No. 3 and No. 4 Together
Earlier today Oklahoma landed its second junior college commitment in 24 hours when Cerritos (Calif.) Cerritos C.C. running back Rhamondre Stevenson. The three-star prospect had 222 carries for 2,111 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Falcons as a sophomore and made his way to Norman last weekend for his official visit and says that while things went as well as they could have he always had the Sooners at the top.
"OU was always a top choice for me. That's 'RBU', of course, I've always been high on them. When I went on my visit, that just confirmed everything. All my expectations were exceeded and they just made me feel comfortable, made it feel like home," Stevenson said.
The talented Las Vegas native was offered by Oklahoma on Nov. 7 and from there he has been working to build a relationship with running backs coach Jay Boulware.
"With me and coach Jay, it's been about more than football. We've talked, I'd say, every single day since he offered me. We can talk about life, we talk about video games, every aspect of life. It's just family, that's part of what me think of Oklahoma. It's like family, feel like everyone there loves me, the players, the fans," he said.
"All the players welcomed me in, all the players, all the coaches, I even met the president of the University, and it felt like everyone loved me it. It was a great experience."
In his talks with Oklahoma's running backs he definitely had some conversations with them about life as a running back in Norman, Okla.
"They were just saying that there are no politics there, everyone is going to get their shot to showcase their skills. It's just like iron sharpens iron but we're all going to get our chance because everyone is going to compete," Stevenson explained.
But within that reality is also the reality that many of the same players selling him on Norman this weekend are the same guys that will be trying to keep him off the field, so that they can get their own snaps, in 2019. Can that sort of relationship work?
"Coming in as a JUCO player, you want to be an impact and you want to play right away. It's just a process, I'm expecting to play right away yes, but if I don't it is what it is," he said.
"I'm pretty expectant of playing right away, the coaches think so too, so that's about it."
One player he knows he is being compared to is current Sooner starter Trey Sermon and he admits that he can see the similarity but knows he brings something unique to the table.
"Since I got the OU offer, they were saying No. 3 and No. 4 are going to play the same'," he laughed. "They always compared me a little bit to him. They were saying, not that I have more skills, but just kind of a different skillset."
But it's a couple of Sooners of years past that Stevenson was most excited to be compared to.
"Oh, Demarco Murray? (Boulware) was showing me his jersey and he was saying that is what West coast kids do at Oklahoma," he explained.
"I was actually born up north in California so they actually compared me to (Joe) Mixon and were saying how much he loves Oklahoma and how he is going to buy a house this summer (in Norman) while his parents are still in Norman. That meant a lot how many players still love Oklahoma and love Norman."
The big question that remains for Stevenson is whether he will sign on Wednesday with Oklahoma or choose to wait until February - as he initially planned. For Stevenson the question is 'when not if' and will depend a lot on a conversation with Lincoln Riley tonight.
"My original thought was to wait until February but I'm going to wait and see what he is talking about and we'll make it work one way or another."