SCOOPHD: Finding His Role

HOUSTON - There has been ample conversation about where Missouri City (Texas) Elkins outside linebacker Kenneth Murray might fit into Oklahoma's plans at linebacker. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound linebacker committed to Oklahoma almost a month ago, just before starting his season and SCOOPHD recently got by to see the future linebacker and get a feel for just where his talents might take him.

That's when things got interesting as Murray lined up at safety throughout the matchup in a game against rival Fort Bend Travis. A game where they came up just short, missing a last-gasp field goal to fall 17-14.

Upon seeing Murray he bears a striking physical resemblance to a taller Corey Nelson, of Sooner linebacker units gone by. Murray has tremendous length and is still incredibly lean at this point - he has the frame of a player that can carry 230 to 240-pounds without too much risk of losing his explosive ability.

Now normally that ability would be shown coming off the corner in blitz situations but instead it was presented while Murray was coming up from the safety position to make plays on runs and shorter passing routes.

Murray's night was something of a tale of two halves. Through much of the first half he looked like a tentative player but late in that first half he began figuring out how Travis was attacking him. As he started to figure out Travis, who made every attempt to avoid him, he started playing downhill and making plays from sideline to sideline.

The nation's No. 34 outside linebacker clearly has the athleticism to play as an outside linebacker - showing plenty of ability in coverage. The question he wasn't able to answer, though no fault of his own, was his ability to fight off blocks and work as a run stopper from the perimeter.

NOTES:

*A trio of Travis defenders caught the eye and with Elkins managing just 95-yards rushing on the night it should come as no surprise as all three were in the Travis front seven. First were senior defensive lineman, defensive tackle Julevarrus Millstead and defensive end Josh Davies-Balogun, the two were disruptive with Millstead making running up the middle a real task for Elkins. Meanwhile Davies-Balogun is a big 3-4 type of defensive end who showed the ability to hold up and shed blocks easily.

In the class of 2018 was linebacker Jake Lynch, who at this point is all arms and legs but with a nice frame he could grow into a player not too dissimilar from current Memphis standout Jackson Dillon.