Sam Proctor has turned the corner (without crashing)
Published: 8/26/2008 4:55 PM
Last Modified: 8/26/2008 4:55 PM
Just who is this Sam Proctor fellow who has complicated the picture at defensive back?
Throughout the offseason, observers of Oklahoma football just sort of assumed that Nic Harris would line up in 2008 as the Sooners' strong safety and Lendy Holmes would be the free safety. They also assumed, after a spring session during which coaches raved about new cornerbacks Dominique Franks and Brian Jackson, that things were clear at that spot as well.
But along comes Proctor, playing so well at strong safety, that Harris could move to free safety, Holmes could move to corner and either Franks or Jackson could be waiting for the next third-and-long. The season-opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga is now days away, and if Proctor hasn't upset the apple cart, he's taking a few bites as he runs alongside.
Proctor signed with OU in 2007 out of Pearland, Texas. There he was a running quarterback, compiling 1,668 yards rushing, 456 yards passing, 23 touchdowns and hardly playing defense at all.
But now, after redshirting last year, the 6-foot Proctor is 208 pounds of right-thinking, hard-working, lumber-swinging desire.
A snippet of an interview last week with OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables shed some light on Proctor's emergence:
"I'll be honest, his first semester on campus, during conditioning, I said, 'There's no way. He's going to end up being a will (weakside) linebacker and he might even struggle there.' I thought that," Venables confessed. "But he has worked so incredibly hard and stayed after it every single day. He's been in that weight room, on his own time, all the time. People would love him if they just kind of stood back and watched his approach. He does some things that are extremely unpopular. Usually, you see that out of a guy that's been here for three or four years, a Quentin Griffin type of guy. He's done that since he got here. He recognized what his limitations were and he's worked so incredibly (hard).
"I mean, he couldn't make a hard right-hand or left-hand turn to save his life. You ever seen 'Tom and Jerry'? Tom's chasing Jerry and Jerry's messing with him, and they go around a corner and it's that 'Rrrrrrrrch!' That was Sam Proctor. I was just like – it was gross to watch – I was like, 'This is Oklahoma. You've gotta 'ch-ch!' It was 'Rrrrrrrrch!' But he's not like that now. Now he's just kind of learning mentally, being there, doing it over and over.
"What a really great presence he has. Just really mature. Just, 'Man, that's a good guy.' You kind of pull for him as he walks out of the room. Really respectful. He gets it, you know?"
– John E. Hoover
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
