Open Post | Weekend, February 11th – 13th
Posted on: February 11, 2022
Nick Evers | A Family’s Journey – Part One | Making the Move
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 9, 2022
The past two and half months have been one of the most tumultuous periods in the long and storied history of the Oklahoma Sooners football program. Much of the focus has been on the unprecedented move made by former head coach Lincoln Riley as he left the Sooners head coaching position for the west coast and the head job at USC.
Oklahoma hired Brent Venables as their new head coach and while many of the headlines and stories have focused on the coaching situation, there have been some incredible stories of surprise, success, and resiliency across the board for the program.
One of the stories that I feel has not garnered enough attention is that of ’22 Oklahoma signee Nick Evers. Evers is an exceptional talent at quarterback and was a long-time commit of the Florida Gators prior to signing with Oklahoma.
The Gators also went through a coaching change and the landscape for Evers was altered and after roughly a week of courtship, led by Sooners offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, Evers committed and signed with Oklahoma.
Nick Evers is a young man who is very fortunate as he has a tremendous support system. His family is very close and they are in the position to offer him guidance, feedback, and genuine support.
I was looking to cover Nick’s journey to Norman from a different perspective as this was an unprecedented situation for all of the parties involved.
I was able to connect with Nick’s mom, Monica Evers, to get a sense of how it came to be that their son found himself at OU and what their journey, as a family, was like.
Monica was incredibly gracious with her time and I am going to present you all with a series of posts documenting their journey to Norman.
It was early December and the Sooners were in flux. Oklahoma had just lost their head coach and replaced him with Brent Venables. The status of every player on the roster was up in the air to some degree. That included the quarterback room where Caleb Williams while saying he would stay through at least the bowl game before checking his options, was definitely a guy that everyone expected to at least look around.
Venables hired Jeff Lebby as his offensive coordinator and he knew he had one job to do off the rip, and that was to restock the quarterback room in Norman. That had to be done no matter what was going to happen with Caleb Williams and the minute Lebby took the job as OC, he had one priority target on his mind and that was Florida Commit, Nick Evers out of Flower Mound, Texas.
Lebby was officially hired by Oklahoma on December 7th. On December 8th, he was in Flower Mound knocking on the Evers’ door. The rest is history.
Let’s take a look at how that history was made…
Evers was committed to Florida since March of 2021. The Gators were going through a coaching change as well and that presented a curveball to Evers as there was suddenly a lot of uncertainty in Gainsville.
I asked Monica about that time period and how things shook out between Nick and the Gators.
Monica said, ‘We were pretty bought into Florida, they have a great university and we loved the staff that was there. With that in mind, we always told Nick that when he was going into these situations, because there is so much natural dynamics and flux with the staffing positions in college football, whatever situation that he goes into, he has to be comfortable and have the understanding that who recruited you is not likely going to be the same person or staff that you graduate with.’
She continued, ‘Nick fully understood that and fully bought into that and that’s why when we were afforded the time to go through the process with the schools that had offered him and kind of make some unofficial visits because of COVID and how that hindered the opportunity for kids to get on campus and meet these coaches face to face, we were just grateful for the opportunity to take some unofficials. Being able to go and get a feel for some of the other universities coupled with the Zoom calls, he felt comfortable with his decision to commit to Florida.’
As the season went on and the Gators did not meet the expectations of the standard of their program, things were looking shaky for head coach Dan Mullen and his staff. Eventually, Mullen would be let go and much of the staff he assembled would no longer be in Gainseville.
That was not lost on the Evers. Monica said, ‘With the changing dynamics, which we fully anticipated were going to happen, we were really only concerned with how the relationships at Florida would be going forward. Nick was fully willing, and looking forward to, creating relationships with the incoming staff once the transition was made.’
She added, ‘We didn’t have any other dialogue, when I say ‘we’ I really mean Nick, with any other programs because he wanted to be clear at that time that he was not shopping. That is one of the things that, as parents, we wanted to impress upon him was that if Florida was where he wanted to be, then he should play his part. The easiest way we qualified it for him was by using the analogy of ‘If you’re dating someone, the last thing that person wants to see is you on a date with someone else’. We just advised that he should extend that courtesy at that point.’
