Wide Receiver Trio
After all the work Carrollton (Texas) Hebron wide receiver Trejan Bridges had done behind the scenes for several months, he wasn’t actually there for the moment.
The moment when Oklahoma landed its #NewWave19 trio at the position with Allen (Texas) High five-star receiver Theo Wease and Richmond (Texas) Travis five-star receiver Arjei Henderson rejoining OU’s 2019 class three weeks ago.
Wease and Henderson were back in the fold to go along with Bridges, who has been as solid as they get since announcing last September. Just like that, OU has two five-star receivers for its class and three in the overall Rivals 100.
But Bridges missed the afternoon it all went down April 13.
“I mean I guess I feel like I got left out a little bit,” said Bridges with a chuckle. “I was a little sad that I couldn’t go Friday, but I had to take the ACT.”
A plan so well thought out, so well executed, and Bridges was able to return to OU following the ACT the next day at the spring game.
After months and months of confidence that Henderson and Wease would come back to OU’s class, it was time for Bridges to soak it all in.
“It had been a long time that I’d been waiting,” Bridges said. “Of course, we knew they were going to make the move, but I was really anxious to get it said and done.
“Once they told me they were going to commit on their official visit and other people were, it brought me a lot of joy to think about how good we could be and the potential we have.”
Since that afternoon, OU has added seven commits for its 2019 class with five of them coming during the weekend itself.
The goal is always to get at least one top receiver. Maybe you can find a way to get a second. To earn a third? That’s not easy. It takes hard work. It takes patience. It takes persistence. It takes trust.
The Sooners staff showed that in Bridges, Wease and Henderson and now OU is rolling with the top receiver class in the country.
“They trusted us,” Bridges said. “They never lost hope or started thinking Theo or Hendi weren’t going to OU. That says a lot right there about the trust, about how much they want us and about how much potential they see in us.”
The origins of this trio begin Feb. 19, 2017, back at OU’s junior day when Henderson and Wease initially committed to the Sooners.
Lincoln Riley was OU’s offensive coordinator at the time and started to really pursue Henderson and Wease, which is something Bridges noticed. Following the Opening regional last year in Frisco, Texas, Bridges started to be mentioned in the same breath and OU started to become a factor.
Bridges started talking with outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons and things took off from there. At least with Bridges because there was a major hiccup in late-April when Henderson and Wease decommitted within days of each other.
“Theo is just like my brother, same person as me,” Bridges said. “Same attitude, same goals. Of course, I knew he was gonna go (back to OU). He decommitted for a reason to take his visits and enjoy the process. I was cool with that.”
Henderson and Wease were the original members of #NewWave19. However, once they backed off, it became Bridges’ time to shine.
Bridges was offered in person during an unofficial visit in the summer with Riley now the head coach and then made it official just days after OU’s initial game of the 2017 season with his commitment.
“They played a big part in things. Then they decommitted, and I took over,” Bridges said.
The relationship between Bridges and Wease is well established. Growing up in the same area, it’s a friendship that started when they were little kids. Bridges and Henderson didn’t connect until a True 19 all-star event two years ago.
“It just built from there,” Bridges said. “We knew about each other because we were mentioned a lot as top receivers. From there, it was just group chat after group chat. Played each other on PS4 (Playstation). We’d make jokes, and it went from there.”
So in September, Bridges was committed to the Sooners, and everybody was just biding time until Henderson and Wease were back with the crimson and cream.
It took seven months before the final phase of the plan was put into action. Seven months of Wease and Henderson visiting other schools. Seven months of schools trying to persuade Wease and Henderson to be a package deal at their program.
A month of anxiety for OU fans when Bridges earned offers from Alabama and Ohio State in the same week.
A time, around late January, when OU fans felt Bridges could be looking around and Wease and Henderson were headed to Texas A&M.
None of it was true. None of it was even an option.
“Absolutely not,” said Bridges about the three going to another school together. “Once we felt OU, it was really just OU from there. We all had the same feelings about OU.”
Wease, Henderson or Bridges would be the cornerstone of any receiver class. Putting the three together sounds great in theory, but you have to be able to handle it.
There’s only one football, duh, and you have three guys who are No. 1 options at all times. Not everyone is going to be the guy.
It takes maturity to accept that, but this group seems to be on its way.
“We had a talk about that,” Bridges said. “We all work hard no matter what, and it doesn’t matter about who gets the ball. We all have the same goals. These are the guys you would fight for. You have to accept it at one point that you’re not always going to be the LeBron James or Stephen Curry of the team.
“We’re all trying to make each other better. We’re working on getting Big 12 championships, national championships. That attitude plays a big part in not being selfish.”
A lot of twists and turns along the way, but the end result is the Sooners having their top three targets and one of the best receiving classes in OU history.