His final season and the supersized expectations that accompany it have arrived, leaving Texas senior Alex Okafor just a little disoriented.
“It’s crazy,” Okafor said. “I feel like I just got here last year. Now I’m at the top of the food chain.”
The confusion may be natural for Okafor, who is a trendy choice as mock drafts list the top defensive ends for 2013.
While Okafor has been in Austin going on four years now, he didn’t really arrive until the 2011 season. As a blue-chip recruit during his freshman season, Texas was loaded at the position.
In 2010, Texas had a need at defensive end and an even bigger hole at defensive tackle, with teams gashing Texas on the run. With no other real choice, defensive coordinator Will Muschamp moved Okafor (6-4, 260) inside to defensive tackle, where he was in pitched battles with linemen 50 pounds larger in a confined space that negated his quickness.
Finally last season, Okafor got his chance to deliver on all that potential in a move back to his natural position.
A consensus All-Big 12 selection, he recorded seven sacks, 17 pressures, 14 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
Now comes his chance for a big finish. He talked about emphasizing “time and urgency” as spring practice wore down.
The reaction is exactly what defensive coordinator Manny Diaz hoped to see.
“It’s just a flash and all of a sudden you say, ‘This is my last go around.’ And you decide what type of player you really want to be,” Diaz said. “It’s time to leave your mark here as a player, as a leader for the defense. And ultimately as
a leader for the football team.”
Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat form one of the best pass-rushing tag-teams in the country. In the pass-happy Big 12, that kind of talent off the edge is invaluable.
While Texas has seven players returning who started at least five games on defense, Okafor and free safety Kenny Vaccaro might be the only seniors among the first 11. The two have talked about being part of a select few.
“Literally our ‘09 recruiting class has been cut in half,” Okafor said. “But honestly, we’re the ones that made it, and we’re the ones who have to lead the team. We can’t make any excuses.”