'18 DC DL Caleb Okechukwu

#52
#52
Tha Don said:
Not saying it's the only reason but surely it can't hurt that he goes to the same school as Under Armour founder, Kevin Plank went.
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I have seen him play in person for his high school and came away extremely impressed. Is he a 5*... absolutely not. Is he sure fire stud in college... nope. Can he be impactful at whatever college / university he chooses... 100%. I personally think he's extremely underrated relative to his national ranking at the recruiting services, but that doesn't say much.

With all that being said, I don't think this is political. His parents are not Deion Sanders or Fred Smith or anyone similar. Kevin Plank went to numerous high schools and if my memory serves me correctly he isn't exactly gung-ho about any of them, so I doubt it is that. He's a big time Baltimore guy now, and spends very little to no time in DC. He's extremely close to new football powerhouse St Frances in Baltimore.

It leaves me thinking that we're just missing something... updated offer list, missed the camp circuit, etc. I'm relatively well connected in the D.C. area and I'll see what I can possibly find out.
 
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#53
#53
UTVolax24 said:
I have seen him play in person for his high school and came away extremely impressed. Is he a 5*... absolutely not. Is he sure fire stud in college... nope. Can he be impactful at whatever college / university he chooses... 100%. I personally think he's extremely underrated relative to his national ranking at the recruiting services, but that doesn't say much.
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I agree with this as I live, work and coach baseball in the area and have seen him play.
 
#54
#54
HoleInTheRoof said:
I wonder if we're looking at him as an ILB in the new 3/4.

Clearly not big enough for anything along the lines. A lot of his HUDL is hustle plays where he basically comes in and cleans up on broken down plays. He has good athleticism and closing speed. I could see him in the middle behind a massive NT, being disruptive.
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He's 6'4 250? I'd say he's an OLB
 
#55
#55
HoleInTheRoof said:
I wonder if we're looking at him as an ILB in the new 3/4.

Clearly not big enough for anything along the lines. A lot of his HUDL is hustle plays where he basically comes in and cleans up on broken down plays. He has good athleticism and closing speed. I could see him in the middle behind a massive NT, being disruptive.
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3-4 OLB.

if he can run a little bit and he will grow.

Bama uses them anywhere from 245-265lb at that spot.
 
#58
#58
RiseToTheTop said:
3-4 OLB.

if he can run a little bit and he will grow.

Bama uses them anywhere from 245-265lb at that spot.
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I think Bama has gone to slightly smaller lbs lately. 230-240 lbs. I could be wrong just thought I read that somewhere.
 
#59
#59
UTVolax24 said:
I have seen him play in person for his high school and came away extremely impressed. Is he a 5*... absolutely not. Is he sure fire stud in college... nope. Can he be impactful at whatever college / university he chooses... 100%. I personally think he's extremely underrated relative to his national ranking at the recruiting services, but that doesn't say much.

With all that being said, I don't think this is political. His parents are not Deion Sanders or Fred Smith or anyone similar. Kevin Plank went to numerous high schools and if my memory serves me correctly he isn't exactly gung-ho about any of them, so I doubt it is that. He's a big time Baltimore guy now, and spends very little to no time in DC. He's extremely close to new football powerhouse St Frances in Baltimore.

It leaves me thinking that we're just missing something... updated offer list, missed the camp circuit, etc. I'm relatively well connected in the D.C. area and I'll see what I can possibly find out.
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PM me your findings :)
 
#60
#60
Sleegro said:
I think Bama has gone to slightly smaller lbs lately. 230-240 lbs. I could be wrong just thought I read that somewhere.
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That dude that did the Twitter series looked at Bamas LBs and they were all clones at 6’ 3-4” and 230-240 lbs. And can all drop a hand on the ground and rush. But already JJ Peterson breaks the size-weight mold so we’ll see.
 
#61
#61
d3ft punk said:
That dude that did the Twitter series looked at Bamas LBs and they were all clones at 6’ 3-4” and 230-240 lbs. And can all drop a hand on the ground and rush. But already JJ Peterson breaks the size-weight mold so we’ll see.
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Yeah that was it. Really good breakdown too. Very informative. Wanted them to be more versatile and interchangeable so they don't have to worry about subs as much.
 
#63
#63
A few takeaways from people connected to MD/DC/VA football. This is all from people far more informed than myself about D.C. Area football and St. John's.

A) Plays on a top flight program that appears to be churning out talent and will continue to be sending kids D1. Not an IMG or St Frances or Mater Dei, but still a program you want to have a relationship with.

B) HIGH motor player that could play OLB in college, but would likely need to put on a few LBs and play DE. Excels as a pash rusher off the end. Because of the talent on the roster and the quality of their defense often times he wasn't given the opportunity to excel and shine, but was always a team first player and never made it about him. Still put up HQ stats. Additionally, one of the hardest working players in the area. Huge chip on shoulder. High character.

C) As has been publicized he has picked up high levels of interest from MSU, Cal, Zona, Tennessee, UVA, etc. He is also speaking with UWashington, VT, UMD, WV, UNC, etc. Said a few other top 20 power 5 programs are "asking" about him (whatever that means). You should see the offers start to come in.

