Freshman tailbacks Bryce Brown and David Oku have taken the Tennessee campus by storm. Brown was rated the No. 1 player in the country coming out of high school and Oku was considered the No 1. all-purpose back. The fact that they both ended up at Tennessee, means both are confident in their abilities and neither is afraid of competition.
Dave Hooker, on the SportsPage, spoke with Bryce Brown and David Oku and provided some interesting insight as to how the competition between them is evolving thus far.
Oku has been somewhat overshadowed heading into the season by the hype surrounding Bryce Brown. But he isn’t backing down.
“There are things that Bryce does better than I do and there are things I do better than Bryce,” said Oku. “If you don’t like competition than you shouldn’t be playing football — that’s the whole purpose. Competition makes you get better and you don’t even know it.”
When asked who was better, Oku explained that each of them have different strengths.
“Bryce is real speedy,” said Oku. “Bryce is speed, I’m quick. I feel like I have a little bit of the advantage on vision.”
“Bryce is more of a power runner. Sometimes I can lower the shoulder, but you won’t catch me doing that too much. He can do that all the time but he’s like 215 and I’m 184.”
Oku added, “He’s probably faster. He can move for a 215 lb guy, but i can change directions quicker than he can.”
While Oku might be considered an underdog, coming to campus as the No. 1 rated player in the country, Bryce Brown expected to be a target.
“Before I got here the guys said they were going to see how tough I am and I’d tell them, I expect that.” said Brown. “That’s what I want. I cant go into a game without going all out.”
Both Brown and Oku are expected to see quality playing time this season.