Drummond sees leap year for Pawhuska
PAWHUSKA — Bryce Drummond is accustomed to change.
Pawhuska's senior quarterback has seen plenty of it through his first three seasons. He has gone through personal change, going from the offensive line to becoming one of the state's top signal callers. The Huskies have also evolved, going from a team searching for consistency to a state title contender.
So Drummond — son of The Pioneer Woman, Ree
Drummond — knew he needed to continue expanding his repertoire before his final high school season. It's needed for him to become a more efficient passer. It's needed for Pawhuska to take another step and try to bring back a gold ball.
So he has put in the work to make more change happen.
“He's just a different player,” Pawhuska coach Matt Hennesy said. “He has put in work every single day since the offseason and quarantine started, and he's turned into a freak.”
Drummond is No. 24 on The Oklahoman's 2021 Super 30 list of the top high school recruits in the state. He's arguably the state's top passer ahead of the 2020 season and is looking to break even more records.
As a junior, he passed for 3,426 yards with 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, leading the Huskies to the Class A playoffs and into the quarterfinals, going 11-2 and falling to eventual state champion Ringling. He put up those stellar numbers without playing too late into games because of how dominant Pawhuska was, too.
But he knows that wasn't enough. So he's dedicated his offseason to growing.
Drummond has supreme arm talent, but he wanted to get his accuracy on par with his arm strength.
He spent day after day working on releasing the football quicker and hitting receivers more in stride. His accuracy has drastically improved, along with his pocket presence and ability to quickly decipher a defense and find an open target.
Drummond, who's committed to North Texas and has other schools monitoring his progress, continued to hear he needed to improve his accuracy. Not only has his worked helped him become a more valuable recruit, but it has positioned him to have more success for the Huskies.
“I just kept hearing from college coaches that I needed to work on my accuracy and release, so I went out and did it,” Drummond said. “That's the biggest difference in my game and I'm still working on improving it.”
Hennesy has had a former quarterback have success at North Texas before.
He was Mason Fine's coach at Locust Grove. Fine holds numerous Oklahoma state records, including career passing yards and touchdowns, and went on to have plenty of success for the Mean Green.
Hennesy helped Drummond meet North Texas' coaching staff, and after a stellar junior season, they offered him. He verbally committed April 17.
Drummond himself has set plenty records and is bound to have another stellar year this season, but he's focused on one thing.
Elevating the Huskies to the next level.
“A lot of people don't think we're going to be as good this year as we were last,” Drummond said. “I don't know if there's as much pressure as there was last year, but being a senior, you gotta step up and start being the guy. But at the end of the day, it's the same stuff every day.”