The young quarterback decided he was going to give Florida every opportunity to provide him that sense of comfort he had with the former staff
Monica said, ‘At that point, we didn’t know what was out there, we weren’t aware of other options. As time passed, things weren’t panning out with Florida and the chemistry wasn’t there with the incoming coach after he got the chance to meet with him. Nick felt that there just wasn’t chemistry there and he wasn’t completely comfortable going into that situation.’
As Nick was diagnosing the situation, he went to his parents for advice. Monica told me, ‘That is when he said ‘Do I really have to do this?’ and of course we told him, ‘No, you don’t’. We advised him he would be best served to take some time to think about it as you have a fan base that loves you and classmates that like you and you have a lot to think about.’
She added, ‘About 12 hours later he comes back and said he thought about it and assessed it and I don’t feel comfortable. We were like ‘okay’ we know what the natural progression is and what the next steps are.’
After taking the time, and leaning on his support systems advice, Evers had decided to step away from his commitment to Florida and open his recruitment back up. The official decommit came on December 7th. Early signing day was just eight days away. Time was of the essence as Nick was planning on being an early enrollee no matter where he decided to go to school.
Monica said, ‘He made his announcement (his decommitment announcement) which is a formality that I wish wasn’t something that was necessary because of the reactions of some people. I guess it was necessary so other programs could see he was serious, but it’s still not something that I believe these young men should have to go through. However, with signing day and the dead period looming, it was something that we advised Nick that should be done.’
She added, ‘Once he made the announcement, Jeff Lebby was here right away. I mean, Lebby was here within 12 hours!’
December 7th was not only the day that Nick Evers decommitted from Florida, it was also the day that reports started to leak out that Jeff Lebby was hired by Oklahoma (he was officially announced on December 10th but the paperwork was done on the 7th).
Lebby wasted no time in getting out to see his priority. Monica told me, ‘Nick was his first stop, and I think that was kind of meant to be. If you think about it, the coaches at OU were in the same situation as we were. They were heading to completely different geography, most of them, and they were making new relationships with the staff, new relationships with the team, new relationships on the recruiting trail so they found themselves in the same speed dating situation that we were in.’
She continued, ‘To answer your question about what made us feel so comfortable with OU and how did Lebby win us over so fast? It started with how forthright he was. When he came through the door, I kid you not, you can just get a feeling about people, it’s almost like humans have a sixth sense, well it felt like we were welcoming an old friend into our home. There was no awkwardness and it all just felt very natural. There was a natural human energy that made it feel like it was an old friend and we were just like ‘Hey, how have you been?’
As the old saying goes, ‘You can only make a first impression once’ and Lebby used that ‘one opportunity’ to score big with the Evers.
Monica said, ‘That was the first thing that I think we can all actually put our fingers on in regard to finding our place at OU. Nick had a prior relationship with Lebby at one point because he was recruiting him to Ole Miss. There was that connection there. I had no prior connection to him but here we were and we found ourselves together in this kind of speed dating situation.’
She continued by saying, ‘The natural wholesomeness that Lebby exudes as a person came forth immediately. That energy is very comforting to any family that is looking at their child’s future with potential coaches.’
Getting to meet Lebby got Oklahoma’s foot in the door of this rapid recruitment, but Nick and the family still wanted to get to Norman to check out the school and meet with the other people who would be around Evers should he choose to go to Oklahoma.
The Evers quickly made their way to Norman. Monica said, ‘We were in Oklahoma very soon after the in home visit. The fact that everybody there, including the existing staff that was there like Gundy, Joe Jon, and Stoops who was there helping out with the team, all had the same perception about themselves and the way they carried themselves, and that they all could say and deliver the same message in the same fashion and it felt the same…was very telling.’
