If there’s anything Oklahoma City Heritage Hall athlete Gavin Freeman was during the recruiting process, it was patient.
Despite putting up gaudy numbers the last two seasons with the Chargers, the star ranking and the offers still weren’t coming.
Time was running out when OU head coach Brent Venables and assistant coach Cale Gundy made the move that will change Freeman’s life.
The weekend before signing day, Gundy offered Freeman a spot. Not a scholarship, but a spot as a preferred walk-on for the Sooners.
Freeman didn’t hesitate to take it.
“Since I was like 5 or 6 years old, ever since I started to know what college football was, I’ve wanted to be a Sooner,” said Freeman on Wednesday at his signing ceremony at Heritage Hall. “This is the place I’m meant to be. I have a passion, a fire inside to play at the next level to show the best I can be.”
A snow storm hit the state last Wednesday, not allowing the usual signing ceremonies to honor the accomplishments. Hey, Freeman is used to waiting, no problem just waiting one more week to celebrate getting the chance to live his dream.
Freeman is roughly 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, but he’ll tell the story of being 5-4 and 120 pounds as a freshman. Not exactly the measurables that you get noticed by top schools.
But he kept plugging away. He committed to Texas Tech in the fall, but after the coaching changes in Lubbock, his status was uncertain.
He was never told his scholarship wouldn’t be honored, but the communication dropped off. A sign that the writing was on the wall.
Then came Gundy.
“I did not see it coming,” Freeman said. “I was set to sign with Tech, but then OU came in as a late blessing. I had to take it.”
OU had invited Freeman to Norman during the season, but it just never felt like the offer was going to happen. Scholarship numbers can be tight, but OU has been the place for the under the radar in-state receiver in the last decade.
From Myles Tease to Nick Basquine to now Drake Stoops, it’s proof that you can begin as a walk-on and end up on scholarship and carving your own niche.
“He was just saying to believe in yourself and trust the process and you can do big things,” said Freeman about his conversation with Gundy.
Freeman wanted the chance to follow in his father’s footsteps as Jason Freeman played for the Sooners. The only thing Gavin could do was let his play do the talking and hope the rest took care of itself.
A threat as a wide receiver, defensive back and as a returner, Freeman accounted for 2,257 all-purpose yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior. He had 73 receptions for more than 1,400 yards, averaging just under 20 yards per catch.
“Anytime Gavin touches the ball, he’s a highlight waiting to happen, a touchdown waiting to happen,” Heritage Hall head coach Brett Bogert said. “He has that type of ability.”
Once Venables took over the program, there were a lot of people wondering if Freeman would be revisited. He fits the mold of everything you think of when it comes to someone who would be at home with Venables.
Freeman, indeed, knows he is home.
“The things I’ve heard him say gives me hope,” Freeman said. “To know the program is in great hands, and we’re going to do great things.”
The patience, and all the ups and downs that came with it, paid off for Freeman.
