Cowboy Linebacker Commit Donny Stephens Caps Off Prep Career; Talks Versatility, OSU And Signing Day Plans
One of the many commitments Oklahoma State picked up this summer was Del City, Oklahoma, linebacker Donovan Stephens, or Donny for short.
Just a few days before his announcement, I traveled to Del City from my north Dallas home to visit with Donny where I got a hint he would be committing to the Cowboys. Since then I have been communicating with him to keep up with his season and progression.
This past Saturday though, I made the trip to Tulsa to watch Donny as Del City took on the Bixby Spartans in the second round of the Oklahoma 6A-2 playoffs.
The "linebacker commit" in the title of this article is a bit deceiving. Now yes, Donny is committed to the Cowboys to play the linebacker position once he arrives in Stillwater. But for Del City, you will see Donny play linebacker, safety, cornerback, wide receiver and special teams. He is truly a versatile weapon and excels at all positions.
Going against arguably the best team in Oklahoma, Donny had his work cut out for him. He was up to the task as Donny hauled in 6-7 catches, repeatedly got chunks of yards and found his way into the end zone on a miraculous toe-tap catch. On defense, Donny was matched up with just about every Bixby playmaker throughout the game.
It was very impressive the level of athlete Donny is in game action.
Del City lost the game to Bixby but Donny showed why Oklahoma State and six others extended an offer to him.
After the game, I spent a few minutes with Donny to discuss his senior season, his career, and his relationships with the Oklahoma State coaches and fellow 2021 commits.
"There was a lot of ups and down this season but I wouldn't want to be with no other team," said Stephens. Outside of his athletic ability, there was one thing that stood out to me more than anything. His heart.
While Del City was trailing by 3-4 touchdowns for a large portion of the game, Donny was going to each and every one of his teammates cheering them up and telling them to stay in the fight. Effort and energy will be something Donny Stephens will never lack.
As an athlete, Stephens told me "I feel like I can do anything on the field."
"From receiver, to the defense at defensive back to linebacker, just me being versatile.
I also spoke with him about his plans on closing out his recruitment in regards to his signing day plans. He says he has not thought about it much yet but that he will "probably" be signing in the December signing period.
He did make his love and appreciation of Oklahoma State known when I asked about his relationships with the coaches in Stillwater.
"Its all love, its all love," he started. "Great relationship, talk everyday."
Donny, like many Cowboy commits have told me this season, that he regularly communicates with his fellow commits in the 2021 class. He says he talks with them in a group chat. I will say the chemistry among the commits in this class is one of the better ones I have seen in quite a while. Often a few or a small group of commitments from a class will be close, but it seems that a large majority of this class is very comfortable with each other and already bonding prior to arriving on campus.