Millwood's Houston chooses Nebraska
Patience pays off for 4-star recruit as he signs with Cornhuskers
De'Mariyon Houston saw it all during his recruiting. Coaches begging for his attention, others ignoring him completely.
But what Nebraska coach Scott Frost did surprised him more than anything else during his whole recruitment.
He told Houston to wait.
As Houston stood next to his Millwood teammates inside the Falcon's gymnasium on Wednesday signing his National Letter of Intent with Nebraska, the 6-foot receiver said he finally felt ready to make his pledge to the Cornhuskers.
A request Houston said he was denied when he went on his official visit to Lincoln earlier this month.
“Even if I had wanted to commit that day, (Coach Frost) said he wouldn't let me,” Houston said. “That showed me the kind of people they are and how much they care.”
A four-star recruit, Houston caught 35 passes this past season for more than 700 yards and 11 touchdowns. A track star early in his varsity career, Houston was a state champion in the 200meter and 100-meter races in Class 2A.
After originally garnering interest from some of the top schools around the country with scholarship offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, Florida, Penn State and Oklahoma State, Houston pledged himself to Texas, verbally committing to the Longhorns over the summer.
But in the weeks leading up to the early signing day in December, Houston said phone calls to his Texas recruiters started to go unanswered and so Houston decommitted, believing the Longhorns were no longer interested.
“I knew it would go up and down like it did,” Houston said. “But of course it was unpredictable.”
Houston's mother, Charmonique Thompson, said the situation with Texas was stressful, but probably a blessing disguise.
“It was tough,” Thompson said. “He took some official visits but he was so undecided and scared considering what he went through with Texas.
“But everything with Nebraska just felt right.” Thompson said while most college recruiters put the hard sell on her son while on a visit, Frost and his staff at Nebraska did the opposite.
“It was totally different,” she said. “He said go take a few weeks, go home and think about it and if you want to be here then we want to have you.
“I think it was exactly what he needed to hear.” Houston will join fellow Oklahoma product in Blanchard receiver Jamie Nance at Nebraska.
Houston said the two are friends and are excited about competing against each other. Houston is excited to finally know where he's headed and feels at peace with the decision he's made.
“I had to make sure I really knew where I was going,” he said. “The extra time allowed me to really make sure.”