Dominant Guard O’Cyrus Torrence Earns First-Round Grade

Gators’ O’Cyrus Torrence is as dominant as they come.

I can’t say I’ve seen a right guard (RG) be able to move the way he moves for the size he is.

He has mammoth size at 6-foot-5, 347 pounds, and combines it with tremendous athleticism that allows him to move around with ease.

There are a lot of big guys who play guard, but Torrence not only has lightning fast reflexes, but he is quick on his feet as well.

Torrence is special, like the type of special that becomes the best RG in the NFL for the next decade.

Torrence has a mean streak

Some offensive linemen play with extreme physicality, while others are finesse athletic blockers.

Rarely, if ever, have I seen a combination of both like Torrence.

While he controls a lot of his blocks with excellent technique and top-shelf athleticism, every now and again he will either pancake a defender or go out of his way to aggressively shove one out of the way.

Good luck to most of the defensive tackles in the NFL.

Torrence road construction

Torrence was about as close to perfect run blocking as I’ve ever seen.

I almost ran out of space in the positive play column in my notes and the negative column was about empty.

Torrence uses his size, strength and technique to clear the way for running backs.

This guy is a road paver.

He can move too

A lot of guards are limited space blockers, meaning they do well enough in their immediate space of blocking responsibility, but they don’t look too hot when they are asked to pull or get downfield.

That’s not Torrence.

Again and again, Torrence demonstrated on game film he can pull, get to the second-level (where the linebackers reside) or get even further downfield to block a defensive back with ease.

He moves gracefully and nimbly unlike any 347-pounder I’ve ever seen in 40 years.

Torrence moves like a tight-end.

Torrence plays smart

Perhaps the most impressive part of his game is how darn smart he looks on game film.

In pass protection, he picks up stunts and blitzes like second nature, and several times I saw him making his own block while keeping an eye on the offensive tackle to see if he needed help.

Several times he went out to the tackle and gave the defensive end a nice hard shove.

Dominated two games but then looked human

In this three game block of game film study, Torrence looked absolutely dominant against Tennessee and Kentucky in 2022, but then he looked a little human at times going up against Georgia’s superstar defensive tackle, Jalen Carter.

Carter actually overpowered Torrence to open the gate into the pocket a couple of times, and got pressure, which is not easy to do.

Torrence fought back and won the rest of the time against Carter and I’m not going to hold that against him, because Carter is going to be the most dominant defensive tackle in the NFL soon enough.

#54 O’Cyrus Torrence 6-foot-5, 347 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Grade: First-Round – Fall 2022 Report

First Round Mock Big Board: TBD

Projected by 18.7% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of November 6, 2022 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2022 game film reviewed: Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia (click to watch games viewed to form this evaluation)

Level of competition: High

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report:

Massive and thick wide body guard with elite athleticism and good technique. Sets up with a nice wide and study base in pass protection. Sturdy anchor with big bubble. Controls at the point with vice-grip hands at the point. Fast reflexes. Excellent versus stunts and blitzes. Fast enough footwork to recover if he opens the gate. Can only be beaten by extreme brute power and elite speed moves inside. Darn near impossible to go through or get around him. Provides help. Phenomenal at sealing off run lanes. Can power out too and get a couple yards of movement. Moves with ease and gets to the second level. Occasionally, does not sustain quite long enough. Impressive prospect.

What to watch for during the 2022 college football season

1. Does he stay healthy?
2. How does he look against power?
3. How does he look against quick moves?
4. Does he continue to sustain long enough consistently while run blocking?

Send the card in – – Torrence is a first-round pick.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.