25 Players in 25 Days: #25 Theo Melin Öhrström

Position: Tight End
Classification: Redshirt Junior
Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
Listed Height: 6-6
Listed Weight: 260 lbs.

Key notes from Liucci’s thoughts on Öhrström

• Theo Melin Öhrström has taken a step each year. He went from coming in and not knowing much of anything. They had a better set up in Sweden than say a Jordan Moko had coming from Australia, where he didn't even know what the hash marks were.
   
• Öhrström getting here was the ultimate culture shock and step up in competition. It's not even like coming from 1A football in Texas. Terry Bussey was playing 1A football in Texas, but he was playing in AT&T Stadium, playoff games and in 7-on-7 tournaments. It's a massive step up for Öhrström. That first year was a wash, but at times this past season, he looked really, really good. If you took someone that looked like him and took him out of the 6A football ranks, he may have been a five-star, but that's not what it was.
   
• When you watch Öhrström, he runs in the 4.6s and weighing about 260 pounds. People talk about him all the time in the program.
   
• That catch against Florida was against an extremely talented SEC defense. Then next week vs. Bowling Green, he had a terrific catch on the first drive, and then against New Mexico State, he was a man amongst boys in a 100-yard game. You saw the drop against Auburn that could've maybe iced the game. You saw the missed block vs. Texas, and I'm not talking about the second goal line play where everyone missed their block. Speaking of playcalling, that's one you probably want back and just throw it up to Noah Thomas.
   
• Öhrström has to become a better blocker, though. He has to be nastier at the point of attack.
   
• You bring in guys like Nate Boerkircher, and no one talks about Micah Riley. I was speaking to Cole Cubelic, and every time they brought Riley in for Auburn, he was mauling people. Plus an improved Öhrström. He may not have to be your best blocker, but he has a chance to play football if he becomes a good blocker.
   
• This should be a big jump year for him. I think he'll take a significant jump. He's used to SEC football now, and he has made some real plays against real teams. If he can elevate that blocking, he could be a great weapon for the offense.
   
• I don't think A&M has a mauling blocker at tight end this year. Hunter Goodwin was a blocking tight end in the NFL. Dan Campbell was a blocking tight end in the NFL for 10 years. I don't know how many of those guys exist anymore, especially in the SEC with the caliber of these defensive ends. I don't know if you have a true blocking tight end.
   
• You just have to have willing blocking tight ends, and I think they have that in Boerkircher and Riley. How much does Kiotti Armstrong impact this because he stands out as the biggest freak in the room. I don't know if Amari Niblack will block that much, but he's going to be an extension of the receiving core if he can prove it consistently. You watch him on some of those balls he catches and gets open. You go, “Man, he moves exceptionally well for a guy his size.” He's like a jumbo receiver.
   
• I hope Niblack is better than Tre Watson. I think he's way more gifted. Nothing against Watson, but when it comes to athletic gifts, it's Niblack. I think he's more of a receiver, where Watson is more of a traditional tight end.
   
• Boerkircher is more like a Watson that can put up those numbers in the passing game, but Boerkircher can block. It's not a 6-foot-5, 265-pound Campbell getting his hands on an outside linebacker that he dwarfs and slings him around. You just don’t have that. Most teams don’t have that anymore because they don't grow up doing it through the 7-on-7.
   
• I don't know this, but I'd like to ask how good a blocker Brock Bowers is. He was a man-child when the ball was in his hands at Georgia. Gunnar Helm didn't block. I watched Texas play. He didn't block anybody.
   
• I think Boerkircher and Riley are “plus” blockers, and I think Öhrström should be. He has to get there with what he can do in the pass game. You saw it last year.
   
• Dalton Brooks is going to be an NFL safety. You look at Bryce Anderson or Tyreek Chappell playing the nickel. Those guys, if they get locked up and have to cover Öhrström, that's a problem for them because of the size difference. They can't run with him. It's just a matter of Collin Klein figuring out how to use these different weapons at tight end.
   
• I don't think Öhrström is going to put up massive numbers as a receiver, but I think he's going to come up with some big catches for A&M this season.
   
• Remember, they tried to take a shot to Öhrström early on against Notre Dame with a fade. He's athletic enough to be used in that role. Don't be surprised to see them say, “Hey, we are going to throw some jump balls to this dude.” He and Niblack both can absolutely line up, get a matchup and get a fade up inside the 10 or 15-yard line. They could both be a problem.