Shawn Oakman's potential and his production, to be clear, are two different things.
But while the enigmatic Baylor defensive end hasn't yet found a way to maximize his physical gifts, his appeal to NFL scouts as a draft prospect doesn't know any limits, either.
"His ceiling? He might be the top guy in the whole dang thing," Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said of Oakman's potential place in the NFL draft, according to cbssports.com. "If (Jadeveon) Clowney can do it ..."
Which draft? Oakman, a junior, could declare for 2015, or stick around Baylor another year and come out in 2016. At 6-foot-9, 280 pounds, his size and strength are freakish qualities that will drive his draft stock in the right direction regardless of when he chooses to turn pro. But if he wants to be the best football player he can be along with all those eye-popping measurables, there is much work to be done.
An NFC scout told NFL Media's Albert Breer that Oakman will ultimately be a first-round pick, and former Penn State defensive line coach Larry Johnson told cbssports.com that Oakman compares favorably to the No. 1 overall pick of the 2000 draft, former Penn State star Courtney Brown. Yet, after being dismissed from Penn State for disciplinary reasons and landing at Baylor, Oakman remains relatively inexperienced (eight career starts). And while the scout who spoke to Breer was impressed with Oakman's "motor," another clearly was not.
"He looks like Ed [Too Tall] Jones," the scout told cbssports.com. "Except Ed Jones played hard every play."
Still, Oakman leads the Bears in tackles for loss (12.5) and sacks (6.0), numbers as good or better than what two more heralded pass-rushing prospects, Michigan State's Shilique Calhoun and Nebraska's Randy Gregory, have delivered this year.
A freakish athlete of a pass rusher whose desire to be great is in question -- sound familiar? Whenever Oakman decides to leave college for the NFL, Bennett's mention of Clowney could prove as prophetic as any comparison.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
