 "Photo: Jeffrey McWhorter/The Daily Texan")
Brian Orakpo came to Texas as a “skinny kid.” At 6 feet 3 inches and 215 pounds, the defensive end was the definition of a “project.”
Four years later, Orakpo is about to see that A-effort on the project pay off, as he’s projected by many experts to be a top-10 pick in Saturday’s NFL Draft.
“I can’t say enough about how much hard work and dedication I’ve put in to get to this point in my life,” Orakpo said. “It’s definitely a dream come true.”
His work ethic traces back to his upbringing as the child of Nigerian immigrants. His parents came to Houston with nothing and worked their way through college. That taught Orakpo the value of perseverance, which came in handy after experiencing a grueling knee injury in the 2007 season.
He fought hard in rehabilitation and responded his senior year by leading the Big 12 with 11.5 sacks and being named the Big 12’s Defensive MVP.
“I know where I come from,” Orakpo said. “I’m a harder worker because of it.”
Orakpo’s long hours in the weight room showed, as he benched 515 pounds and weighed in at 263 pounds, only 8 percent of which is body fat.
The pass-rusher has speed to go along with that, running a 4.63 in the 40-yard dash. Though NFL Network’s Mike Mayock questions whether or not his first step is explosive enough.
While he receives much praise for his effort in the weight room, one criticism against him is that he doesn’t show similar desire on every down in games.
“My issue with Orakpo is I don’t see it all the time on tape,” Mayock said. “I see it a lot, but I just don’t see the consistency of effort and the production I like to see from a Top 10 pick.”
Some NFL draft experts have Orakpo going as high as five to the Cleveland Browns, but that would require him to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, which would be a significant switch from playing defensive end in a 4-3 system, because he’d have to line up standing up every down.
But Browns General Manager George Kokinis told the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram he isn’t worried about Orakpo’s transition to the 3-4 defense.
“I have seen Orakpo do it,” Kokinis said. “When, Will Muschamp [Longhorns’ defensive coordinator] came down to Texas, he put that system in there to stand him up, so you have seen him do it.”
ESPN’s Todd McShay has Orakpo going 11th overall to the Buffalo Bills, saying he is a better fit for their 4-3 defense.
It’s hard to find any projections that have him going later than that, which is why Orakpo, the winner of the Nagurski, Lombardi and Hendricks awards, accepted his invitation to be in New York City for the draft at Radio City Music Hall.
“I’m really honored and excited that the NFL asked me to be in New York for the draft,” Orakpo said. “This has been a hectic few months — going through the combine, our pro day and visiting with the teams — but I know it will be topped off by a fun weekend in New York.”
Orakpo is the eighth player invited to the NFL draft in the Mack Brown era, joining Vince Young, Cedric Benson, Roy Williams, Mike Williams, Quentin Jammer, Leonard Davis and Ricky Williams. Not a bad class to be with for someone who came in as a “skinny kid.”
“We’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of players that have worked extremely hard to prepare themselves to be among the NFL’s top prospects,” said Texas coach Mack Brown.
“They’ve improved every year on the field, been very coachable and grown into tremendous leaders in our program. That’s paid off for them on draft day.”
Orakpo already received one piece of good news this week: being named one of the four athletes featured on the cover of the “NCAA Football ’10” video game.
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