Tulsa World: Gresham says he'll stay

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Gresham says he'll stay
Sooner doesn't want to leave OU early for the NFL.

Jermaine Gresham: He's a weapon in the passing game, but the Ardmore High School graduate has been working on his blocking skills.

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 8/16/2008 2:05 AM
Last Modified: 8/16/2008 3:20 AM

Sooner doesn't want to leave OU early for the NFL.

NORMAN — Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma's uncommonly talented junior tight end, says he's not giving much consideration to leaving school a year early to play in the NFL.

"No," he said. "My first thing here is to get a degree. I really don't see it happening. And I'm not good enough either. That's a no-brainer."

The last two years, OU has lost four players early to the NFL draft: Adrian Peterson in 2007, Malcolm Kelly, Curtis Lofton and Reggie Smith this year.

Gresham says he won't be joining them next year.

"I don't think I'm ready," he said. "If I went out there and had like A.D. (Peterson) talent, then that's a no-brainer. But I don't have that talent."

But when Gresham was just a freshman, Sooners head coach Bob Stoops said Gresham had talent, for his position, similar to Peterson's.

"Well," Gresham said, "I don't. I'll tell you that."

Gresham didn't have the freshman season Peterson did. But his sophomore year 37 catches, 518 yards, 11 touchdowns (including four in one game) wasn't bad. At 6-foot-6, Gresham weighs 261 pounds and says he runs the 40-yard dash in "about 4.6" seconds. He is the modern-day NFL tight end prototype.

"I think he's really a talented guy," said OU receivers coach Jay Norvell, who coached tight ends with the NFL's Oakland Raiders. "He's big, he's long, he runs easy. He's got soft hands. He's one of those guys that can beat you vertically and in short spaces. He likes to play and he's physical. I think he's got unlimited talent if he just keeps on progressing and improving."

Gresham came out of Ardmore half wide receiver, half tight end. He put on almost 40 pounds of muscle but this summer shed 5-7 to improve his quickness. He's always been a natural pass catcher but always needed work as a blocker.

He's gotten that playing alongside 6-foot-5, 265-pound junior Brody Eldridge, a player offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson says is the best blocker on the team.

"I've learned a lot from him. ... You try to step your game up. You want to be on his level," Gresham said. "If it wasn't for Brody, I wouldn't be half as good as I am now."

Said Wilson, "The greatest coaching point I gave to Jermaine Gresham was, 'You don't have to listen to me, but watch 83 (Eldridge) and that's how you block.' After two weeks of practice, I was like, 'Hey man, you're doing a great job of blocking. What are you doing?' (Gresham said), 'I'm just watching Brody like you said.' Jermaine has grown into being a really solid blocker.

"He's also a heck of a target."

Gresham is a matchup nightmare for defenses. He's not only too big for defensive backs and too fast for linebackers, he's too big for linebackers and too fast for defensive backs.

"That's every quarterback's dream, to have a player that can stretch the field vertically. He's a special player," said OU quarterback Joey Halzle. "He's a tight end, but he can do pretty much whatever he wants on a football field."

Of Gresham's 11 touchdowns last season, nine came in the red zone. When defenses have to pack in tight and use bigger bodies, stopping Gresham is nearly impossible.

Gresham has noticed that NFL clubs generally regard tight ends "not very high" when it comes to the draft just 14 players have been selected in the first round since 2000, and 14 were taken in the second round. Only four of those first-rounders were picked at No. 14 or higher.

Two stand out, though. Cleveland drafted Kellen Winslow with the sixth overall pick in 2004, and San Francisco took Vernon Davis at No. 6 in 2006.

Both players won college football's Mackey Award, and both turned pro after their junior year.

Don't put Gresham in that group just yet, he says.

"I definitely can't block that good," he said. "I'm not a dummy."

John E. Hoover 581-8384
john.hoover@tulsaworld.com By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

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DW, (8/19/2008 9:17:47 AM)

That's rare these days. A star player saying flat out that they are not good enough to go to the NFL right now and that he needs another year to develop and to get his degree. More players need to think like this.

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