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The Oklahoma Sooners signed one two-sport star in football/baseball standout Mario Williams, and OU now has a second in football/basketball phenom Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge.
NRK, welcome home - https://t.co/cpGpT4nYim@KibongeRawlins | #LincUpXXI pic.twitter.com/CQSeY3sf7W
— Lincoln Riley (@LincolnRiley) December 16, 2020
Rawlings-Kibonge, or NRK as he is known, is a four-star prospect on the gridiron, but he’s still a bit raw as a football player, as he didn’t start playing the sport until his junior year of high school. However, the defensive lineman out of Portland, Ore. has the physical tools to be a scary presence for Alex Grinch’s Speed D.
Where he fits
At 6’7” and 240 pounds, NRK is incredibly quick off the edge for his size. As inexperienced as he is, he’s obviously pretty raw with technique. The intriguing aspect of this for the defensive staff is that he can be molded into whatever role they believe suits him best. Would they want him to gain a small amount of weight and play a DE role? Perhaps. Would they want him to gain a considerable amount of wait and move inside? I doubt Lon Kruger would appreciate that, but it’s not out of the question. Could they keep him at relatively the same weight and utilize his explosiveness and length as an edge rusher? It would be fun to watch! Basically, the staff will make a judgement after he gets to campus.
In the words of Michael Jordan, “The ceiling is the roof!”.