Offense or Defense, Oklahoma Target Micah Tease Just Wants to Get on the Field

BROKEN ARROW, OK — Micah Tease would prefer to play offense in college.

But the dynamic, versatile 2023 athlete says he’s not going to let that determine where he goes to school.

“Nah, for me, wherever I can go and play,” Tease told SI Sooners recently. “That's kind of like my ordeal. I'm not necessarily focused on like, ‘I have to go here and play defense.’ You know, I'm just trying to get on the field and work. That's how I look at it.”

Tease’s older brother played two seasons as a wide receiver at Oklahoma after transferring from Division II Central Oklahoma. In two seasons at UCO, Myles Tease caught 40 passes for 622 yards and four touchdowns. In two seasons at OU (2017-18), he had 12 receptions for 155 yards and scored two TDs.

Micah Tease wore USC gloves at a recent 7 v 7 event.

The younger Tease, a Booker T. Washington product, is still picking up big-time offers — he added offers from Oregon State, Penn State, Michigan, Colorado, LSU and Mississippi State in March, raising his total offer list to 28 — he’s high on Oklahoma’s to-do list.

He has been ever since Brent Venables arrived.

Micah Tease would prefer to play offense in college.

Venables’ first recruiting trip the day after his aircraft landed in Norman was up the Turner Turnpike to Tulsa to visit Hornets senior Gentry Williams — and touch base with Williams’ teammate, who’s a BTW junior.

“He stopped by Gentry’s house, but he told Gentry, he was like, ‘Tell him I'm going to be calling him,’ ” Tease said, “and a few weeks later, he texts me and he was like, ‘Hey big guy, give me a shout.’ And it was him and coach (Brandon) Hall, and they re-offered me.”

Micah Tease said offense is "easy" but said defense is "very easy."

Make no mistake, Venables, Hall and cornerbacks coach Jay Valai are recruiting the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Tease as a defensive back.

But new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby has entered the chat.

“The defensive staff has recruited me,” Tease said, “but I talk to coach Lebby some too. So it's kind of like both a little bit. It’s just ‘athlete.’ ”

Communication with the OU staff, Tease said, hasn’t let up.

Micah Tease said he won't let the offense-defense debate hinder his decision.

“It's been it's been non-stop,” he said. “It's always a connection. You know, coach Hall, coach Valai, you know, coach Venables, coach (Todd) Bates, we always talk, we all send texts. You know, it's not always about football. Sometimes it’s about faith, you know, sometimes it’s about, ‘How's your day going?’ So it's always just trying to build a genuine and not a transactional relationship.”

Most schools, including Oklahoma, are recruiting him to play defense.

Tease said one of his recruiting priorities is being able to transfer at mid-term, and so far, most everyone has mid-term scholarships available.

Tease also has offers from Notre Dame, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Michigan and USC.

“I’m looking to take my visits over the summer, you know, my official visits,” he said. “I’m looking to hold one to at least go to a gameday visit, just to get a gameday atmosphere. But I'm looking to take my visits and then probably around September (or) October, looking to commit. But you know, I don't want to rush myself. But like, that's the timeframe of when I want to commit.”

Tease is still getting to know the OU staff, but he thinks the relationships are moving in the right direction.

“You still want to get a feel for guys,” he said, “but I'm definitely saying they're on the right track. They're definitely on the right track, you know, building a genuine relationship. Coach Hall, we talked the other day for about, like 30 minutes. You know, he was cleaning up his garage and we were just chopping it up. So it's definitely it's a good feeling. You know, they're on the right trend. On the right trend.”