A Big Battle Up Front

HOUSTON - Oklahoma's 2017 class is already off to a rousing start but no position is seemingly more in flux than than along the defensive line. But the Sooners continue seeking out new talent and last Friday two of their key targets squared off on the same field just west of Downtown Houston.

Those players were, the nation's No. 1 defensive prospect, Houston Episcopal defensive tackle Marvin Wilson and Houston Christian's emerging two-way lineman Joshua Rogers.

In what was eventually a 66-30 lopsided win for Wilson's bunch of Knights both players had ample opportunity to show that they are capable of and both more than did so.

The well-known Wilson dominated with his physical brand of play as he simply physically overwhelmed all comers with his quick feet and powerful hands. The thing that always surprised about the 6-foot-3, 320-pound Wilson is just how able a pass rusher he is - a skillset that will improve as he continues to refine his technique and general moves in the pass rush game.

While Wilson has all the fame it's Rogers who has seen his notoriety jump considerably since the summer with schools talking to him about playing at either offensive tackle or somewhere along the defensive line. And though it's not hard to see how the 6-foot-5, 280-pounder could be projected as an offensive tackle, he worked almost exclusively against Episcopal as a defensive lineman.

In that work he gave a good example of why college coaches seem to debate where he'd fit in best - end or tackle. He worked as a tackle at points in the game and though he'd often play too high, once he lowered his base he often showed a nice ability to stack up blockers and even shed blocks between the tackles.

At end he was often lined up against Episcopal's other five-star, offensive tackle Walker Little, who gave Rogers repeated problems in the run game thanks to Little's strong hands and consistency with his feet. On the other hand Rogers found some joy against Little in the passing game, in particular helping to create an all too-quick pass from Episcopal on a play that nearly ended as a fumble.

Rogers has a tremendous frame and the length to go with it; looking like a player who will go over 300-pounds without any real troubles. He is still very raw technically - too often standing up or failing to get upfield with his first step - but these are correctable errors and his talent makes it well worth it for a college coach to teach him how fixable such things are.

So regardless of the notoriety of either player right now with their frames and overall athletic ability there isn't any question of why they both hold such large, and impressive, offer lists.

* Jaylen Waddle, a 2018 Oklahoma receiver offer, did nothing to disappoint with six receptions for 199-yards with five of those six touches going for touchdowns. Waddle has always been a player with loads of speed, but he showed so much ability on Friday night from change of direction to the ability set up a defensive back. Waddle's offer list is already impressive and will only get better.