Shawn Oakman has an uphill climb to get back on NFL radar

Not guilty was the verdict announced on Feb. 28, 2019, when Shawn Oakman’s three-year legal fight concluded.

After a three-day trial on sexual assault charges made in 2016, the jury took less than two hours to deliberate before Oakman could finally exhale.

While the former Baylor football standout’s personal and public nightmare was over after being cleared by the legal system, Oakman can’t shake the perception that comes with being accused of rape.

What started in April 2016 after a night out at a Waco, Texas, bar ended with sexual assault allegation from a woman he had previously dated and he believes that still stands in his way of a career as a professional football player.

Oakman was charged a couple of days before he was expected to be a top-100 selection in the NFL draft, and every team took the MVP of the Senior Bowl off their draft board.

Now with his legal troubles behind him, Oakman is trying to move forward.

That’s why he’s been training in South Florida, working with pass-rushing specialist Eric Moore, owner of Extreme D-line training, hoping an NFL team will need an extra defensive lineman for training camp and bring the 6 foot 8, 280 pounder in for a workout.

“A lot of people don’t go through what I go through and make it out,” Oakman said at the conclusion of a workout at David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie.

“Why not me? I’m chosen,” Oakman said, referring to his life journey. “We don’t wish for these things, but it takes a strong man, a strong woman, to come through [them] and be on top. I’m thankful for all those things I’ve been through. They give me more character and create substance in my life. …

“These are stories to tell my grandchildren.”

A month after his legal battle concluded, Oakman had a workout for the New Orleans Saints. However, he says he had pulled his hamstring training, and the Saints saw his fatigue and decided not to sign him.

It has been quiet on the NFL front ever since.

Earlier this year Oakman played in four games for the XFL Los Angeles Wildcats, contributing seven tackles, one sack and three quarterback hits before that league folded.

This spring he signed a two-year contract to play in the CFL for the B.C. Lions, but when the league shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic and pushed back the start of training camp, the Lions didn’t submit the contract.

While a Lions spokesperson said the team still has interest in Oakman, he’s technically a free agent.

“It’s a lot of people that are strong. But not everybody has explosion. You got it,” former NFL offensive lineman Alex Barron told Oakman between one of their pass-rushing reps during a recent workout session.

That’s a compliment coming from a nine-year NFL veteran, one Oakman hopes he’ll have the opportunity to prove is true.

The clock is ticking on Oakman, who turned 28 in April, and the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be limiting the opportunities he has to prove he can still be an impactful football player.

“He should have come out his junior year, because he went back and had a terrible season. Teams brought a lot of attention his way and he couldn’t handle it,” one NFC executive said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Despite registering 19.5 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks as a junior in 2014, and being projected as a first-round in pick 2015, Oakman surprisingly returned to Baylor for his senior year.

His production dipped to 14.5 tackles for a loss and only 4.5 sacks as a senior, opening up some on-field questions to go with the off-field character concerns. He impressed during Senior Bowl practices, earning the game’s MVP honors.

Then during the process of training for the draft, he went back to Baylor for a weekend and got arrested.

Three years of legal battles, attorney fees and odd jobs later, he’s struggling to keep things together.

“He looks the part, but wasn’t that dynamic of a player at Baylor,” another NFC executive said. “And this is four years ago. He needs to prove he can dominate a lower level.”

Any team that brings Oakman in for a workout will have to explain their decision, and justify employing him. And he’s aware changing the narrative that comes with being accused of rape won’t happen overnight.

“He’s a good kid. We’ve had many conversations about this process,” said former NFL receiver Brandon Marshall, who has mentored Oakman since his early days at Baylor after meeting him in a Pennsylvania airport terminal. “He’s starting to get it, but needs to stay committed to redeeming himself, showing people who he really is, not what people are portraying him to be.”

———

©2020 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.