She added, ‘You cannot manufacture that, There is no amount of corporate training you can give someone to deliver a statement about brand and it comes off that naturally and genuine in how they act. It’s not even about what they were saying but more about how they acted. That experience was the main selling point. Lebby was one point obviously, but the fact that Nick would be going into an environment where everybody was doing the same thing was resounding.’
That trip, which started on December 10th, helped bring clarity to the Evers and soon thereafter, his future plans were set and he would announce his intentions to commit to Oklahoma (December 13th) and sign with the Sooners two days later.
In part two of this mini-series, Monica talks more about the trip and the impact Sooners head coach Brent Venables has already had, and will have on the program going forward.
Gracen Halton | Commitment Quotes
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 10, 2022
Was going through my files this morning and came across some notes and quotes from Sooners ’22 DL signee Gracen Halton from January 26th.
Halton was always great with his communication and I had touched base with him regarding the rumors of a potential Oregon visit on the last weekend before signing day.
As I reported at the time, that visit was not going to happen…in fact when I asked him if the visit was even on the table he wrote back ‘NO WAY’ with a laughing emoji.
I assumed that would be the case as he had told me a few days earlier that he was committed to Oklahoma, and he gave me a couple quotes at that time as to his reasoning about choosing OU…which I forgot to add to his commitment writeup. My bad.
So here they are!
I asked Gracen about his visit and if his family enjoyed the trip. Graen told me ‘My family loved the vibe, they are completely comfortable with me heading to Norman’. He added “It was an emotional trip, as you can imagine.’
When I asked him what contributed to helping him make his decision, he said ‘Man, the vibe I got with Coach V and the coaches was incredible. When I met them, it felt like I’d known them my whole life. That was what really pushed me, just the comfort level’.
So, yeah. More genuine family vibe and comfort level talk.
Just more evidence of the impressive work that Venables and his staff did in a short period of time to close out the ’22 cycle.
Recruiting on the Back of Culture
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 10, 2022
While individual recruiters matter and they will always matter, the OU program is being built on the new culture that the new staff in Norman is fostering.
Parents and family members are seeing that and expressing that following interaction with the staff. You need to look no further than the feedback we have spoken about from every person we have touched base with whether they be a recruit or a parent. They talk about multiple members of the coaching staff and support staff having an impact on them. For instance, Tre Wisner’s mom Angie spoke about the ‘Four Horsemen’ even before the SOUL program was set up.
In regard to recruiting and player retention following a recruitment, the goal is to have the program, and the culture of the program, be the larger focus as opposed to any one specific individual when it comes to recruiting and player retention.
You can look at the way the staff traveled during the recent visitation period. You had different combinations of guys on the trail traveling together. For instance, you had Jay Valai, Bill Bedenbaugh and Todd Bates out at some high school basketball games to see an offensive lineman. You had Gundy, Finley, Venables, and Bates out at some football games together earlier in the cycle. The Sooners are definitely taking that ‘village’ concept seriously and the dividends could have a significant impact for Oklahoma.
Venables has assembled a very good stable of coaches and OU is building out an impressive support staff. If things go as planned, you will see coaches picked off by other programs, and that is by design. You want your coaches coveted by other programs. So by building your recruiting plan based on the program and its culture in its entirety, Venables is setting himself up very well to deal with the staff changes that one would hope, eventually come. Because when other teams are poaching your coaches, that means you are doing things right.
By focusing on the ‘village’ approach, when a coach, support staff member, or anyone else associated with the recruitment of a player leaves, there are several others there remaining in place who are part of the recruit/players support system. It is like adding insulation to your build, and it’s a very smart approach in my opinion.
It is all very cool to see evolve and is quite a different approach than the former regime employed.
Recruiting Destination: DFW
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 5, 2022
The Sooners picked up a big commit in the ’23 class from WR Ashton Cozart last week.
Cozart is yet another Sooner priority target plucked from the Dallas / Fort Worth region of Texas.
The Sooners appear to be aiming for a revival of their dominance in the area on the recruiting trail of late, and I expect to see those efforts continue to pick up in the ’23 cycle.
