Lowell High coach Noel Dean knew he had something special in quarterback Keith Nichol before the kid ever took a snap for the Michigan prep power.
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Yet even Dean experienced an awakening of sorts during the spring of Nichol's freshman year.
Needing a quarterback to fling passes to help showcase a top wide receiver prospect, Nichol stepped into a 7-on-7 drill in front of coaches from Louisville and quickly shifted attention to himself.
"They took their eyes off this huge receiver and wanted to know about the quarterback,” said Dean. "They were impressed. And they asked if Keith's father was there.
"Keith hadn't even taken a varsity snap. I actually hadn't said much to anyone about Keith Nichol at that point. That's when we knew people were going to be coming around recruiting him.”
Oklahoma came late, using a coaching change as an opportunity to lure Nichol away from a commitment to local favorite Michigan State, then using job opportunity to sell him on a switch to the Sooners.
Today, national signing day, Nichol's signature will be but a formality, since he's already attending school as an early arrival at OU.
Still, he's the key figure in the Sooners' 2007 recruiting class.
OU needs someone to take over at quarterback in the fall, with no proven option in place to lead a potentially explosive offense that returns eight starters. Nichol may just be the man.
"I couldn't pass it up as a quarterback,” Nichol said. "You grow up dreaming of that situation.
"There's not a better spot in the country.”
After dismissing sophomore Rhett Bomar, who figured to be a four-year starter, the Sooners found themselves light at quarterback. Paul Thompson shifted back to the position from wide receiver and rescued OU's 2006 season.
Behind Thompson: Sophomore Joey Halzle, an unheralded junior-college transfer; and redshirting freshman Sam Bradford.
Now Nichol joins the competition, thanks to Michigan State's firing of coach John L. Smith. Sooner coaches had been scouring the land for quarterback recruits, yet found few possibilities with most of the top prospects already committed.
Smith's ouster, however, opened the door for the Sooners to secure one of the nation's top-ranked quarterbacks.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Nichol is the No. 6-rated dual-threat quarterback by Rivals.com, the No. 22 quarterback overall by Scout.com. Both recruiting sites rank him as a four-star prospect. He participated at the exclusive Elite 11 Quarterback Camp.
Nichol passed for 2,225 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior, adding 1,075 yards and 19 rushing TDs for a 10-1 team at Lowell.
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