Terry Follows in the Hammers Footsteps
Seven years ago an unknown small school Oklahoma linebacker came out of nowhere to commit to the Sooners. Ronnell Lewis went on to be a three-year contributor to the Sooners before being drafted by the Detroit Lions.
Sunday evening history repeated itself when Tulsa Victory Christian linebacker/tight end Jon-Michael Terry made his pledge to the Sooners, just like Lewis, almost immediately at the moment of his offer.
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"Yes sir, I committed," Terry said. "I thought coming in there was a good chance but it still caught me a little off guard.
"We were toward the end of the thing, after the player panel and we were breaking off into position groups. Coach Tim Kish came up to me and we went into a side room and talked to coach Bob Stoops and he offered me.
" It was awesome, just talking to him and the honor it was, it was a huge moment for me."
From there Terry left fairly quickly and began his trip up I-44 to discuss the situation with his parents. He then called Kish to let him know the family had come to a decision.
"Coach Kish was just happy that I called back, he was excited," he explained.
For Terry the decision may have come quickly but it was something he had considered for some time, regardless of how certain he was about it coming to fruition.
"I've been an Oklahoma fan for a while now, when we were little, just watching Oklahoma and watching coach Stoops," he said. "I've been getting a lot of mail and stuff, and during the season I got a lot of game invites but I couldn't make it out to anything.
"They have been sending me letters, and I've been getting letters from some other schools as well, I was pretty ready for (recruiting attention)."
Kish was not only his primary recruiter through the course of Oklahoma's junior day event on Sunday but was also the coach to go over Terry's film according to the current No. 4 player in the Sooner State Rankings.
"Coach Kish was the one that came down and saw my film and everything and he was the first one I talked to when I got there today. Some other defensive coaches knew me and were saying they liked my film," Terry recalled. "
Not only was Oklahoma the first junior day he attended, but also his first offer. An offer that came on the side of the ball he'd prefer to play after spending the past few years starring on both sides of the ball for the Conquerors.
"The offer is on the defensive side of the ball of his, I think that's awesome, I love playing defense," Terry said.
After committing to Kish, he immediately called his head coach Brent Marley and let him know of his decision. It's a decision that Terry says wouldn't have been possible without Marley and the rest of the Victory Christian staff.
"It's just awesome. It goes back to show how great our coaches are at Victory and the program we have there and it's a really solid program," he explained. "All the things the coaches do has helped me become the player I am. I just have to listen what they have to say."
Aside from his coaches, his parents were also a huge part of the process and Terry says both his mother and father joined him on the trip and were pleased with all they saw and his ultimate decision.
That being said, Terry isn't ruling out the possibility of hearing out other programs. Though at this point he simply isn't sure either way.
"I don't know, I'll worry about that when it comes around," he said. "As of right now I don't have any visits planned."