Tyler Evans, a much-heralded offensive lineman from Strafford High School just east of Springfield, signed a national letter of intent to play for the University of Oklahoma yesterday in front of a crowd of friends and family at the high school auditorium there.
It was Strafford’s first Division I signee in any sport, so the town and school was abuzz yesterday. And they had every right to be.
I only saw one of Strafford’s games this year and it was against Central, here in Springfield. I can’t remember if they won or lost because I was shooting photos of the game and had to return to the office, but from what I saw of Evans he was as good as advertised and then some. He routinely handled double-and-triple teams and he was very quick for such a big guy.
Just from talking to him yesterday you could see he’s a pretty cool humble guy too. Granted I wouldn’t want to face off against him, but he’s one of the nicest kids out there…and you could tell he embodies the good things about a small town.
It’ll be cool to see him play for Oklahoma and I wish him and his family all the best!
Added note to yesterday…Hillcrest High School’s multimedia journalism class sent a film crew to the event. I’ll give ‘em a shout-out here and link to their website…they have some cool stories and they do some great work.
