Draft fortunes usually bright for Sooners

OU has long been a path to NFL

By John Shinn

Wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias and offensive linemen Phil Loadholt and Duke Robinson won’t play another game for Oklahoma. Their collegiate careers ended in the BCS title game back in January. But what paths they take today will still have an impact on the program.

The NFL draft begins at 10 a.m. in New York, and just about every highly touted prep player in the country will take note of who goes where. And, more importantly, where they came from.

“I don’t know that it’s a huge deal,” OU coach Bob Stoops said, “but it does show that you have quality players in your program and you’re doing a good job developing them. It definitely puts a positive light on your program.”

Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996, 45 Sooners have been drafted into the NFL, including eight in the first round. Only Nebraska (57) has had more taken during that span.

It’s no surprise, corralling that kind of talent has been a major reason OU has dominated the Big 12 the last nine seasons. Since winning that national championship in 2000, OU has had seven players taken in the first round.

OU coaches don’t like to openly promote their program as a path to the NFL. Their big selling point is always going to be the championships and the tradition of success.

“We don’t sit here and develop them for a draft,” Stoops said. “It’s more developing them to be as physical and athletic as they can be and teaching them to be team guys, to win as a team and to be unselfish. To me, it’s just building a player.

“Fortunately, we’ve had guys talented enough that have worked well enough to put themselves in position to be drafted and to have those kind of careers.”

Of course, OU’s history of sending players to the NFL is hardly a mystery. The total stands at 334 since J.W. Wheeler was taken in the second round by the Green Bay Packers in 1936. Thirty-seven of those players have been selected in the first round.

Today isn’t predicted as a day the Sooners add to that first-round total. Defensive backs Lendy Holmes and Nic Harris, wide receiver Manny Johnson, and offensive linemen Jon Cooper and Brandon Walker have also gone through the draft process, but no OU players are expected to hear their names called until the second round or, more likely, later.

Loadholt and Robinson are the most likely to be taken today.

Loadholt, who is 6-foot-8 and 350 pounds, has brought out varying opinions.

“Some think first round, some think fourth in terms of the way they grade him out,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper said. “I think he ends up in the early- to mid-second round.”

Robinson, a two-time All-American at guard, has seen his stock drop some since the end of the season, according to Kiper.

“Probably into the third- or fourth-round area,” he said. “The national championship game certainly didn’t help his cause.”

Most coaches in the Big 12 would love to just hear any draft analyst talking about their players. Since the conference began, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa State and Baylor have had 43 players drafted combined. You can bet there will be celebrations in both Waco, Texas, and Columbia, Mo., today. Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith and Missouri receiver Jeremy Maclin are both projected to go in the top 15 picks.

“You can’t buy that kind of publicity for your program,” Baylor coach Art Briles said. “It will be a big day for us.”

And bigger days are forecasted for the Sooners. Kiper is already touting next year’s first round as an OU fest. Tight end Jermaine Gresham and offensive tackle Trent Williams are both seniors. Quarterback Sam Bradford and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy could also turn pro following next season. All are considered first-round picks. Several others could go in the second round.

“They (Sooners) have an incredible class for 2010,” Kiper said. “They’re loaded. I mean, they are just loaded.”

John Shinn

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jshinn@normantranscript.com