New Mexico athlete star on the rise
It seems that for the last few years the Land of Enchantment will have a sleeper who ends up being a highly sought after prospect and looks like this year will continue the trend. There is a player that once the word gets out, he could end up making New Mexico a destination hotspot this coming spring.
The player in question is athlete prospect C.J. Oakley (6-4, 212, 4.62) from Las Cruces (N.M.) Onate.
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Just for the record, Oakley's 4.62 forty time was done electronically and that is moving for a big man. He's not bad in the weight room either. Oakley currently benches 320, squats 395, dead lifts 405 and power cleans 220.
For his entire career Oakley played wide receiver until Onate's starting running back was hurt during his junior season and he stepped in at that position and rushed for 1,958 yards. Oakley's 2005 performance saw him earn all-state.
As a sophomore, Oakley led the entire state, meaning all levels of high school football, in receptions and yards. He had 69 catches for 1,233 yards and once again he was named all-state for his efforts.
Oakley was able achieve his lofty stats while playing in the run dominated triple option offense.
To give an indication on how talented Oakley is he was an all-district as a freshman as a wide receiver and of course he earned all-district honors for his sophomore and junior seasons.
"C.J. works extremely hard, which is nice with young man with his talents," Onate coach Kelly McKee said. "He's extremely gifted."
"We are a school of 2,000 students and he started as a freshman," McKee said. "C.J. was the first freshman in our school's history to ever do that."
"C.J. does things that you can't coach," McKee said. "To never play running back before, especially in the triple option and to do the things he did last year was amazing."
"C.J. would take a pitch that looked like a three-yard loss and turn it into an 85yard touchdown run," McKee said. "As a receiver, he runs the fad route as well as anyone."
Obviously Oakley brings a lot of versatility to the table. He has the ability to play wide receiver, free safety and even running back on the D-I level, but the prevailing wisdom is he will project as a wide receiver.
Oakley sure fits the mold of the modern wide receiver.
If all that wasn't enough, Oakley has tremendous bloodlines.
If the name Oakley sounds familiar to New York Knick fans that's because his uncle is former Knick power forward Charles Oakley. This talented ball player has good bloodlines from his mother, too. Oakley's mom was a state winner in track.
That's not all, Oakley is a solid student who carries a 3.4 GPA.