Chukwuma Okorafor - OL equivalent of Big Dan?

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Reading in multiple places things like if he doesn't get a fire lit under him he may be out of the league soon, no kidding.

Hope Dunbar et al can get the job done. He knows him from Alabama, so gotta have faith in them.

[Slapstick]

Munchak is Okorafor’s position coach, but I get your meaning...

[SidSmythe]

Can't be any worse than Mike Adams in the 2nd or Jarvis Jones in the first.
Plus he has MUNCH as a position coach so I'm not that concerned.

[Sugar]

Can't be any worse than Mike Adams in the 2nd or Jarvis Jones in the first.
Plus he has MUNCH as a position coach so I'm not that concerned.

I was thinking something similar. The guy has the raw materials and if anyone can mold those materials it will be Munch.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Sorry, don't know how that came out, yeah, Coach Munchak.

Weird though for someone to be labelled like that coming out of college!

[Shoe]

Can't be any worse than Mike Adams in the 2nd or Jarvis Jones in the first.
Plus he has MUNCH as a position coach so I'm not that concerned.

Don't insult the guy by mentioning Adams. Adams was everybody's All American the moment he stepped onto tOSU campus, and proceeded to shrink whenever he got the opportunity to shine. Adams also was so stupid that he couldn't lay off the weed during the draft process! The only thing he did well, was beg for a job.

OTOH, this guy has played the game for only a few years. You might be able to compare him to Jamain Stephens, but let's not sink to Mike Adams comparisons yet.

[Captain Lemming]

Don't insult the guy by mentioning Adams. Adams was everybody's All American the moment he stepped onto tOSU campus, and proceeded to shrink whenever he got the opportunity to shine. Adams also was so stupid that he couldn't lay off the weed during the draft process! The only thing he did well, was beg for a job.

OTOH, this guy has played the game for only a few years. You might be able to compare him to Jamain Stephens, but let's not sink to Mike Adams comparisons yet.

I was thinking Jamain myself when I read his description.

[Steel Maniac]

Well then we can all enjoy watching a grueling camp break this kid down to tears and then watch Munchak rebuild him from the ground up .. hopefully.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Tuesday, May 15, 2018 02:31 PM

Okorafor fell in love with football

Teresa Varley

Steelers.com

For most players selected in the 2018 NFL Draft, one of the first things you hear them talk about is it being a dream come true, something they thought about as kids playing football in the backyard.

For third round pick Chukwuma Okorafor, who quickly said, ‘Call me Chuks,’ he didn’t even know about football when he was a kid.

Okorafor was born in Nigeria, and was raised for part of his life in Botswana, where the main sport was soccer. That’s all he knew. That’s all he watched. That’s all he played.

His family immigrated to the United States in 2010, settling in the Detroit area. It was a chance for a better life for them, a better job for his father, and a shot at the American Dream.

“I just had to adjust to different stuff,” said Okorafor. “I would say it was more the culture, but I don’t think of it as a huge difference.”

What he had to adjust to most, was a different sport. People were encouraging him to play football. It was a sport all the kids played, one that brought people together with a common love. And his first introduction to it, was watching the Steelers play the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV.

“I knew nothing about football before that,” said Okorafor. “Nothing at all.”

Being new at the sport, playing tackle was about the furthest thing from his mind. Nope, he became a punter, utilizing the skills he knew from soccer to make the adjustment. But before he knew it, his body outgrew that of the average punter, and he was asked to play tackle his junior year of high school. He had already mastered a new country and a new sport, why not a new position.

“It was something different, just being able to know the plays and the technique and stuff,” said Okorafor. “It was something that took me a couple months, or a year or two to just kind of get used to.

“Once I tried football out, I’ve just loved it since.”

The move to tackle was probably as important a move for him as his family coming to the United States. He was offered scholarships to several schools, deciding on Western Michigan and knowing it was an amazing opportunity at a free education, not even realizing at first it could mean so much more.

Okorafor started three seasons at tackle, one at right and the last two at left. He was a first-team All-American selection by FWAA and Phil Steele, and a second-team All-American by Sports Illustrated. He was also one of six semifinalists for the prestigious Outland Trophy, given to the nation’s best offensive lineman. Not bad at all for a newcomer not just to the position, but to the sport in general.

And now, he is an NFL player, something he never could have imagined as a kid.

“Being able to hear my name called was something special,” said Okorafor. “When I got the call from Coach (Mike) Tomlin, it was something that almost felt fake. I watched the draft for a few years, then to hear my phone ring was something special.

“Then to hear from the fans. I saw how nice the fans are. I got all kinds of messages on Twitter, on Instagram just saying congrats and stuff, so that was pretty sweet.

“I am very excited to be here and just do what I have to do.”

That all started this weekend with the team’s rookie minicamp at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Okorafor and his fellow rookies will soon have the opportunity to work with the full squad when OTAs begin later this month.

“Coming in, being somewhat young, I’m only 20-years old, and being able to learn from the two tackles they have who have been in the league for a while,” said Okorafor. “So just being able to listen and learn from them definitely counts.”

And while he doesn’t have a preference as to whether he plays left or right tackle, he said he does feel more comfortable on the left side just because of experience.

“I played it the past couple years, but it doesn’t really matter to me,” said Okorafor. “Being able to prove I could play right tackle and also play left tackle that kind of was a plus. It’s time to just learn. It’s me just putting my head down and getting to work.”

https://www.steelers.com/news/okorafor-fell-in-love-with-football

[squidkid]

you can teach technique but you cant teach nastiness...........

[8467thekraken]

I could see Chuks taking over at RT in 2020.

[SidSmythe]

Not sure you can compare the 2
Big Dan is 6'7 trying to play a position built on getting low. Plus he was a 7th round pick.

Okorafor is a 3rd with Day 1 size.
If he's another Big Dan then that's far worse than Big Dan being Big Dan.

[Steel Maniac]

I agree Sid.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

With much that I've read I don't see it. The first game the kid saw was the Pitt/GB Super Bowl in 2011. He started off as a punter because all he knew at the time was soccer. He was moved to tackle when he grew to big to be just a punter - I think that was second year high school.

this might not have been something that he dreamed about as a kid like many draftees, but you don't go from never seeing the game to being drafted seven years later without a lot of hard work and dedication.

[Iron City Inc.]

Reading through this thread I got curious on this 3rd rounder so I looked at the Michigan St game. So here is what I saw.....
His pass sets are quick. He has excellent footwork. Gets into position and easily walls off. Hand placement is good and he can punch and stay balanced. Tough to take the arc and beat to the edge against him.. Got beat on counter inside and just late sliding back to recover. Run blocking more turn out of the hole then road grader. Stays on his feet well. He likely needs the year in the pro weight room program but frame looks like it could easily hold 15 more lbs.
So he has a lot to work with but needs refining. Strength , ability to handle counters and can he play on both sides of the line are all areas where we need to see him perform. He has potential to be a starter and I'm sure drafting him where we did that team thought he could start one day. That said he's not a given just a high ceiling at this point but he'll be an interesting watch at camp.