Big Board – Offensive Linemen
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It’s officially April and with the NFL Draft less than a week away, mock drafts and Big Boards are all you’ll hear about if you’re a football fan. We’re leaning into that with Big Boards. Every Thursday and Friday, we’ll release a new Big Board, ranking the top ten players at their position, regardless of class. Now, similar to our prospect rankings, these rankings are based on who these players are as college prospects. Stay tuned each week for two more Big Boards, ranking and looking at the absolute best players at their respective positions. Today, we continue our Big Board series with a look at the best offensive lineman in Oklahoma.
1) Jacob Sexton Jacob Sexton 6'6" | OL Deer Creek | 2022 State OK – Deer Creek – Class of 2022
This pick should come as a surprise to no one who has seen Jacob Sexton Jacob Sexton 6'6" | OL Deer Creek | 2022 State OK play over the course of his career. Even in class 6A-II, Sexton usually looks like a man amongst boys, standing at 6’5″ 285 Lbs. Among his many strengths, Sexton is incredibly agile for a big man, especially at the high school level, and is excellent at opening up his hips to adjust to counter moves off the edge. He is one of the top prospects that Oklahoma has produced in the last few years along the offensive line and overall. With those facts out on the table, it should go without saying that he is one of the best prospects to come out of Deer Creek in quite some time. However, as a graduate of Deer Creek myself, I will never pass up the opportunity to give a little extra hype to a fellow Antler.
2) Cade McConnell Cade McConnell 6'5" | OL Choctaw | 2022 State OK – Choctaw – Class of 2022
Cade is listed on a lot of pages as an offensive tackle, which may be his best fit at the next level, however, you cannot corner him into being only a tackle at this point. He played nearly every position on the line for Choctaw in 2020 and when you turn on the tape you see why. Cade’s skill set is not only that of a traditional tackle who can seal the edge on run plays and kick back in pass sets. Cade has a combination of power, athleticism, and motor that you don’t see very often. He was constantly pulling across the line on run plays from both tackle and guard positions at an extremely high level. That kind of position versatility along the line is something that college coaches love and is something that will keep Cade on the field at all times.
3) Will Thomas Will Thomas 6'7" | 305 lbs | OL Union | 2022 State OK – Union – Class of 2022
Next up is one of the biggest OL in the state, Will Thomas Will Thomas 6'7" | 305 lbs | OL Union | 2022 State OK . Thomas is listed at 6’7″ 305 Lbs and he looks every part of it. He is not as quick or nimble as some of the other top linemen in the state, but he is easily one of the most powerful. Though it is not the best part of his game, he is more than capable of pass protecting at the next level with some technical improvements. With that being said, Will is one of the most physical run blockers in the state. If he can get his hands on someone they are likely ending up on the ground with him laying on top of them for good measure. Look out for Thomas and Union to have another deadly rushing attack in 2021.
4) Jonathan Ashford Jonathan Ashford 6'5" | 290 lbs | OL Edmond Santa Fe | 2023 State OK – Edmond Santa Fe – Class of 2023
After bursting onto the scene as a freshman in 2019, Ashford did not disappoint in 2020. In fact, he was even better than I thought he’d be when I saw him live for the first time. Similar to a lot of young high school lineman, his pass protection is not super polished, but it also not necessarily a glaring flaw by any means. In the run game though, Ashford is one of the most dominant blockers in the state. His range for a man of his size is uncanny and he has a very natural ability to climb to the second level and beyond to clear paths for his RBs and WRs to prance through untouched. If he can continue to refine his pass pro skills while remaining dominant in the run game, Ashford’s recruiting will skyrocket.
