Tulsa World: Sooner barricade

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Sooner barricade

In last Saturday's win over Tennessee-Chattanooga, Gerald McCoy had a career-high 51/2tackles. ARAM BOGHOSIAN / Tulsa World

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 9/3/2008 2:07 AM
Last Modified: 9/5/2008 1:54 AM

Correction
This story misspelled the name of former OU linebacker Rod Shoate.

Legendary lineman Lee Roy Selmon says McCoy has the potential to be OU's next great defensive tackle

NORMAN — It is no coincidence that many of Oklahoma's greatest linebackers have played behind some of Oklahoma's greatest defensive tackles.

Rod Choate had the Selmon brothers. George Cumby and Daryl Hunt had Reggie Kinlaw and Phil Tabor. Jackie Shipp had Rick Bryan. Brian Bosworth had Tony Casillas and Steve Bryan. Joe Bowden had Scott Evans. Teddy Lehman and Rocky Calmus had Tommie Harris. Rufus Alexander had Dusty Dvoracek.

Of course, great players play better when surrounded by other great players. But a top-shelf tackle and a top-shelf linebacker pairing can devastate offenses.

"Well, if you have a good d-lineman in front of a good linebacker, it's just kind of like a tandem that's hard for an offense to stop," said current OU sophomore Gerald McCoy.

One question Sooner fans can now ask: Did Curtis Lofton, and now Ryan Reynolds, have Gerald McCoy? Is McCoy almost ready to take his place alongside the greats?

Lee Roy Selmon, for one, thinks so. The man widely regarded as the greatest Sooner of all time acknowledges he has not closely studied McCoy, but is impressed with what he has seen so far.

"He's certainly an outstanding talent," Selmon said. "I'm looking forward to watching him some more."

McCoy's time may be near. It is unfair to place him with Selmon and Casillas — who went No. 1 and No. 2 overall, respectively, in the NFL draft and are both in the College Football Hall Of Fame — and it is too early to mention him with Harris, who had a quarterback sack on his first collegiate play, made All-Big 12 three times and went pro after his junior season. McCoy is just one game into his sophomore season.

"You earn that type of respect," Selmon said. "But whether you're a sophomore, a junior or a senior, if you've earned that type of respect, then you've earned it."

In 19 of the 38 seasons since 1970, Oklahoma has had a tackle-linebacker combination earn first-team all-conference in the same year.

Last year, Lofton was Big 12 player of the year, but neither of OU's starting tackles — McCoy or DeMarcus Granger — was first-team All-Big 12. McCoy, however, was named Big 12 defensive freshman of the year. This season, he was named preseason All-Big 12. In Saturday's season opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga, McCoy had his way, collecting a career-high 5 1/2 tackles and disrupting dozens of plays in the Mocs' backfield.

"He has a chance to be great," said OU coach Bob Stoops. "He has that kind of ability, he has that kind of work ethic and attitude. So he's working his way to it."

What makes a great defensive tackle is the respect he gets from an opponent, Selmon says. Harris, for example, never made a lot of tackles because he drew two blockers — and sometimes more — on every play. That allowed Calmus and Lehman to maximize their playmaking abilities.

"If the opposing offense is looking at the defensive tackle as, 'This is a guy we have to take care of,' that means their game plans and blocking schemes usually require a couple people on him at all times," Selmon said. "Then that takes away from what you'd like to do at other times, because he has to be accounted for.

"If you can get in there and are commanding that kind of respect where they have to have a second or two to check you as a defensive lineman, then that gives that linebacker an extra second or two to read that play or get to the ball carrier without having to deal with an offensive lineman."

Said McCoy, "If you've got a double team on a d-lineman and he's a good one, he'll hold that and that 'backer's going to be there — he's so fast it'll be like there wasn't even a double team there. Or, you've got a good d-lineman, they could try a double team and he'll split the double team and make the play in the backfield, or make it for no gain."

McCoy seems to be on his way. He and quarterback Sam Bradford are the Sooners' first sophomore captains since the 1800s.

"That tells you what his teammates think about him as a player, as a person (and) as a leader," said Shipp, who now coaches the Sooners' defensive line. "He has their respect, and they see those things in him, so that's a pretty good honor to receive as a redshirt sophomore. You have older players voting on you because they see what he does. And it's not all by his mouth, it's by example."

John E. Hoover 581-8384
john.hoover@tulsaworld.com

GERALD McCOY

Position: Defensive tackle

Class: Sophomore

Dimensions: 6-foot-4, 295 pounds

Born: Feb. 25, 1988

Breakdown: McCoy was USA Today’s national defensive player of the year in 2005 as a senior at Oklahoma City’s Southeast High School. He redshirted in 2006 and started 13 games in 2007, contributing 19 tackles (6.5 for loss) with two quarterback sacks and a decisive fumble recovery against Texas. He was virtually unblockable in Saturday’s 57-2 win over Chattanooga, making 5.5 tackles (1.5 for loss).

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

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