The Football Brainiacs

Image of Obi Eboh via 247sports.com

Obi Eboh: Yesterday, Southlake Carroll 2016 cornerback Obi Eboh tweeted out that he received offers from Oklahoma and Arkansas. I was not able to catch up with Eboh, but I did speak with someone close to his recruitment. I asked this person if Eboh planned on visiting next week for the OU camp, and this person said Eboh’s been to Norman twice already so there really isn’t much more for him to see. It seems, according to this person, that Eboh already has a comfort level with both OU and the staff.

Based on past conversations with Eboh, I get the sense that the ‘game-changing’ offer for him would be Stanford. I do think, however, considering his current crop of offers that the Sooners will be in the mix. But I also know schools like Stanford and Duke are very attractive to Eboh due to their academic prestige. He does currently hold an offer from Duke and has been evaluated by Stanford. I’m told they (Stanford) like him but do not appear ready to offer just yet.

I was also told to expect Eboh to make a decision regarding a commitment before his season is over.

Film Notes – For those of you not familiar with Eboh’s game, he is a long, fast cornerback. Gives a great presence setting the edge against the run as a nub, or being physical in the flat. Very comfortable playing anything deep. He’s also a well-coached, smart player.

One particular play that stands out from his film features him in ‘quarters’ coverage, he gets a switch and plays his outside zone then correctly transitions and matches up man-to-man up the field. If there was something I’d question about Eboh, it would be his feet. Occasionally, he can a look a little heavy footed. But he has good eyes for a corner and uses that advantage to break quickly on the ball.

He has the frame, speed, and mental capacity to perhaps transition to safety, if it appeared necessary. You want your safeties reading things well, but a lot of that is about recognizing alignments, personnel, movements, etc. And Eboh’s background as a well-coached football player and academic guy gives me the confidence to think that if a switch was necessary, it could be made. – (Super K)

– Dalton Wood: As most of you know by now, Wood was finally expected to report this week. I haven’t received confirmation whether he has arrived yet, but I was told by a source that he’s expected this afternoon. And I certainly hope that is the case. I thought it might be a good time to tell you all a little about Wood as an athlete, and where the Sooners may play him.

Simply put, you aren’t going to find many human beings like Wood. I was told by a staff member at McAlester that they recently measured Wood at 6’4.5″ without shoes, and he already weighs nearly 260 pounds. That means, based on size alone, he could potentially transition to any position on either offensive or defensive line, including offensive tackle. But what is really remarkable about Wood is he isn’t just some lumbering big guy. He’s light-footed, has great twitch, and doesn’t have any discernible stiffness through his knees, hips or ankles. He even runs on his fore like you’d see a smaller athlete do. He also appears to have good top end speed on film.

As an athlete with his kind of size, Wood really is a rare specimen. I’ve been told that OU will start him out as a TE/H-Back, however the word is there are actually a number of coaches on the staff fighting over Wood. And on his film, you can absolutely see why. I’m not familiar enough with his work ethic or character to truly be the judge, but if he’s a high-effort young man that will put in the work (and based on his build you’d have to imagine he’s at least doing work in the weight room) then there are any number of positions he could excel at.

I was actually told by one of the McAlester coaches that Wood was, at one point, used as an overhang player on defense. Given his size you wouldn’t think that’s possible, but his change of direction is so good that I certainly wouldn’t argue with someone if they told me he could manage it, even at his current size. I genuinely do not believe it’s a stretch to say that based strictly on size and athleticism (and again, he’s got to develop the other qualities necessary), he could play multiple spots on the offensive line, multiple techniques on the defensive line including a 5 or a 7 and, heck, maybe he could even be an overhang against run sets.

Wood is electric with the ball in his hands, but I’d love to see such a big, athletic young man transition to the Sooner defense if possible. Admittedly, however, part of that is certainly my preference for defense in general. But another big part of it is I think OU already has a number of potential difference makers on the offensive side of the ball. Wood looks like he could be a real difference maker on the defensive side of the ball. And you can never have enough of those. – (Super K)