5) JaKobe Sanders JaKobe Sanders 6'3" | 285 lbs | OL Stillwater | 2023 State OK – Stillwater – Class of 2023
Bumping to the inside, we have the top interior lineman in the state, JaKobe Sanders JaKobe Sanders 6'3" | 285 lbs | OL Stillwater | 2023 State OK . Sanders looked more like a veteran Senior in 2020 than a first-year starting Sophomore and a lot of that is due to the sheer violence he played with. JaKobe was one of if not the most explosive interior lineman off the ball in 2020 and paired that with a lightning-quick punch off the line that often left defenders backpedaling and stumbling. With Jonathan Ashford Jonathan Ashford 6'5" | 290 lbs | OL Edmond Santa Fe | 2023 State OK being so dominant so early, we figured that it would be tough for another OL in the class of 2023 to catch him, but Sanders has just about done that. It will be fun to see these two compete indirectly for that top spot when we complete our final evaluations on them in a couple seasons.
6) Lane Parks Lane Parks 6'5" | 275 lbs | OL Yukon | 2022 State OK – Yukon – Class of 2022
Parks is one of the more intriguing prospects on this list for a few reasons. Due to the flexbone scheme Yukon ran for the past few seasons, Parks got a lot more run-blocking reps than most other lineman in the state. However, that also means he was rarely asked to drop back and kick into pass protection because his team rarely threw the ball. Fast forward to now, Yukon has cleaned house and brought in a bunch of new coaches, including their new head coach who will likely bring a new offensive system. You will not find many linemen in Oklahoma that have comparable power to Parks in the run game, but his inexperience in pass protection could leave some college coaches concerned. Personally, I think there may be a little bit of an adjustment period for the whole Yukon team where they might not be as uniformed as we’re used to seeing on offense, but I have no doubt that Parks will adjust quickly and solidify himself as a top 10 OL.
7) Brandt Haag Brandt Haag 6'5" | 305 lbs | OL Bishop McGuinness | 2023 State OK – Bishop McGuinness – Class of 2023
Placing Brandt this high feels a little weird simply because he only played 2 games in 2020. What we saw in those 2 games though, was a lineman who has all the tools to be successful at the next level. Like all the guys on this list, Haag is massive as he is listed at 6’6″ 305 Lbs, but what impressed me most when watching him was his ability to bend at the knees and stay in stride with defenders in pass protection. If Haag can come back at full strength and put together a full season’s worth of tape similar to what we saw last season, he will likely be much higher on this list.
8) Kaden Stanton Kaden Stanton 6'5" | OL Beggs | 2023 State OK – Beggs – Class of 2023
Stanton is a player we heard a lot about from coaches as a guy who had the potential to be the next big recruit to come out of Beggs. That’s a lot of hype to have on a player before ever seeing him play, so when I finally got around to watching him I had to go through his tape multiple times to keep myself from giving an unfair evaluation. What I finally concluded was that the potential I kept hearing about was there, but that he still has a lot of technical work to do. With that being said, I loved Kaden’s violent hand usage, his motor, and his pure brute strength. Stanton will be a prospect we will be keeping a close eye on in 2021.
9) Kenny Wermy Kenny Wermy 6'5" | 295 lbs | OL Cache | 2023 State OK – Cache – Class of 2023
One of the most pleasant surprises of the 2020 season among the offensive line was Kenny Wermy Kenny Wermy 6'5" | 295 lbs | OL Cache | 2023 State OK . I had heard very little about him before turning on the tape but I am very happy that he didn’t fly under our radar. Kenny is still fairly raw in terms of technique and consistency at times, but the power and athleticism he possesses are more than enough to get excited about his potential at the next level. He has played both inside and out for Cache and has shown the ability to pull at a high level with ease from both positions. He’s another guy who we hope will take that next step as a prospect in 2021.
10) Camden Billy Camden Billy 6'4" | OL Thomas | 2022 State OK – Thomas-Fay-Custer – Class of 2022
When I made the trip down to Cashion last season to see them host Thomas, I was mainly focused on finding where OSU signee Aden Kelley Aden Kelley 6'2" | DL Thomas | 2021 State OK was at all times. However, after watching their OL for the majority of the game I kept asking myself who number 53 was because he looked just as dominant, if not more on some plays, as Kelley did. I thought maybe I was getting ahead of myself so I played it cool with my report on him after the game. However, I guess I saw something right that day because Billy dominated Class A the rest of the season and now holds offers from Missouri State and Navy among others. With Kelley off to Stillwater, Camden will be the guy on their OL, not just one of them.