BOOMERBRADLEY
12/18/2006, 11:03 AM
this is a great read.
http://newsok.com/article/2987325/?template=sports/ou
By John Helsley
The Oklahoman
Oklahoma's newest No. 7 looks a lot like the old No. 7.
Similar gaudy prep stats.
Same swashbuckling style (on the field) with a feel and a skill for running and passing.
An apparent affinity for the No. 7.
Yet in one important regard, Keith Nichol doesn't sound at all like, to borrow a phrase from the Harry Potter series, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Nichol, OU's quarterback recruit from Michigan, sounds quiet. Humble. Respectful.
Nichol sounds like, cover your eyes, the anti-Rhett Bomar.
"He doesn't know what he is, said Noel Dean, Nichol's coach at Lowell High. "There's a pureness about him. A naivety about who he is and it keeps him humble"
Some background. Dean talks of all the red No. 7 jerseys seen on kids in the Lowell community, where youngsters have idolized Nichol since he directed a state title run in Michigan's largest class as a sophomore.
"Every kid is wearing a red No. 7 jersey, Dean said. "And that's hard for Keith to deal with.
"Not hard in a bad way, just, Wow!'
When OU landed You-Know-Who (another Potter reference) out of Texas in 2004, it got the nation's top-ranked quarterback recruit and a player Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy called the "best high school player he'd ever seen.
But the Sooners also got baggage.
You-Know-Who knew what he was and so did his dad and flaunted it at every opportunity. Strutting around campus. Gulping beers under-age at Hornets games. Taking handouts.
You-Know-Who perched his Offensive Most Valuable Player trophy from last year's Holiday Bowl not on the mantel or a dresser or a bookshelf. He made it the centerpiece of a table set up in the middle of his Norman house for all to see.
Yet for all he offered, his name has barely been muttered since that August day when his Sooner career blew up.
Tears didn't flow. Bob Stoops maintained plans for a season-kickoff karaoke party, the same night You-Know-Who was given the boot from OU. Players sang and danced and laughed.
The next day, the Sooners embraced Paul Thompson at quarterback and embarked on a journey that would eventually lead to the Fiesta Bowl.
Soon, though, Thompson will be gone.
And OU will be back in the star quarterback business, with Nichol hitting campus in January to join the mix of determining who will QB the Sooners in 2007.
This No. 7 experience, however, figures to be different. Who knows if he'll even be No. 7 for the Sooners, with DeMarco Murray one of last year's prized recruits already owning that jersey.
Dean said Nichol carries sort of a Ferris Bueller quality everyone claims to know and love him.
Nichol said leaving Lowell will be "bittersweet, because of those friends and a girlfriend who's just a junior. He hopes she'll still have him for a prom date.
Before deciding on joining the Sooners, Nichol had long been committed to Michigan State. But when coach John L. Smith was fired, all bets were off.
Still, when it came time to tell new Spartans coach Mark Dantonio of his plans, Nichol struggled delivering the bad news.
"Oh, my gosh, Nichol said. "I sat in the hotel room for about 10 minutes thinking about what I was going to say before I got the courage up.
http://newsok.com/article/2987325/?template=sports/ou
By John Helsley
The Oklahoman
Oklahoma's newest No. 7 looks a lot like the old No. 7.
Similar gaudy prep stats.
Same swashbuckling style (on the field) with a feel and a skill for running and passing.
An apparent affinity for the No. 7.
Yet in one important regard, Keith Nichol doesn't sound at all like, to borrow a phrase from the Harry Potter series, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Nichol, OU's quarterback recruit from Michigan, sounds quiet. Humble. Respectful.
Nichol sounds like, cover your eyes, the anti-Rhett Bomar.
"He doesn't know what he is, said Noel Dean, Nichol's coach at Lowell High. "There's a pureness about him. A naivety about who he is and it keeps him humble"
Some background. Dean talks of all the red No. 7 jerseys seen on kids in the Lowell community, where youngsters have idolized Nichol since he directed a state title run in Michigan's largest class as a sophomore.
"Every kid is wearing a red No. 7 jersey, Dean said. "And that's hard for Keith to deal with.
"Not hard in a bad way, just, Wow!'
When OU landed You-Know-Who (another Potter reference) out of Texas in 2004, it got the nation's top-ranked quarterback recruit and a player Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy called the "best high school player he'd ever seen.
But the Sooners also got baggage.
You-Know-Who knew what he was and so did his dad and flaunted it at every opportunity. Strutting around campus. Gulping beers under-age at Hornets games. Taking handouts.
You-Know-Who perched his Offensive Most Valuable Player trophy from last year's Holiday Bowl not on the mantel or a dresser or a bookshelf. He made it the centerpiece of a table set up in the middle of his Norman house for all to see.
Yet for all he offered, his name has barely been muttered since that August day when his Sooner career blew up.
Tears didn't flow. Bob Stoops maintained plans for a season-kickoff karaoke party, the same night You-Know-Who was given the boot from OU. Players sang and danced and laughed.
The next day, the Sooners embraced Paul Thompson at quarterback and embarked on a journey that would eventually lead to the Fiesta Bowl.
Soon, though, Thompson will be gone.
And OU will be back in the star quarterback business, with Nichol hitting campus in January to join the mix of determining who will QB the Sooners in 2007.
This No. 7 experience, however, figures to be different. Who knows if he'll even be No. 7 for the Sooners, with DeMarco Murray one of last year's prized recruits already owning that jersey.
Dean said Nichol carries sort of a Ferris Bueller quality everyone claims to know and love him.
Nichol said leaving Lowell will be "bittersweet, because of those friends and a girlfriend who's just a junior. He hopes she'll still have him for a prom date.
Before deciding on joining the Sooners, Nichol had long been committed to Michigan State. But when coach John L. Smith was fired, all bets were off.
Still, when it came time to tell new Spartans coach Mark Dantonio of his plans, Nichol struggled delivering the bad news.
"Oh, my gosh, Nichol said. "I sat in the hotel room for about 10 minutes thinking about what I was going to say before I got the courage up.