oklahoma - (6’04 305) Southeast HS, OK. – 55’04 shot put state runner-up
Marvin Austin / North Carolina - (6’03 291) Ballou & Coolidge HS, District of Columbia – 41’10 shot put , 7.00 55 meter dash (faster than many high school skill position players), 12.50 100 meter dash impressive for d-lineman
Brian Price / UCLA – (6’02 285) Crenshaw HS, CA. – Standout baseball player
Lawrence Marsh / Florida – (6’05 260) Josey HS, GA. – Standout basketball player, read somewhere he threw shot and discus but no evidence…
Jarvis Jenkins / Clemson – (6’05 308) Daniel HS, SC. – 46’06 shot put
Honorable Mention Senior Tackles: (The first one is for Bruce Feldman, the second…well I saw him throw as a high schooler)
Jeff Owens / Georgia – (6’02 263) Plantation HS, FL. – 52’10 shot put 3rd place state meet and 145’06 discus
Sam Young / Notre Dame – (6’08 302) St. Thomas Aquinas HS, FL. – 59’01 shot put state champion and 164’06 discus
Tags: Adam Ulatoski, Arthur Jones, Brian Price, Bruce Feldman, Ciron Black, D'Anthony Smith, Dan Williams, DeMarcus Granger, Ekom Udofia, Geno Atkins, Gerald McCoy, Jared Odrick, Jarvis Jenkins, Jeff Owens, Lawrence Marsh, Marvin Austin, Mike Detillier, Ndamukong Suh, Russell Okung, Sam Young, Terrence Cody, Trent Williams, Vince Oghobaase, www.mockingthedraft.com
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