In ’22 OU pulled in QB Nick Evers out of Flower Mound and TE Jason Llewlleyn out of Aledo. OU also added PWO offensive lineman Gunnar Allen out of Aledo.
For the ’23 Class, OU has already received commits from 2 elite targets in the region as QB Jackson Arnold out of Denton (Guyer) and Cozart out of Flower Mound (Marcus) have given Brent Venables and crew their verbal pledges.
Here is a list of targets and potential targets in the 23 class in the DFW region:
DE – David Hicks – Allen – OU offer
LB – Anthony Hill – Denton Ryan – OU offer
S- Ryan Yaites – Denton Guyer
DB – Peyton Bowen – Denton Guyer – OU offer
CB – Chance Rucker – Denton Ryan
CB – Javien Toviano – Arlington Martin – OU offer
WR – Johntay Cook – DeSoto – OU offer
WR – Kyle Parker – Lovejoy
CB – Jayvon Thomas – South Oak Cliff – OU offer
CB – Malik Muhammad – South Oak Cliff – OU offer
CB – BraxtonMyers – Coppell
OL – Markis Deal – Naaman Forest – OU offer
DB – Jamel Johnson – Arlington Seguin – OU offer
OL – Isaiah Robinson – Arlington Lamar
CB – Deldrick Madison – Duncanville – OU offer
Then you look at the ’24 class and you can see a lot of talent which we have already identified:
DE – Collin Simmons – Duncanville
CB – Jordan Johnson- Rubell – Fort Wort (Now at IMG) – OU offer
DB – Jaydan Hardy – OU offer
DE – Zina Umeozulu – Allen – OU offer
RB – Bryan Jackson – McKinney
ATH – Jamyn Cauley – South Oak Cliff
DE – Nigel Smith Jr – Melissa
Getting Arnold and Cozart in the boat early should help the Sooners build and maintain momentum in the region and I would expect a large contingent of these guys to show up in early March for another junior day.
There is a lot of talent in DFW and the Sooners appear to be poised to make some additional noise in the region.
CHO23N | Running Back Big Board
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 8, 2022
Here we go!
Over the coming days/weeks, we will be rolling out the recruiting Big Boards for the ‘CHO23N’ (2023) class.
We will start with the offensive side of the ball.
The Sooners already have their QB in Jackson Arnold, and while it is possible, I don’t think it is likely that they look to take a second QB in the class.
So let’s get started with the Running Back room!
***2023 Running Backs***
Richard Young – Lehigh Senior (Lehigh Acres, FL) – 5-11 200 – Offered: 2/22/21
Justice Haynes – Blessed Trinity Catholic (Roswell, GA) – 5-10 200 – Offered: 1/20/22
Cedric Baxter Jr. – Edgewater (Orlando, FL) – 6-1 215 – Offered – 1/11/22
Treyaun Webb – Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville, FL) – 6-1 205 – Offered: 7/11/21
Tre Wisner – Connally (Waco, TX) – 5-11 180 – Offered: 2/17/21
Dylan Edwards – Derby (Derby, KS) – 5-9 165 – Offered: 1/29/22
Running Back Bottom Line:
Once upon a time, the Sooners had Treyaun Webb committed, but that fell apart once the former staff fled to the west coast and he opened things back up. OU was Webb’s second commitment, and obviously, it will not be his last. Right now, I don’t really see a path for OU and Webb to reunite and I really don’t think the Sooners are sweating it.
Throughout the cycle, there were always ‘reports and rumors’ of Richard Young visiting. We never confirmed his intentions, but it seemed like every week over the summer, someone had him rumored to be visiting Norman. I don’t see that happening and I doubt OU and Young ever really connect.
While the first two paragraphs of this ‘bottom line’ commentary aren’t fun to read, I think the Sooners will land a very good running back class to follow the stellar class of ’22 which included Gavin Sawchuk and Jovantae Barnes.
