The Oklahoma Sooners have a long, storied tradition of churning out quality offensive line prospects, and Dru Samia is the latest in that impressive lineage.
A hard-nosed blocker who helped anchor the Sooners dominant unit over the past few years, Samia is a tough prospect who has the mind set to become an immediate starter at the next level.
Samia recently spoke exclusively with MCM about his experience at the Senior Bowl, what it takes to survive in Lincoln Riley’s offense and why he believes Kyler Murray is the best quarterback in this draft.
JM: What was your experience like at the Senior Bowl?
DS: It was a very unique experience. I got to go out there and compete next to Ben Powers for one last time. I was really excited about that. It was awesome to finally meet these NFL teams. It was nice to have some meetings with them and speak to them 1-on-1. It was a really fun experience.
JM: What’s your favorite part about playing the guard position?
DS: I think my favorite part would be how physical I’m able to be in the run game. I love the intense feeling I get out of a run block. Getting out wide is a lot of fun. As for being inside, being in the trenches and being involved in everything, it’s all about getting down and dirty. Let’s get to the nitty gritty. That’s what I love about playing guard.
#seniorbowl “All-Nasty/Dog” Team (practice intensity):@OU_Football G Dru Samia*@BCFootball G Chris Lindstrom @KStateFB C/G/T Dalton Risner@PackFootball C Garrett Bradbury@TCUFootball DE L.J. Collier @FootballUGA DE Jon Ledbetter
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 8, 2019
* denotes captain pic.twitter.com/cp283mTwLd
JM: How do you handle the bull rush differently from a speed rush?
DS: With the bull rush, when you see somebody coming at you, you have to strike and meet their intensity with your own element of intensity. You have to sit down and anchor as well as you can. With speed, it requires more lateral mobility I would say. You have to be on your toes because someone can beat you outside and then come back inside. You have to be a little more reactive to speed in comparison to handling a bull rush.
JM: Which offensive linemen did you enjoy watching growing up?
DS: Recently I’d have to go with Zach Martin. I feel like a lot of guards would say that Zach Martin is a fun one to watch. He’s technically sound and he plays with a lot of aggression. He does everything right from the guard position.
Really like Dru Samia. Just finished his eval and he’s my top rated OG. Really easy mover and for the most part very technically sound.
— J.T. Olson (@IcewaterOlson) January 31, 2019
JM: Is Kyler Murray the best quarterback in the 2019 NFL draft?
DS: I think so, definitely. There’s no other quarterback with the combination of speed, accuracy and arm strength. He really does it all. He has every tool an NFL team could ask for. I’d take him on my team any day of the week.
JM: You’ve had a lot of great teammates throughout your time at Oklahoma. If you were headed off to war tomorrow and could only bring one with you, who would you bring and why?
DS: That’s a hard question for me to answer (laughs). Can I give you a cop out answer and say the entire offensive line?
JM: I may allow it.
DS: I’m taking the entire offensive line with me! (laughs). Those are my brothers. That’s a very special group of guys. In a perfect world, we’d all get drafted by the same franchise and stick together. That would be amazing. I’d take any one of those guys with me.
JM: Lincoln Riley has quite the reputation as a head coach. He seems like a phenomenal offensive mind.
DS: Yeah, he’s an amazing coach and an even better person. He’s great with his players. He’s the epitome of a players coach. I learned a lot from playing in his offense. Being able to balance intensity with fluidity plays a huge role in that offense being successful. You have to be athletic if you’re gonna survive in his offense. You better be well conditioned as well. It’s not just about being strong. It forced all of us players to be well rounded. You can’t get away with being one dimensional if you’re gonna survive in a Lincoln Riley offense.
JM: As you get ready to move onto the next chapter of your life, you’ll look back at this. Ten years from now, what will it have meant to represent Oklahoma football?
DS: I know it’s always gonna mean the world to me. It hasn’t quite hit me yet that it’s over. I can’t really believe I’m never going to play for Oklahoma again. The four years that I spent there really were the best years of my life. I’m gonna look back at it with nothing but heartfelt memories.
JM: When an NFL team uses one of their draft picks on Dru Samia, what kind of guy are they getting?
DS: They’ll know that they’re getting the hardest working person in this draft. I’m gonna bring the intensity every single day. You can see that on film. I’m a very intense player. I’m gonna bring that same level of intensity with me to the NFL.
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