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Rockdale Star Jaquayln Crawford to Ink NLI With Sooners 24 Hours Before Playing For State Title

Photo: James Ellis/TexasHSFootball
ROCKDALE — A Boomer Sooners’ star will be born sooner rather than later according to a Monday report from KCEN reporter Jessica Morrey.
Jaquayln Crawford, a 5-foot-9 and 161-pound Rockdale star receiver and kick returner, will sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI) on Wednesday — the first day of the early signing period for Division I football. He is expected to choose the University of Oklahoma over Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Colorado, Georgia, Florida Houston and 17 other colleges.
Per the NCAA recruiting regulations, coaches and universities are prohibited from continuing to recruit athletes once he or she signs an NLI. Coaches of the university the athlete is signing with are not allowed to be present at the time of the signing of a NLI and athletic aid agreement.
The offers, logistics, and fanfare, though, can wait. He has a state championship to win.
“The signing the school are always going to be there but this is the last opportunity I get to play my last high school football game and bring this community a state championship,” Crawford said to KCEN on Monday.
Rockdale will face Brock High School at 3 p.m. Thursday at AT&T Stadium.

Tiger senior quarterback Torrey Locklin has thrown for 2,334 yards in 2017. More than 600 — nearly a quarter of his total — have gone to Jaquayln Crawford. James Ellis/TexasHSFootball

Crawford, a four-star athlete, would join a possible 2018 recruiting haul that includes Waco Midway four-star quarterback Tanner Mordecai, 6-foot-7 and 336-pound Justin Northwest four-star offensive tackle Darrell Simpson, Cy-Falls three-star cornerback Starrland Baldwin, and Lancaster three-star safety Jordon Austin.
The Sooners are expected to replace Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield with another state title holder — former Allen quarterbacking legend Kyler Murray.
Crawford will be one of many weapons at the possible National Champion backup quarterback’s disposal, including former Richmond Foster High School speedster CeeDee Lamb. The Rockdale senior has 50 catches for 695 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
He’s also rushed 61 times for 634 yards and 11 touchdowns and completed 3 of 5 passes for 53 yards and two scores with zero interceptions. Thirteen of those carries, 125 of Crawford’s yardage on the ground and one touchdown came during the Tigers’ 31-21 upending of Associated Press state-ranked Yoakum High School in Friday night’s UIL Class 3A State Semifinal Round.
If he signs with Oklahoma in less than 36 hours, he will be the first of the Sooners’ 2018 class to do so.
Marcus Matthews-Marion is the managing editor of TexasHSFootball, covering prep football throughout the Lone Star State. Follow him on Twitter,@TheMJMatthews, and read more of his content here.

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