Off the cuff, OU is in very good shape with a pair of very good backs in Tre Wisner and the Dylan Edwards. Wisner has been to Norman multiple times and he and his family love everything about OU. They are particularly fond of Sooners running back coach DeMarco Murray. Also, Brent Venables has made a big, big impact on the family during his short time as head coach. Right now, the Sooners are clearly out front and I would not be shocked to see Wisner join the class this spring.
Edwards is a guy who does not have a huge national rep at this point, however, the Sooners have uncovered a good one from Kansas. Edwards, who brings a ton of speed to the table, made his way to the Junior Day at the end of January and the Sooners have positioned themselves well here, and as with Wisner, I believe they are in the driver’s seat.
That brings us to Baxter and Haynes.
Baxter has expressed interest in getting to Norman and I would not be shocked if he shows up in early March.
With Haynes, honestly, this one feels like an offer with eyes on the future. In other words, I think this is about putting the offer on the table and working on a relationship and seeing where it goes. In the day and age of the portal, these are important offers and relationships as you never know when one of these guys comes available and if you are in need of a back, it’s a good thing to have a previous relationship.
The Sooners already have Erik McCarty committed and while we believe he is a defensive player at OU, some may keep him on the list solely because he ‘can’ play running back. While that will not play into the numbers at running back, I guess you never know where his college career will take him, but I, personally, do not think it will be in the running back room.
If I were on the Sooner staff or consulting DeMarco, I would have no problem saying lock up Wisner and Edwards and call it a day…but don’t ever stop recruiting the other guys, like Baxter and Haynes.
CHO23N | Wide Receiver Big Board
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 8, 2022
Continuing to drop the Big Boards for the ’23 class.
Let’s take a look at the Wide Receiver targets.
***2023 Wide Receivers***
Ashton Cozart – Marcus (Flower Mound, TX) – 6-3 190- Committed to OU
Brandon Inniss – American Heritage (Fort Lauderdale, FL) – 6-0 190 – Offered: 3/6/20
Jalen Hale – Longview (Longview, TX) – 6-2 175 – Offered: 1/13/21
Johntay Cook II – DeSoto (DeSoto, TX) – 6-0 170 – Offered: 2/25/21
Jaquaize Pettaway – Langham Creek (Houston, TX) – 5-11 170 – Offered: 2/23/21
DeAndre Moore Jr. – Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos, CA) – 6-0 185 – Offered: 2/3/20
Hykeem Williams – Stranahan (Fort Lauderdale, FL) – 6-3 195 – Offered: 1/20/21
Jaden Greathouse – Westlake (Austin, TX) – 6-2 206 – Offered: 3/2/20
Cayden Lee – Kennesaw Mountain (Acworth, GA) – 5-11 180 – Offered: 1/10/22
Lamar Seymore – Northwestern (Miami, FL) – 6-0 170- Offered: 1/26/22 – Committed to Miami
Edward Schultz – J Serra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, CA) – 6-1 / 195 – Offered: 12/17/21
Aidan Mizell – Boone (Orlando, FL) – 6-2 180 – Offered: 2/3/22
Jalen Brown – Gulliver Prep (Miami, FL) – 6-1 170 – Offered: 2/8/22
Wide Receiver Bottom Line:
My how thing have changed.
Two months ago, or thereabout, the Sooners had an absolutely stellar ’23 wide receiver class committed on paper. OU had Brandon Inniss, DeAndre Moore and Makai Lemon verbally pledged to the class. Then the former head coach dipped to the west coast and Inniss and Lemon quickly decommitted. Lemon turned around in rapid fashion and pledged to USC and Inniss is out there looking around and has high interest in USC as well.
Moore was a guy who publicly stated he was staying strong with OU. However, as time passed, communication became less frequent from OU and Moore was looking to get some assurances in his recruitment so he decided to take some visits. He visited Lousiville and following that trip, he ended up decommiting from OU…again, a situation where I don’t think OU is sweating it as it sounds like they have some questions about Moore as well. So, while OU and Moore may stay in touch, right now, I am not sure how aggressive Oklahoma will be in regard to pursuing him.
