4.1
/ 5.0
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Right off the bat when you look at Dalton’s film, you can’t help but notice how physical he is. Far too often when people are evaluating potential offensive linemen, they become enamored with measurables. How good is his footwork? How fast does he run the 40? The things that are overlooked too much to me are:
1. Is he a finisher?
Something I struggled with early on and even into college was using my hands. Coming from a small high school there wasn’t a lot of teaching, and I was so afraid to get whistled for holding. I had to make a conscious effort in college to start using my hands and pressing the guy off of my body. When offensive linemen learn at an early age how to do this, it makes them look severely nasty. Almost every play that you see in Alex’s film is one where he is mauling someone. That right there is what makes him such an intriguing prospect to me.
2. Is he a hustler?
Another thing that you’ll see with offensive linemen is that they just okie-doke around out there. “I hit my guy for like two seconds so I’m good.” What I love to see is after they do their job on the backside, they run downfield and look for someone else to hammer. I love the third or fourth play in his film where Alex plants the guy off the interception. It shows me right away that he cares about his teammates, since he’s so pissed off that there is a turnover. He’s gonna make that guy pay…and he does.
3. Can the guy stay on his feet?
While you need to have good footwork, young big guys need not get discouraged if their footwork isn’t great. It’s something that you can work on and improve. The NFL and College ranks are littered with guys whose footwork and strength are just good enough. Where you get yourself in trouble is when you’re falling down all the time. Unless you’re riding someone to the ground, there isn’t another time you need to be on the ground other than cutting someone.
You can tell that Alex has received solid coaching at the high school level, and when he arrives into Norman, he’ll probably be one of the more college ready linemen OU will have had from a true freshman perspective in a long time.
As a Junior he was 6’4″ 280, and with this frame, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him end up playing along the interior at about 310 lbs or so. He’s going to bring a special brand of nasty to the team. I admine the direction that Coach Bedenbaugh is taking with his recruiting. With Ikard graduating, he’ll be a very solid backup to Ty Darlington at the center position right off the bat. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get some playing time in there at guard early on as well.
Alex is one of the most underrated prospects out there. If he stays healthy and works hard and makes good decisions, you’ll hear his name getting called on draft day in a few years.
Grade: 4.2
If OU fans are tired of playing patty cake with D-linemen and are ready to steamroll Big 12 defenses then Alex Dalton is your guy. The fact that he was one of the first guys Coach Bedenbaugh went after tells you more than I can tell you in a few sentences but I’ll do it anyway. First, Dalton is always the first guy off the line at the snap. His first step off the line is special. And while I love how he finishes blocks, more than anything I love how easy and natural it looks. He doesn’t look like a guy who is thinking “coach said finish, finish, finish”. He looks like a guy who can’t help but run people over. It’s part of his DNA. A lion roars and Dalton pancakes. HS kids going up against a young man that big and that athletic just isn’t fair. You see a lot of top interior line recruits that can drive their defender ten yards down the field but you don’t see a lot that will immediately drive their guy back and put him on the ground. That requires a combination of power and a quick-twitch explosiveness. Dalton has both. He may not be as big as the Ohio State commit Marcelys Jones but I believe he’s more athletic. I’d have no problem putting Dalton’s athleticism up against Demetrius Knox who most consider one of, if not the top interior lineman in the country.
Another thing that really stands out to me is how square he is to the defender even when he’s moving laterally. He looks like he’s moving forward even when he’s moving side to side. I’m not a huge fan of his feet when he initially pulls but I dig his feet on the path he takes. There isn’t much pass blocking on his film but there are enough subtle things to be seen in the way he pulls to know that it’s going to be an area he’ll need to improve. But he’s not playing on the edge so it’s not a huge deal. And you can see how quick his feet naturally are when he’s blocking little guys out in space. And let’s face it, he isn’t used to back pedaling. He’s used to playing downhill. Lastly, I hear this young man is an excellent student. That is an important trait for an O-lineman, especially a center, that cannot be overstated.
Bottom line for me is Dalton will likely help continue to improve Oklahoma’s running game and get the inside of their O-line playing out front. Assuming Dalton signs, OU fans got a good one here.
Grade: 4.1
Dalton is a quick twitch athlete for an interior offensive linemen prospect. He easily gets to the second which will translate nicely in zone blocking schemes. He plays well in space against smaller athletes and is incredibly nasty once he locks on to defenders. He has explosive hips and I’d bet he can hang clean out the roof. His knee bend is questionable and he doesn’t show a natural “kick slide” in pass protection as a RT in HS, which is why at the next level he will slide inside as a center or a guard. Overall, there is a lot to like! He’s around 280 lbs and Bedenbaugh, has done an excellent job of putting good weight on so I’m sure he’ll put on plenty. Dalton could be a fringe all-conference player has similar athletic traits to Gabe Ikard.
Grade: 3.9
1 Comment
I would agree with all of you. He’s a solid 3 year starter if he keeps working hard and growing. He’s having a great year this year. I think he’s the perfect fit for Coach B and what he wants in his OL. AS JY has taught me, hands and feet. Hands and feet. Keep moving them and punch someone. That’s Alex in a nutshell and it’s something that has been lacking and this year is no different. I like all the OL kids we are in on. If he can be graded as a 4.0 at the end of his career, then we’ll have a strong OG/OC as well as having some depth finally as we recruit even more large, strong and nasty kids.