Evaluating Oklahoma's Newest Quarterback Target, Nick Evers
The Oklahoma Sooners could make a late splash in the 2022 recruiting class.
The appointment of Jeff Lebby to offensive coordinator paid immediate dividends on the recruiting trail, as 2022 quarterback and former Florida commit Nick Evers opted to make the trip to Norman for an official visit.
Evers, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound signal caller from Flower Mound, TX, entered the year as the No. 8 quarterback in the 2022 class and the No. 65-ranked prospect overall in Sports Illustrated All-American’s preseason SI99.
But as his senior year has pressed on, SIAA recruiting director John Garcia Jr. said Evers’ continued growth has impressed him throughout his senior year of high school.
“(Evers) is one of the senior risers at the quarterback position,” Garcia Jr. told SI Sooners. “… We've seen Evers in person three or four times over the last year and every time we see him, (he’s) a little bit more impressive in each showing.
“He's a competitor, big frame… probably bigger than Spencer Rattler already as a high school senior with good arm talent and some mobility. You're not going to maybe design Caleb Williams-style of runs from a quarterback position with Evers, but you could in a pinch. And that's really what you need at the quarterback position.”
If Lebby and the Sooners could land Evers, the new OU offensive coordinator could be in a better position than ever to start molding a young quarterback.
In three seasons as an offensive coordinator, Lebby has done a nice job developing Dillon Gabriel and Matt Corral, but Garcia Jr. said Evers has the potential to surpass them both.
“Gabriel and Matt Corral, both of them around 3000 yards passing (under Lebby), unbelievable touchdown to interception ratios, and tempo, athleticism thrown all in there, all fits for what Nick Evers can do and will do,” Garcia said. “And what's crazy about it is Evers might have the best frame between those three guys in terms of what he is now and what he can become once he hits a Power Five strength and conditioning program. And the arm talent, probably not quite Corral’s, but right there. I mean he can absolutely zip the football.”
As impressive as his physical attributes are, Garcia said he’s been even more blown away by Evers’ maturity, especially working through a coaching change at Florida which contributed to his eventual decommittment from the Gators.
“When you speak to Nick, you'll become more impressed with him,” Garcia said. “He's handled craziness in the recruiting process with quite grace. He's got a great set of parents helping him out with all of that.”
Other coaching staffs have noticed his progression during his senior year, and Evers has gotten plenty of attention, even before he officially renounced his pledge to Florida.
“Notre Dame reached out, Texas, TCU and now Oklahoma has jumped in with a scholarship offer,” Garcia said. “And obviously it means a lot considering he's going to visit Norman here for this final weekend before Signing Day. Typically quarterbacks don't wait till that second Signing Day.
“So to me, this is very telling. He had a lot of options to make visits over the weekend and he chose the Big 12 trip or Big 12 for now trip to Norman to see the Sooners.”
Landing Evers would not only bring some stability to the roster by adding a talented quarterback, but it would represent the first big recruiting win for Lebby at Oklahoma. But whether he gets the ball rolling with Evers or not, Garcia said Lebby should have plenty of success on the recruiting trail.
“I think Jeff Lebby resonates. He's a young, energetic recruiter,” Garcia said. “He really gives the quarterbacks the power and I think in this day and age, throw in NIL, throw in wins and losses, throw in the NFL Draft, whatever you want to do that matters to high school quarterbacks.
“… I think it's going to create some fireworks late in this ’22 cycle for the Sooners.”
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