OU has one of the best wide receivers in the state of Texas (and the entire class for my money) committed in Ashton Cozart. Cozart was set to commit to OU under Riley (actually was set to announce the day Riley bolted) but he stepped back a bit to survey the scene. He made his way to Norman for the Junior Day in January, spent some time with Lebby and Venables, and decided that was all he needed to see. He is the guy who had the great tweet which said ‘The change in Norman is good’. Obviously good enough to keep him headed to Norman.
As for the rest of the guys on the list, the names I would pay attention to at this point are the recent offers. Lee, Seymore, Shultz, and Mizell are guys OU wasted little time offering once the new staff got in town.
I would also keep an eye on Jalen Hale who has always been fond of OU. He was a guy who it felt like was the ‘odd man out’ when OU had all those guys committed under Riley as Cozart was set to take the 4th spot in the class at the time. Hale left OU out of his most recent ‘top schools’ list, but sources tell us that the Sooners are doing work to get back in his recruitment and I would not be shocked to see Hale be open to engaging heavily with OU. Time will tell.
I do not expect much to come of Inniss and OU despite what some will want to push. Inniss will play the game and say the right things, but I don’t see this as a CeeDee Lamb type deal where he would recommit.
I believe Oklahoma will look to take at least three receivers this class with a fourth being possible down the line, but I don’t believe they are set on four being the number at this point.
Just a few names to potentially keep an eye on for OU as the cycle progresses: Cole Adams 5’10 180 out of Owasso, OK, ATH Robby Washington 5’10 170 out of Miami, FL (Killian), ATH Micah Bell 5’11 160 out of Houston (The Kincaid School), Kyle Parker 5’10 175 out of Lucas, TX (Lovejoy), Rico Flores 6’1 190 out of Folsom, CA (Folsom), Edwin Joseph 6’0 175 out of Hollywood, FL (Chaminade-Madonna Prep), Nathanial Joseph 5’8 170 (Clemson Commit) out of Miami, FL (Edison), Tyler Williams 6’3 180 out of Lakeland, FL, Ayden Williams 6’1 175 out of Ridgeland, MS.
With Cozart in the fold, they are off to a good start and I expect there to be several additions by way of offers to the big board as evaluations go on!
CHO23N | Tight End Big Board
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 10, 2022
Continuing to drop the Big Boards for the ’23 class.
Let’s take a look at the Tight End targets.
***2023 Tight End Targets***
Duce Robinson – Pinnacle (Phoenix, AZ) 6-6 225 – Offered: 3-2-21
Luke Hasz – Bixby (Bixby, OK) – 6-3 220 – Offered: 1-18-21
Walker Lyons – Folsom (Folsom, CA) – 6-4 230 – Offered: 5-5-21
Jaxon Howard – Robbinsdale Cooper (Minneapolis, MN) – 6-4 245 – Offered; 4-3-2020
Tight End Bottom Line:
The Sooners will likely be looking for two Tight Ends once again in the 2023 cycle following the 2022 class in which Joe Jon Finley landed Jason Llewellyn and Kaden Helms.
OU also added former Missouri Tight End Daniel Parker for the ’22 season, but following this upcoming year, they will lose both Parker and holdover Brayden Willis to their eligibility running out.
At one point OU had Luke Hasz committed, but he opened up his recruitment following the former head coach leaving Oklahoma and has since committed to Arkansas. I do not expect OU to be a major player here going forward unless something drastic happens down at Arkansas.
As for the remaining current offers, again, I don’t see much in the way of OU being in ‘very good’ position. They have hosted each of the offers for visits, but there is not a lot of buzz we are hearing about any of them at this time. Shortly after I posted the Big Board, Walker Lyons dropped his Top 6, and it did not include the Sooners. Things could change, and you hope it does, but it is also early in the cycle for the TE position and there will be more targets popping up.
Markus Dixon 6-4 230 out of Philadelphia, PA and Daemian Wimberly 6’5 250 out of Austin, TX are guys who may work themselves into consideration down the line.
