Sometimes the greatest rewards take the most time to reap. That could be said for Oklahoma Sooners offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh and recent four-star commit Darrell Simpson. Simpson had recently announced his top eight schools and OU knew they were always at or near the top of his list. On August 12^th, Simpson finally announced his commitment to OU. While the offensive line isn’t the most glamorous position, Simpson is a very exciting prospect.

Let’s start off with the measurables. Simpson weighs in at around 330 pounds and skies high at 6’7”. Simpson is a product of Justin, Texas, where he attends Northwest High School. Northwest High has gone 17-15 in Simpson’s previous three years, with the records fluctuating every year (6-4, 1-9, 10-2).

Simpson has amazing size, at 6’7” and 330 pounds, so he SHOULD be able to manhandle people — which he does... very well.

The Breakdown:

In this first clip, Simpson does EXACTLY what we just touched on. He uses his size so well on this play. While lining up at right tackle, Simpson gets his big ole’ hands in the left defensive end’s grill. You have to love the drive he gets, as the LDE gets sent four to five yards with what looks like minimal effort.

Sometimes, an offensive lineman simply needs to set the edge in order to help his running back. Here, Simpson does just that. With his back bouncing to the outside, he uses great footwork and his length to bend the defensive lineman to his will. Simpson has a great feel for his size, and understanding the angles he can use from his wingspan.

With the first two gifs being run plays, it’s only fair we look at Simpson’s pass protection skills. On this play, one thing to look at is how his footwork is rather impressive for a right tackle. Simpson pushes his assignment down the field in order to allow his quarterback to step up in the pocket, set his feet and make an accurate throw.

Darrell Simpson is like most offensive linemen; he will need time to develop. Four and five-star offensive linemen usually possess a lot of raw ability along with their size. With that being said, Simpson is rather exciting. With so much size, Coach Bill Bedenbaugh will have a lot of fun molding him. Simpson and five-star recruit Brey Walker could potentially solidify both tackle positions down the road for Oklahoma.