Talk all you want about Mississippi's quarterback, Jevan Snead. I won't be.
When the ball is snapped to No. 4 on Saturday, I won't be following him. I'll be watching the best player in the state of Mississippi - Michael Oher.
If Oher, the Rebels' left tackle, isn't doing his job as well as he always does, then it won't matter if Snead is an up-and-coming gunslinger. It won't matter because Snead will be on his back.
The offensive and defensive lines are often underappreciated, but they are crucial to any team's success. We haven't mentioned Oher's name once in this week's coverage leading up to Saturday's game, and that's a travesty. He will impact the game more than anyone else in crimson and blue.
I don't understand how the left tackle can be overlooked anymore. Three of the top 15 players selected in the 2008 NFL Draft were offensive tackles, including No. 1 overall pick Jake Long who went to the Miami Dolphins. In 2007, the Cleveland Browns took Joe Thomas with the No. 3 overall pick and the Arizona Cardinals made Levi Brown pick No. 5. Thomas made the Pro Bowl in his first year.
Oher is very much in that mold and will be a top-10 if not a top-five pick in the 2009 Draft. If he went to the pros instead of coming back to Mississippi this past season, he could have been right along with Long and the others.
His story is truly amazing, one documented in "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis, author of "Moneyball." The book uses the tale of Oher's rough upbringing to show how important left tackles have become to football, as evidenced by the recent NFL Drafts. I tore through the nearly 300-page book in two days.
This is why a left tackle is important: When a right-handed quarterback like Snead drops back to pass, his back faces his left side. Oher, his left tackle, is responsible for keeping defenders from landing a blow on Snead's blind side.
Oher plays the position like no one else in college football. He's not just huge - though he is huge, tipping the scales at 6-feet, 5-inches and 318 pounds - but he's also quick on his feet. One of the anecdotes from the book I always remember is when Oher got mad at a defender one year in high school and decided to take him out of the game. Oher lifted the player off his feet, and blocked him all the way to his team bus. That's how dominant he was.
The craziest thing is that Oher never played organized football until his junior year. He's just a natural talent. Speed and strength make for the best left tackle in college football.
I briefly spoke to Oher at Southeastern Conference Media Days in Hoover, Ala., this July. It was intimidating just to be near him. While the other players spoke into the microphones in front of them, Oher leaned back and still seemed to engulf the mike, making it look like a toothpick.
Basically, the UF defensive line will have some work to do.
"The thing about him is he's big and physical, but he's also a pretty good athlete," UF defensive end Justin Trattou said. "I saw one play where he ran all the way down the field."
So go ahead and follow that skinny wimp Jevan Snead when he has the ball.
I'll keep my eyes on the best player in college football no one's ever heard of.