D) No insight on how he made the UA game, other than saying the US Army and UA always seem to include a kid or two that are under the radar recruits that seemed to fall through the cracks. No reason to believe it's political. His performance at UA apparently justified his selection. A lot of coaches, scouts, and fellow recruits were extremely impressed.

In summary, he appears to be a guy whose stock is rising fast late and slipped through the cracks. Appears to be a low risk, high reward recruit. Hard worker, high character, and well tested player that will add depth and could end up being a huge impact player, but at the very least won't be a bust or a cancer. Has all the intangibles you would want as a player and teammate. Also gets Tennessee involved in a HQ high school football program producing top D1 talent annually.
 
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#64
#64
I rarely post but I just wanted to state that clearly Caleb had an excellent Senior year. Some players blossom late. Many of your scouting services focus on prospects that have notable Freshman, Sophomore and Junior seasons and get invited to camps. Their ranking and prestige that comes with that grows / gains momentum into their Senior seasons. However, sometimes a prep player doesn't get as noticed until their actual Senior season. That is why you have to trust your coaching staff's ability to scout player personnel on their own and not focus as much on recruiting services. Though certainly that is not to say scouts in the services are bad. They are great, even. They all (coaches and service scouts) do share information. But these services can become a hype machine by their very nature for some prospects. Unfortunately, there are many 4 and 5 star busts. And still yet many 2 and 3, even 1 star walk-ons playing in the NFL right now.

Pruitt is a damn good recruiter and has built a scouting machine with this staff. Hopefully that translates to better development and better success on the field than the previous staff. We had some great classes under Butch, but player personnel for your system and player development are even more critical than rankings if you want success. I am not saying you don't need high ranking recruits. The services are usually correct. But you need coaches that can find players like Caleb that fit and build a winning team. And you don't find them by focusing soley on a composite top 300 list.

I don't know if Caleb will end up here, but he looks like a real talent on film.
 
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#65
#65
caleb okechukwu is not a household name in recruiting. But the two-star defensive end fresh off his week of work at the under armour all-american game is starting to see things take off. Saturday, okechukwu received an offer from tennessee.

“it didn't surprise me,” okechukwu said. “i was talking to them in early december. They were on the fence about offering and wanted to see me more.” they saw more from his work in orlando last week and quickly let him know they liked what they saw. “they like that i'm versatile, i can play outside, inside, and at linebacker,” okechukwu said. “they saw me in the all american game and watched more of my tape.

“coach rocker and coach ollie hit me up right after the game telling me they liked what they saw. Then they called when i got back home and offered.” okechukwu will see tennessee the last weekend of january when he visits officially. “i want to see it all,” okechukwu said of what he needed to see. “i know they have great facilities and academics. They have great support too. People have been showing me love on twitter since i posted the offer news.”

okechukwu will take other visits in january but said nothing is finalized at this point. In addition to tennessee, okechukwu has been talking to arizona state, nebraska, oklahoma and penn state. For okechukwu the recruiting activity is exciting and something he's been patiently waiting on. “i'm not going to lie to you, i have always felt underrated,” okechekwu said. “i knew the all-american game was big. I knew that if i did well there that things would take off. I knew a lot of schools would be watching.”

“my sophomore year i played behind terrell hall who's at alabama and aaron hansford who went to texas a&m (2016),” okechekwu explained. “last year i split time with kofi wardlow who went to notre dame. Kofi didn't start till his senior year. Because i didn't start a lot of people didn't know who would i was before this year. We have had a stacked defense.”

despite the lack of ranking okechekwu said playing in a rotation as a high school player and having to wait his turn has made him a better player now and will make him better in college. “i definitely do believe it has helped me. I haven't had anything easy. I have had to work extremely hard to get everything. That's going to help me in the long run,” okechekwu offered.
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- vq
 
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#67
#67
Interesting that this Hs had 4 kids in under armour game and none particularly highly ranked. None in the espn 300 who host the game. Got to be a connnection somewhere for that to happen
 
#70
#70
Nashvegas31 said:
Interesting that this Hs had 4 kids in under armour game and none particularly highly ranked. None in the espn 300 who host the game. Got to be a connnection somewhere for that to happen
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The founder of Under Armour graduated from St John's after stints at a couple other high schools. My understanding on the conversations I had today is that gives them the lean in a close situation, but I also know Plank isn't the biggest fan of St Johns as an institution and is much closer and has a better relationship with St Frances in Baltimore.
 
#73
#73
One of the old Scout guys that is 247 now that knows his school well chimed in about Caleb.

Summary:

Brian Dohn said he watched him a lot because he knows him and the school well. So he wanted to see how he stacked up. He impressed enough to receive an future slight bump but not enough to where he was like " wow this should be a 4 star" he had his moments to show he belonged but nothing that wows you. Thinks his school and Under Armour CEO connection is why he and his teammates got into game.

So basically sounds like he will be a solid 3 star prospect with versatility. Also said he is a great kid.

Callahan thinks he is down the board a bit depending on what plays out with coynis and langham etc
 
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