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Great article on UT's Roddrick Muckelroy (Hallsville)


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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...on.3d3700f.html

 

UT linebacker Muckelroy is quiet, but his play speaks loudly

Column by CHUCK CARLTON / The Dallas Morning News

 

AUSTIN – Asked to name the meanest, most intimidating player on Texas this season, receiver John Chiles returned to his days as a quarterback.

 

He mentally went through all his options in about two seconds and settled on senior middle linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy. The reasoning?

 

"Because he's quiet, and you don't know what people are thinking when they're quiet," Chiles said. "You can't tell whether he's happy, mad, whatever."

 

Muckelroy usually exudes the emotion of a stone wall. For offenses this season, he has been a stone wall. He leads the nation's fourth-ranked defense in tackles (38). When Jared Norton injured his shoulder in the opener, Muckelroy moved from weakside linebacker to the middle.

 

Muckelroy figures to be a key figure for Saturday's AT&T Red River Rivalry, both as a run stopper and an occasional blitzer (two sacks for minus-29 yards).

 

"He's been an in incredible leader not only verbally but also by example," said sophomore strongside linebacker Emmanuel Acho, a St. Mark's product who has blossomed playing alongside Muckelroy.

 

The example part seems to be Muckelroy's forte.

 

Even off the field, he can display a Vulcan-like control of his emotions.

 

The one time he might have dropped his guard came Monday when asked if the Longhorns had shown all the schemes in their defensive playbook.

 

"Nawwww," Muckelroy said, flashing a smile. "We've got a big playbook."

 

The answer seemed to confirm that even with the unit's success, defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has kept plenty in reserve for Oklahoma.

 

Muckelroy (6-3, 235) has endeared himself to Muschamp with his study habits and dogged pursuit of improvement.

 

"God has blessed him with a lot of ability," Muschamp said, "but he's a great example of a guy that works on football away from the building. He thinks about football an awful lot. He comes in with questions, and he watches film. He comes in on his own, and spends a lot of time watching the opponent."

 

Muckelroy was rated a three-star prospect as a senior at Hallsville (pop: 2,800). Until earlier this decade, Muckelroy's hometown in East Texas had exactly one stop light.

 

As a redshirt freshman in 2006, he earned a starting spot but ruptured a tendon in his finger in the team's third game. Team doctors squashed any ideas of playing with the injury.

 

He didn't regain his starting spot until 2008, when he led the team in tackles and helped hold Oklahoma to 48 yards rushing with a career-high 16 stops. Even with Sam Bradford back in the OU lineup, Muckelroy thinks a repeat performance might be necessary.

 

"If you can't stop the run, as a defense, then you really open it up for your opponent to run the ball and pass the ball," Muckelroy said. "Hopefully we can come in this weekend, stop the run and make them one-dimensional."

 

He understands that for better or worse, he'll gain a better understanding of the Longhorns by about 3 p.m. Saturday.

 

"I don't know if it defines your season," Muckelroy said. "It definitely tells you where you stand as a team."

 

CORNERSTONE

 

Breaking down Roddrick Muckelroy's last 20 games at linebacker for Texas:

 

163 Tackles

 

15 Tackles for loss

 

5 Sacks

 

9 Pass breakups

 

2 Forced fumbles

 

1 Fumble recovered

 

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Good article. He sounds like a good kid, one that any team would like to have on their roster.

 

"If you can't stop the run, as a defense, then you really open it up for your opponent to run the ball and pass the ball," Muckelroy said. "Hopefully we can come in this weekend, stop the run and make them one-dimensional."

 

Making the opponent one-dimensional is the primary goal of almost every d-coordinator. Both teams will be striving toward that goal Saturday, no doubt.

 

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds this weekend.

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did he have an older brother or cousin that played for hallsville back in '98 or '99?

He had an older brother, Kendrick, who, in my opinion was a better athlete. Both were about the same size in high school. I believe that he was even quicker than Roddrick. He was freakish on offense AND defense. Since we can only guess at his potential, now I believe that he would be a much talked about pro prospect much like Roddrick is today.

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He had an older brother, Kendrick, who, in my opinion was a better athlete. Both were about the same size in high school. I believe that he was even quicker than Roddrick. He was freakish on offense AND defense. Since we can only guess at his potential, now I believe that he would be a much talked about pro prospect much like Roddrick is today.

thanks hookem, thought i had played against a muckleroy from hallsville.

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