Phil Loadholt

Philip Loadholt, Jr. (born January 21, 1986 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He played his college football at the University of Oklahoma.

High school career
Loadholt attended Fountain Middle School and Fountain-Fort Carson High School in Fountain, Colorado, where he was a two-way lineman, team captain and a two-time All-State selection. He had 113 tackles along with eight TD as a senior and was named Colorado Springs Area Player of the Year. Also a standout in basketball, Loadholt led Fountain-Fort Carson's Basketball team to the state title game when he averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks per game. He obtained a 1.23 GPA through his High School career.

He originally committed to Colorado, but did not qualify academically, and therefore headed to junior college. He currently resides in Eden Prairie, MN.

Garden City
At Garden City Community College, Loadholt was a two-time junior college All-American. In his sophomore year, he had 93 pancake blocks and 113 tackles in 2006 and was named 2006 Jayhawk Conference Lineman of the Year. Loadholt was also rated the No. 1 junior college offensive tackle prospect in the nation by JCGridiron.com for the class of 2007.

He signed with LSU in February 2006, but decommitted in August and finally chose to attend Oklahoma.

Oklahoma
Enrolling at OU in January 2007, Loadholt made an immediate impact for the Sooners, as he started all 14 games at left tackle and logged 740 plays with 104 knockdowns. He had the highest run grade on the team at 75%. He received All-Big 12 first team honors by the Dallas Morning News and an All-American honorable mention by Sports Illustrated

In his senior year, Loadholt played left tackle in an offensive line that allowed 11 sacks all season, the third-lowest total of any team in the country, in 476 passing attempts. Protecting quarterback Sam Bradford, who threw 48 touchdown passes and went on to win the 2008 Heisman Trophy, and leading the way for DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown, who would both run for more than 1,000 yards, Loadholt helped the 2008 Sooners to become the highest-scoring team in college football’s modern era.

2009 NFL Draft
Loadholt was regarded as one of the better offensive tackles in the 2009 NFL Draft. Although his size and athletic ability were never in doubt, scouts questioned his poor aggressiveness and technique. He was selected in the second round, 54th overall, by the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota Vikings
He was signed by the Vikings on July 29, 2009, and currently starts at right tackle for the team. In his first three years, Loadholt has started all 63 games in which he's been active.