Breaking down OU’s 3 backup QBs for Red River vs. Texas football

Nick Evers

The most promising of the bunch in the long-term in the Oklahoma quarterback room is the true freshman and former four-star recruit Nick Evers. This 6-foot-3 and 185-pound Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex native came out of Flower Mound High School and is a former Florida Gators commit.

Lebby and the Sooners essentially flipped the commitment of Evers from Florida right before the Early Signing Period last December. He was one of two quarterback signees in the Sooners’ 2022 recruiting class, and the only one coming out of the high school ranks.

What Evers brings to the table for the Sooners is a talented quarterback that has a big arm and is a pretty good runner with the ceiling to be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12.

He has a very strong arm, good mechanics, and excellent velocity.

That big arm allows him to hit deep throws and intermediate routes near the sidelines on a rope. Evers also has good timing, accuracy, and overall velocity when he’s able to plant his feet and get the deep ball out without pressure coming into his face.

Evers does a really nice job of leading his wideouts on deep balls and he’s able to locate the ball well on the field to give them room to run. He also does a nice job of timing, accuracy, and velocity on three-step drops when his target is on the sidelines on intermediate and deep throws.

I don’t know how well Evers is able to hit the throws on intermediate routes between the numbers and on short balls. There isn’t nearly as much film out there on him on these throws. The same could be said for plays where he’s throwing on the run.

Granted, from what I have seen on Evers throwing on the run in high school and 7-on-7 film, I’ve noticed more inconsistency with his timing and velocity, leading to some bad throws and turnovers.

Another question regarding Evers’ skill set is his ability to step up when facing pressure in the pocket. We didn’t see much from Evers in terms of his ability to step up in a chaotic pocket and make some of the necessary throws to move the chains.

From what you can see on film, Evers either scrambles seemingly the moment the pocket collapses or gets a throw off before pressure has a chance to reach him in the backfield. That mantra can work when facing high school competition, but it won’t be very effective against Power Five competition.

If Evers gets reps at quarterback this weekend, I would try to get pressure up the middle if I were Pete Kwiatkowski. He hasn’t proved much from what I’ve seen in terms of his ability to make accurate throws when he faces pressure in the pocket.

Moreover, given Evers’ running ability, I’m sure we would see some designed QB run and/or option plays that Lebby throws at Texas to utilize his legs as a weapon. Evers has some speed to him, but he’s not a burner like we saw from other OU quarterbacks such as Kyler Murray or Caleb Williams. And while he has some mass to his frame, he’s not going to be a QB that can run you over as Jalen Hurts.

To sum this up, Evers is a potent talent at quarterback that could have a bright future with the Sooners. He also has a strong arm, quick release, and the dual-threat nature to his game that makes him a natural fit in this Lebby offensive system that emphasizes a fast tempo and the ability to make quick and effective decisions on RPOs.

But some of the uncertainties surrounding Evers, such as his ability to throw on the run, work through a collapsing pocket to effectively get throws off, and hit throws on all the short throws and some intermediate throws between the numbers, still show that he is green in some areas.