Former Oklahoma offensive tackle Walter Rouse was the first pick available on Saturday afternoon in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. In the sixth round, Rouse was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the first pick (177th overall).
The front office staff of the Minnesota Vikings got together to discuss Rouse after the selection was made. It’s obvious that the former Sooner’s new residence is overjoyed to have him:
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, general manager of the Vikings, said, “We really enjoyed watching Walter Rouse throughout the process. He played at Stanford before transferring to Oklahoma.” Just a really important player in the run game. We believe that this extremely dynamic athlete is good in pass protection. made a significant improvement in his pass-protection skills from ’22 to ’23. We believe that he has endless potential to play right tackle, possibly kick inside, and serve as a valuable versatile player for us. However, we usually state that we prefer to acquire players who have potential and the capacity to grow, develop, and represent our culture and ourselves to the fullest. We believe we carried that out.”
Director of College Scouting Mike Sholiton – “Alright, excited to welcome Walter Rouse, he’s an offensive tackle, Oklahoma University transferred from Stanford, played five-year starter, 35-inch arms, athletic, long, really smart, and just glad to have him as a Minnesota Viking.”
Here, Mike was only looking over Walter’s stats. Do you believe that his game reached a new height this season because of his fit with Oklahoma?”
Sholiton: “I believe he was looking to push himself. After playing through COVID and starting every game throughout his four years at Stanford, he felt like he had unfinished business and wanted to raise his draft stock. He graduated in four years. He passed up some larger NIL offers in favor of attending Oklahoma because he wanted to go sort of to a football factory.
One thing about him that kind of stuck out to me was that, even with 52 career starts, he still decided to participate in the Alamo Bowl game, which impressed me about him. It was an attempt at self-promotion.
He went on to play in the East West Shrine game for another opportunity for exposure and really wanted to show the NFL what he could do.”
It’s clear that he has excellent academic skills as well. How much does it aid in understanding what he has to know from the playbook for both transferring and attending college, let alone playing in the NFL?”
Sholiton: “Yes, without a doubt. If you are a Stanford biomechanical engineering student who graduates in four years, you have the life management skills necessary to succeed in the demanding demands of the NFL.
You also know how to prioritize your life and do well in a demanding academic setting. He’s not going to have any trouble understanding the playbook. We had the opportunity to meet him and discover his motivations and football journey. He was once a basketball player before football sort of found him.
He also had chances to pursue a career in medicine and was an eagle scout as a child. This person has 35-inch arms, exceptional aptitude, and a well-rounded personality. During our conversation, he mentioned that he prefers waffles to pancakes, which I was unaware of.
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