NORMAN Jonah Laulu, an Oklahoma Sooner on the defensive line, may have impressed NFL scouts the most on Tuesday.
One of the final opportunities for former Oklahoma players to make an impression on scouts before to the 2018 NFL Draft, the annual Pro Day held at OU’s Everest Training Center in Norman attracted the attention of the entire NFL community.
Laulu demonstrated that he is one of the most athletic defensive line prospects in this year’s draft class, despite not receiving an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Among the defensive tackles that took part at the combine, Laulu would have placed sixth with her time of 4.96 seconds in the 40-yard sprint. His 36-inch vertical leap would have been more than two inches better than the highest record among defensive tackles at the combine.
Laulu would have led all defensive linemen at the combine with her 9-foot-10-inch broad leap. In the 3-cone drill, his time of 7.57 seconds would have placed him second, while Laulu’s time of 4.59 seconds for the 20-yard shuttle would have placed her third. In addition, he finished 24 bench press reps, which would have ranked 10th among defensive tackles.
Laulu commented, “I’m happy,” when he finished his task at Pro Day. “I’m happy with my performance for today. Being able to perform this in front of so many people is truly a blessing.
Laulu was under a lot of pressure to perform in front of the scouts there as she had not received a combine invitation.
Laulu put on a show instead of showing any symptoms of nervousness.
“I started getting really excited because, man, I’ve been training for this for like the past three months,” he added as we approached the indoor facility. All I’ve been doing is anticipating this.
Before switching to defensive tackle, Laulu was a defensive end for Hawaii that transferred to OU. He expressed his satisfaction with being able to dispel any questions about his ability to stay athletic after gaining weight to play on the inside of the defensive line.
He declared, “I think I proved that I’m an athlete.” I believe I demonstrated that in some small way today. Although I’m not as pleased with the forty times, it’s still okay.
Laulu finished 2022 with 1.5 quarterback sacks, 20 total tackles, and one interception.
Laulu rotated with Jacob Lacey, Da’Jon Terry, Jordan Kelley, and Isaiah Coe in the core of OU’s defensive line last season, finishing with 11 tackles, one sack, and three tackles for loss.
