Kenny Evans has had the opportunity to oversee three recruiting classes at Northeastern State. And the RiverHawks’ head coach offered no hesitation when talking about his most recent group of signees.

“I think it’s definitely one of the most talented groups in my three years of being the head coach here,” Evans said, talking about the 19 players that NSU signed during the national signing period, which began last week. “I think we did a really good job picking up some of the best talent here locally, as well as branching out to some new areas.”

In all, NSU signed a combined 36 players between midterm signees — players who signed in the fall — and players who signed in February. And with nearly 20 starters returning in 2011, Evans said his most recent class satisfies plenty of needs.

“We hit what we needed with 17 starters coming back,” said Evans, whose team went 6-5 overall and 5-1 in the Lone Star Conference North in 2010. “And with 90 players returning and with what we added with this signing class, we’re real excited.”

A key term used by assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Mike Knoll to describe the 2011 class was ‘versatility.’

“Just look at the versatility of the class,” said Knoll, a former head coach at New Mexico State. “We have guys who are able to play multiple positions. That really helps us in terms of being able to plug them in [into the lineup].”



Biggest surprise of signing class

When players’ choices are between Division I or II schools, often times the D-II schools come up short. This year, however, NSU beat out some area Division I’s for Chris Smith.

“The biggest name [on our list] was Chris Smith,” Evans said of the 6-foot-1, 188-pound wide receiver from Fayetteville, Ark., who was on Oklahoma State’s and Arkansas’ radar. “He was recruited by Big 12 and Southeastern Conference schools as the No. 1 wide receiver prospect out of the state of Arkansas.”

A key factor in landing Smith was Daryl Patton, the head coach at Fayetteville High School and father of current NSU kicker, Drew Patton.

“He played in the state championship game last year for coach Patton,” Evans said. “And he brings a lot of talent to our team. And he’ll probably play pretty quick.”



Immediate impact players

While Smith will have an opportunity to play right away at wide receiver, there are other who could crack the playing rotation in 2011.

With the departure of starting running back Josh Lewis, Tavares Sharp-Rhodes — the brother of the Indianapolis Colts’ Dominic Rhodes and a transfer from Feather River College (Calif.) — will be given a chance to log carries right away.

“He (Tavares) has sat out a couple of years and is getting a second chance,” Evans said of Rhodes, who is originally from Abilene, Texas. “He has a lot of talent, and with the loss of a couple of running backs, he’ll be a guy that we need.”

Also on offense, Thor Long, a 6-1, 205-pound quarterback could fill Woody Wilson’s role as Kenny Davis’ backup.

“He’s a polished, young quarterback,” Evans said of the QB who threw for 2,988 yards and 32 touchdowns for Sherman High School in Texas last year.

Another community college signee who will be given an early opportunity to play is linebacker Talris Brown, who was a top-five linebacker prospect out of Pensacola, Fla.

“He signed with Florida State out of high school,” Evans said of Brown, who is 6-2, 235 pounds. “He ended up at Coffeyville Community College, and he was an All-American there. He can do amazing things on the field.”



Oklahoma talent

Of the 19 signees in February, 12 are from Oklahoma, reinforcing the fact that the Sooner State provides plenty of college football talent.

“I’m the son of an Oklahoma high school football coach,” Evans said. “And I think the players are well coached in this state.”

Evans even said that he felt like some of the Oklahoma kids he signed could have signed at the Division I level.

“I think we picked up some guys in Oklahoma that are Division I-caliber players,” he said. “And a lot of them were recruited by Division I schools.”

While NSU loaded up on local players — Tahlequah’s Kyle Hutchinson (OL) and Patrick Krempin (TE/DE), Muskogee’s Kyler Harris (DB) and Matt Rust (OL) and Gore’s Logan Andrews (QB/LB) — the RiverHawks also reached into other parts of the state. Other state signees included Jenks’ Dylan Beers (K), Pauls Valley’s Nick Crawford (LB), Cement’s Ethan Ladymon (DL), Adair’s Christian Luper (LB), Catoosa’s Colten Nevel (DB/WR) and Putnam City North’s Brad Ross (DL) and Nate Ross (LB).

“We felt good about the guys from the immediate area and the state of Oklahoma,” Knoll said. “We have some guys that come from the Oklahoma City area, which has been a plus for us because that had been a geographic area that was lacking a little bit.”

Knoll addressed some added incentives to bring in local players.

“It’s always a positive when you can bring local young men into your program,” Knoll said. “Because it generates enthusiasm, it generates interest and it creates a broader fan base.”



Notable early signees

Despite a strong core returning on the offensive line in 2011, Evans noted some of the midterm signees that could help right away up front.

“We are returning some offensive linemen,” Evans said. “But we went ahead and took three big offensive linemen.”

Evans wasn’t exaggerating when he used the term ‘big.’ By comparison, Mitch Harrison, a 6-7, 290-pounder from Garden City Community College, might seem like a light-weight next to Thomas J. Jones, a Coweta native who is 6-6, 335-pounds from Northern Oklahoma A&M College. The third O-line signee was Grove native, Jordan Karriman, who is 6-5 and 320 pounds.

Another position addressed in the fall was wide receiver. The RiverHawks signed three wideouts, including Wagoner standout Jermaine Sherman, who is 6-3 and 195 pounds.

And the most notable early signee could be a transfer from Oklahoma State, Victor Johnson. The defensive back from Waco, Texas, started at Oklahoma State during his freshman and sophomore seasons.

“No doubt,” Evans said, “he’s one of the most notable midterm guys.”