Sooner Profile: Phil Loadholt

NORMAN, Okla. -- When Phil Loadholt walks into a room, people take notice. Even on a team comprised of massive men, the 6-8, 350-pounder stands head and shoulders above the rest.

When he arrived on campus last spring, Loadholt instantly made history on a program defined by its tradition. The Fountain, Colo., native is the tied as the tallest football player on record at Oklahoma and stands to be the tallest starter to ever don the Crimson and Cream.

Too often solely defined by his size, however, there is much more to Phil Loadholt than what meets the eye. He is a very down-to-earth individual who simply goes about his business away from the field, blending into the crowd as much as he can.

We talked to Phil last week to talk about his transition from junior college to the Division I level, as well as what's it's like to be student at one of the greatest universities in the nation.

On the transition from junior college to the Division I level:
"All I have to base it off of right now is practice. Basically every day in practice you have to go hard. The speed of the game is so much faster. Junior college was a lot like high school in terms of speed, but everbody here is much faster."

On the chemistry he has established with his offensive linemates at OU:
"I've built a great relationship with those guys. I'm on the left side with Duke Robinson so we have to do a lot of communicating with each other. I have to communicate all the way over to Branndon Braxton over on the right side and he has to communicate back to me. We've built a pretty strong relationship ever since I first got here in January, through winter conditioning, in camp and now as we're getting ready to start the season."

On his progress during preseason workouts:
"I feel like I have progressed a lot. I still have a lot of work to do and a lot of room to get better. I'm just trying to take some coaching from Coach Patton and Coach Wilson and the offensive guys and learn as much as I can."

On being defined solely by his size:
"I've pretty much always been the biggest guy on whatever team I've played on so I'm kind of used to it now. I guess I'm kind of defined by my size, but I don't have a problem with that at all."

On the type of person he is off the field:
"I wouldn't say I'm a 'gentle giant', but I'm a pretty laid back guy. I like to listen to a lot of music, watch TV and things like that. I think I'm a pretty regular guy. You won't see too much activity from me off the field because I'm pretty much just trying to rest up and get ready for the next day, so I'd just describe myself as being laid back."

On having the opportunity to go to school at Oklahoma:
"It's definitely exciting to get the atmosphere of being at a major university. My junior college was smaller than my high school, so being at a major university with students everywhere and big classes -- it's kind of just like you see on TV with big classrooms and things like that. It's pretty amazing but I like it."

On how much the players on the team are embraced by other students on campus:
"Some of them are just as excited as we are. It's amazing because I've never been a part of a program where everybody's so excited and they all pull together for one team. A lot of the other places I've been there are only a few people who are familiar with the team, but the students here are always coming up to talk to you, asking questions and wanting to shake your hand or whatever. They're excited and it's going to translate into a great atmosphere on Saturdays."

On his expectations for the upcoming season, both individually and for the team:
"I have very high expectations for myself. I want to be a dominating offensive lineman and just try to take it one game at a time. As a team, we want a championship ring. I've been playing for awhile and don't have any rings yet, so I came to OU to get some rings."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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