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We spoke with Rush Roberts of Good Bull Hunting to get the breakdown on what Cincinnati Bengals fans need to know about Cedric Ogbuehi's time at Texas A&M. Obguehi was part of a strong class of offensive tackles at Texas A&M, which included Jake Matthews, Luke Joeckel and Jarvis Harrison who was drafted by the Jets in the fifth round. Here's what Roberts had to say about Ogbuehi:
Cincy Jungle: What do you think of the Bengals selection of Cedric Ogbuehi in the first round?
Rush Roberts: I know there were some fans who were disappointed, but I think you are getting a very steady, dependable guy who will be a very solid player for a long time. He's still got room to develop and get stronger.
CJ: What were some of your favorite things about watching Ogbuehi during his time at Texas A&M?
RR: Ced was part of the same recruiting class as Jake Matthews and Luke Joeckel. That's pretty amazing when you think about it, and we're very lucky Mike Sherman put that offensive line unit together. Watching all three of them develop as players together was a lot of fun. We also had this thing called "Ask the Aggies" that they'd play on the Jumbotron during games, and Ced was always on with his roommate safety Clay Honeycutt and they were pretty funny together.
CJ: How about any least favorites?
RR: I know the expectations were impossibly high, but Ced didn't seem to excel at the left tackle position the same way that Joeckel and Matthews did before him. I don't quite think he's done developing strength-wise, which can be a good thing in the long run.
CJ: Were there any other injuries during his college years?
RR: He tore his ACL in the Liberty Bowl against West Virginia. He also had a minor injury (I think groin) in 2013 and sat out against Vanderbilt and UTEP.
CJ: Do you think he'll be better as a right tackle or a left tackle in the NFL?
RR: I think he played better at right tackle at A&M because we had a dominant left tackle. The 2013 offense was a beast. I think he can grow into the left tackle spot after a couple of years while still being able to play guard if needed in the meantime.
CJ: It looks like Ogbuehi had been shuffled along the Aggies' line, and I'm hearing it speaks to both his versatility and some struggles. Which is it? Is it both?
RR: I would say it's a little bit of both. He wasn't the dominant left tackle that Joeckel and Matthews were, but at the same time those guys never played at guard like Ced did his first two seasons.
CJ: How high was Ced being projected as a junior before opting to return to school?
RR: I really don't remember but I think it was second or third round. [After the CFA Bowl, some even predicted first round.] There was an interesting article by Bruce Feldman about how the university revised a policy which kind of helped him decide to stick around for his senior season.
CJ: Off-the-field, was Ogbuehi known for anything during his college days?
RR: Ced was pretty laid-back and quiet at A&M. He is from the Texas high school football powerhouse Allen. EZ Nwachukwu of the Texans and Steven Terrell of the Seahawks were high school and A&M teammates of Ced's. Hopefully he at least had a small role in landing 5-star legend QB Kyler Murray to keep that pipeline open, even though Murray's dad was an Aggie QB also.