Posted on Mon, Apr. 28, 2008

Final talk sold Texans on Okam

By JIM CARLEY

Special to the Star-Telegram

HOUSTON -- Frank Okam is a giant of a man who has long been predicted for stardom in football.

He just never quite reached his potential at Texas.

So when the Houston Texans were contemplating drafting him, they decided they needed one more conversation just days before the draft started.

"We had him in here to interview him again a few days ago," defensive coordinator Richard Smith said. "We wanted to see what his passion for the game was."

The Texans liked enough of what they heard that on Sunday, they took a chance on Okam.

They made him their fifth-round pick, 151st overall.

He's still a question mark.

Okam started out at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, where he was a two-time Parade All-American pick and considered the No. 2 defensive tackle college prospect in the country as a senior. When the Longhorns signed him, there was a huge fanfare.

As a college player, he was OK. But he never dominated offenses. He became known as a player who frequently took plays and quarters, if not whole games, off.

Though he made second-team All Big 12 as a sophomore and a senior, he never dominated the way many said he should have.

NFLDraftScout.com probably described him best when it said Okam was "like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates -- you just don't ever know what you are going to get from him on game day."

That's why NFL coaches questioned his pro value and why he dropped to the fifth round of the draft.

And why Smith wanted to talk with him one final time before the draft.

"You can have all the talent in the world," Smith said Sunday, "but if you don't have heart, you're just wasting a pick on him.

"What I just wanted to do was to see how important football was to him. When we brought him in here last week, he said all the right things I wanted to hear."

Okam knows the knock on his playing ability.

"People wanted to know if I really wanted to play the game," he said. "They heard I was going to go to law school and they wanted to know if that was my first interest. They were worried about my passion for the game.

"The Texans just wanted to see where my head was. I told them I am a competitor. I love the game of football. I think the Texans are an organization headed in the right direction and I want to be a part of it."

Smith knows the Texans have some developmental work to do with Okam.

"His play was a little inconsistent in college," Smith said. "But that's our job as coaches to get it out of him.

"He has the size and dimensions we were looking for. We're really a little bit undersized at the tackle spots and to have a guy like him as a backup could help us. We think he's got great potential and we're excited to have him."

HOUSTON TEXANS DRAFT PICKS

Round Three Antwaun Molden

Cornerback

Eastern Kentucky, 6-0, 198 79th overall: Molden started out at Toledo and moved to Eastern Kentucky as a sophomore. He started all last season and had three interceptions. The Texans think he's similar to Fred Bennett, a fourth-round pick last year who started several games and had three interceptions.

Round Three Steve Slaton

Running back

West Virginia, 5-9, 197, 89th overall: The Texans think Slaton, who came out a year early, might have a chance to be a productive backup player. He rushed for a school record 50 touchdowns and 3,923 yards, third on the school's all-time list. He also caught 26 passes for 350 yards last season.

Round Four Xavier Adibi

Linebacker

Virginia Tech, 6-1, 236, 118th overall: Adibi was an All-ACC first-team pick. He led the team with 115 tackles and also topped the Hokies in tackles for loss with 12 for minus-23 yards.

Round Five, Frank Okam

Defensive tackle, Texas, 6-4, 328, 151st overall: Okam was a second-team All-Big 12 pick as a senior when he recorded a career-high 52 tackles with five sacks for minus-50 yards. The Texans love his size because their starting DTs Amobi Okoye and Travis Johnson are 6-2, 302 and 6-3, 305, respectively.

Round Six Dominique Barber

Safety, Minnesota, 6-0, 210, 173rd overall: Much was made by the Texans of Barber's heritage. He's the brother of Cowboys running back Marion III and the son of former Jets running back Marion Jr. Barber was slow to develop in college, but finished strong last season when he led his team in tackles with 100 and made second-team All-Big Ten. He started 12 games at free safety and 12 at strong safety in his career.

Round Seven Alex Brink

Quarterback, Washington State, 6-2, 212, 223rd overall: Brink was Washington State's career passing leader in touchdowns (76) and yards (10,913), impressive stats when considering Ryan Leaf and Drew Bledsoe were Cougars who were first-round picks. Scouts said Brink lacked a strong arm and had only marginal accuracy, but is a competitor.