Shawn Oakman not nearly as tall as Baylor listed

The legend of Shawn Oakman was more bark than bite this past year at Baylor, all the way down to how tall the freak athlete actually is.

Oakman is in Mobile, Ala. this week with dozens of other top prospects to compete in the Senior Bowl — an NFL scouting paradise in which opinions that sometimes last until draft day are formed.

During Tuesday’s physical, it was discovered that Oakman isn’t as tall as his listing at Baylor, which had him at 6-foot-9. Instead, he’s actually an inch-and-a-half shorter, which hilariously highlights the practice of programs to inflate or deflate numbers as it suits them for publicity purposes.

We’ve all seen offensive linemen playing on Saturdays who we know are far heavier than their listed 290-pound status. What Baylor has been doing is the exact opposite. Intimidation is a big deal in a contact sport like football, and 6-foot-9 is much more indimidating than 6-foot-7-and-a-half.

This doesn’t mean Oakman isn’t still a physical specimen.

Will this have any impact on his draft status? Not hardly. He’s still a giant of a man who might have some serious potential at the next level. But there are serious questions about his motor, however, and he did manage just 4.5 sacks this past season after posting 11 the year before.

There is no doubt he has the physical measurables that will get him ranked by some teams as a first-round talent. However, you can be sure many others will not value him nearly as high because of his inability to consistently produce with a body like his.

It’s another Dontari Poe situation. Poe ended up becoming a stud nose tackle after struggling for a year. But he’s the exception. Most freak athletes who struggle with production in college end up struggling in the NFL.