Offensive line coach James Patton weighs in on Oklahoma’s offensive lineman signing class:
• G John Michael McGee: “John Michael McGee is a freak athletically. He’s not as big as Trent Williams, but in terms of a linemen who can move and bend and has quickness and agility – we saw him on tape and they threw a tackle screen to him and he walked in for a touchdown. He can probably play tight end. He’s just 6-3 and 265 pounds right now. He’s going to need to get his weight and strength up, but in terms of his athleticism, he can do a lot of different things for us.”
• C Ty Darlington: “He was number one in his class, he’s been coached by his dad at Opapka High School, he’ll be the Valedictorian of his class. He’s a great kid with toughness, he’s a leader and I can say enough about him. He’s a kid in the same mold as Ben Habern and Jon Cooper and those guys. He’s a quick-thinking guy. His mom was a cheerleader here and they were a Midwest City family and he grew up watching Sooner football for a long time.”
• OT/G Kyle Marrs: “Kyle’s a big, right tackle. He’s 6-6, 300 pounds and he looks great. I saw him last week. He’s a physical run-blocking guy. He probably is in the same mold of Bronson Irwin who played tackle in high school. He’ll probably be a good guard on the inside.”
• OT Will Latu: “Physically he’s a big, wide guy. He fills up half of this door here. He’s just a big-shouldered, wide, with a big back, arms, hands – he’s got a thick lower body.”
• On the offensive ine class as a whole: “We lost two with Stephen (Good) and Donald (Stephenson). We get two more (than that) coming in, and you know how it is with line play. We can be thin, but other guys can play other positions. If a guy gets hurt the next guys steps in. In next year’s class we’ll lose Habern, we’ll lose Tyler Evans, we’ll lose Lane Johnson. So these guys coming in that will probably redshirt – maybe Latu has the best chance to play early – those other three will get a chance to redshirt and develop.”
