Small-town Good is big-time prize on offensive line

By Jake Trotter

Published: January 23, 2008

PARIS, Texas — Since his sophomore year, Stephen Good and his Paris High School football coaches have had an implicit agreement.

Go only 50 percent in practice.

Why?

"He was so dominant he was injuring our own guys,” Paris coach Travis Smith said. "We had to do something.”

In two weeks, Good, a five-star prospect, will become the highest-rated offensive lineman recruit to ever sign with Oklahoma during the Bob Stoops era.

"OU has great facilities, but overall the town and the coaches drove me there,” said Good, who committed to the Sooners last February. "Norman is a little bit bigger than Paris. I felt like I didn't fit in a big town like Austin.”

At an athletic 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, the small-town Good is the embodiment of the new breed of left tackle, whose primary mission is to protect the quarterback's blindside.

Good is incredibly strong, able to bench press up to 475 pounds and squat 700 pounds, which explains why he had to take it easy against his teammates in practice.

Good is also quick for a lineman, able to run the 40-yard dash in under 5 seconds.

That blend of quickness along with Good's strength will pose a difficult challenge for opposing defensive ends who rely on their speed to get to the quarterback.

"I know they have some good linemen at OU right now,” Smith said. "But I'd be very surprised if Stephen doesn't take someone's job, or at least win a starting job by the third or fourth ballgame.”

That would be impressive considering the Sooners return all five starters on the offensive line as well as the top two backups next season.

But even if he doesn't start right away, Good is talented enough to push for playing time off the bench this season, then compete for the vacant starting left tackle spot the next year when Phil Loadholt graduates.

In junior high, though, Good was hardly dominant.

In fact, he didn't even start for his eighth-grade football team, in part because he was a year younger than the most of his teammates.

But as Good entered high school, age mattered less and those around him began taking notice of his potential.

When Good was a freshman, a senior lineman on the team — Bryan Glass, who now plays at North Texas — made it his mission to get the most out of Good.

"Bryan was real tough on me, made me do every rep all through football practice,” said Good, who is only 17 and still developing physically. "It seemed like he was picking on me then, but that set a foundation.”

Smith, meanwhile, was so impressed with Good's early development he phoned Sooner assistant coach Kevin Wilson that year to let him know he'd better start recruiting this blossoming star, else Texas would snag him.

But it wasn't until Good's sophomore year that he finally became a standout.

That season, Good was so physically imposing that Smith had to develop a hand signal to let Good know when to dial down his intensity during practice.

"I'd never seen anything like it,” said Paris linebacker Tanner Martin, also one of Good's best friends. "I knew he was going to become something special.”

On the game field, though, Good has never relented, repeatedly driving opposing defenders into the ground with ease.

Only this past season was he slowed.

Good had shoulder surgery last spring to repair a tear in his shoulder. But instead of sitting out his entire senior season, Good was able to return in time for Paris' last two games.

"He came in and had like 20 pancake blocks in those two games,” Smith said. "The shoulder wasn't even an issue. He's just a great, great football player.”

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