The Football Brainiacs

Image from Soonersports.com

When I played at Oklahoma State University I measured in at 5’11.5 barefoot and around 175 lbs. I have since gotten married and put on a few lbs (thanks honey!). Playing football and being around football players all my life I can eyeball and estimate a players height and weight pretty well especially when I can stand next to them to really compare height and weight.

Everyone always wonders how accurate the listed heights and weights are. I’ve stood next our LB core and so I’ll try to give you my estimate based on the eyeball test.

– Frank Shannon is probably right around my height. I’d say flat footed he’s just under 6’0 and with cleats on probably a little over 6’0. He’s very muscular. He looks like an LB. I’d guess around 225 lbs. Of all the LBs that are currently playing he’s been in the program the longest and it shows.

– Eric Striker is young but has been in the program longer than both Jordan Evans and Dom Alexander and in terms of muscle development you can tell. He’s muscular. I’d say flat footed he’s probably about 5’10.5. With cleats on maybe 5’11 and some change. I think his listed weight was around 220 lbs and that’s probably not too far off. I’d guess closer to 215 lbs.

– Dom Alexander is actually bigger than I thought he would be. He doesn’t yet have the muscle development that Shannon and Striker do but he’s got a big frame and definitely looks like an LB. He’s going to be a really thick and muscular LB once he has another year or two in the program. He probably stands flat footed at around 6’1.5 and with cleats on may be over 6’2. I’d guess his actual weight is more than what is listed. Soonersports has him listed at around 216 lbs but I’d guess he’s somewhere in the low 220s right now. Like I said he’s going to be a good looking LB in the future. Definitely looks like he’ll be one of those bigger LBs that Oklahoma used to have.

– Jordan Evans is a tall young man. Probably around the same height at Dom – around 6’2. He might have been a little taller but he’s a lot thinner than the other LBs so it was a little harder to compare. Right now he’s only weighing 207 lbs. He told us that he was actually creeping close to 220 lbs earlier in the year but an illness really took some of the weight off so the coaches are working hard to help him put the weight back on. He’s got a good frame. This next year in the weight program should really help and I think between him and Dom Oklahoma is going to have a much bigger LB corp in the future without sacrificing any of the athleticism.

I think that’s what’s really intriguing about Evans and Alexander – they really do move like safeties but have the kinds of long frames that can hold some serious weight. Dom Alexander already looks well put together. He just need some time to really refine and build. I think both these guys are going to be impressive physical specimen and LBs in the next year or two.

Overall it looks like OU does a pretty good job of listing reasonable accurate heights and weights.