Westmoore’s James Palmer signs with Tulsa
James Palmer’s eyes were red as he tugged his black University of Tulsa hat that perfectly matched his slick black suit. He let out a huge sigh of relief.
Emotions were high Wednesday morning at Westmoore High School for Palmer and his family. A long, frustrating journey had found a happy ending.
More than a year removed from rupturing his Achilles tendon, Palmer signed his National Letter of Intent to play at Tulsa next season.
“It means a lot for me, just coming from everything that happened with me, the injury and really starting from the bottom and getting closer and closer to the top,” Palmer said. “To be able to get to this point is really amazing.”
Palmer, a star 6-foot-1, 230-pound tight end, landed at Tulsa close to the final hour. He had committed last month to Sam Houston State. Tulsa had a scholarship free up early Saturday and immediately made Palmer the offer.
For a kid who wondered at one point if he could ever play football again, Tulsa was perfect.
Palmer ruptured his Achilles three weeks into the 2016 season. A rare injury for teenagers, he faced a long recovery.
It was then there were times he struggled with self-doubt. He wasn’t sure he could make the comeback. Schools that had offered scholarships were no longer talking to him.
But this season he proved he was healthy. He caught 27 passes for 441 yards and eight touchdowns.
“It’s amazing,” Westmoore coach Lorenzo
Williams said. “It shows how God works. He was down and out for a while.”
Wagoner’s Jones left without signing options
Wagoner wide receiver Nikia Jones sat in the stands Wednesday morning in disbelief as his teammates signed National Letters of Intent.
Patrick Curley signed with Texas Tech. Steve Adair signed with Northeastern State. So did Blake Dumond, but for soccer.
Jones, a star receiver the past four seasons, had nothing to sign.
For someone who once held eight Division I scholarship offers, including Iowa State and Kansas, it was stunning. He gambled by not committing early, now each program had run out of scholarship space.
Jones remains the state’s top recruit without a future home.
“We probably should have communicated with the early offers more,” Wagoner coach Dale Condict said Wednesday. “I’ve called everybody I know. I’ve got some interest but nothing for him to sign yet. We’ll see if somebody else loses out on kids and they’ll call and offer him. I think there’s several of them that would take him if there were spots.”
Jones has been a star for Wagoner, helping the team set a state 11-man record for consecutive wins and three straight state championships. For his career, he caught 130 passes for 3,122 yards and 46 touchdowns. He also was a star return specialist.
He felt he had time in the recruiting game. He had scheduled visits to Iowa and Oregon State the past two weekends, only to have them fill up their class and cancel at the last-minute.
“Right now, we’re on hold,” Condict said. “Hey, a 6-4, 215-pound receiver available and he can run. Hopefully, we’ll find him something. Looking over at him today was rough.”