When Gavin Freeman ran onto Owen Field for his first snaps Saturday afternoon, Brett Bogert wasn’t surprised.
From his seats in the south endzone of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, the Heritage Hall coach watched his former pupil turned Oklahoma freshman walk-on find his position in the slot. Bogert had a feeling Freeman’s opportunity was at hand.
Freeman and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby had a plan, which the freshman receiver shared with his family and coach prior to the game. The plan was simply for Freeman to use his speed on a reverse play to gain a few yards and pick up a first down.
However, none of the 83,173 fans in attendance would have predicted what came next, except for Bogert and the Freeman family. Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel called Freeman in motion and he took the reverse handoff. With the ball in his hands, the dynamite 5-foot-8, 173-pounder zipped up the field before spinning free from two diving tacklers.
Once he escaped the onslaught, Freeman unleashed a punishing stiff arm and was off to the races.
Oklahoma freshman receiver Gavin Freeman scores a 46-yard rushing touchdown.
“Once I get the ball in my hand, (I just think) score,” Freeman said. “Just try to find a way to score, use your speed. And then when I cut up the side after knifing it, I got ear-holed and spun and was like, ‘I guess I’m still up.’ So I just kept running, that’s what was going through my head.”
Freeman’s 46-yard touchdown rush capped a 21-point first quarter which showcased Lebby’s high-octane offense and proved too much to overcome, as OU (1-0) defeated UTEP (0-2, 0-1 CUSA) 45-13 on Saturday in Norman.
Freeman’s father Jason, who played tight end at OU from 1995-98 and works under Bogert as an offensive and defensive line coach, said he wouldn’t be surprised if he made some fans in the stands upset by how much he was celebrating.
“After he spun and threw the stiff arm out, I knew he had a really good chance to get in the endzone,” Jason said. “It was a little bit hard to see but I saw him throw his hands up when he got in. And it's not an arrogant thing, but I've seen it before. And it's not a total surprise to see him do that. It's just not, he sees things and he does things that other people don't do when the ball is in his hands.”
With the emerging Freeman, Gabriel has another explosive weapon to go along with receivers Marvin Mims and Theo Wease.
“Just his first touch in college being a touchdown and being a play like that, getting a collision and spinning out of it and making the play,” Gabriel said. “That's what I think is so unique about our team, at least our offense, is just having a bunch of guys who can make a bunch of plays.”
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables was also ecstatic for Freeman, even letting him speak to reporters postgame, a practice usually reserved for upperclassmen.
“How about Gavin Freeman? We've been talking him up, the first touch of his collegiate career was a touchdown, isn’t that great? That’s a great story,” Venables said. “He chose to bet on himself. He had opportunities to go to a lot of spots and I love that he's been super low maintenance and really humble. He's wide open every day and he's fearless.
“You saw that play, somebody about put him together like an accordion out there, they hit him so hard and he just bounced right off and stiffed arm another dude. And then a couple series later he's running down on the kickoff team. He's a special dude. I'm really excited to see where he goes, but thankful for him believing in and betting on himself.”
Freeman initially committed to Texas Tech immediately after receiving an offer from then-coach Matt Wells. After meeting with Wells, Freeman walked out into the hallway and said, “Dad, I want to commit,” and Jason told him, “Go in there and commit.’”
Tech was one of the few schools to show belief in Freeman early. While other coaches liked his speed and athleticism, they felt he was too small. Someone who is similarly undersized and has taken Freeman under his wing is Drake Stoops, a fellow former local walk-on and receiver. The son of legendary OU coach Bob Stoops was the first to embrace Freeman after he scored.
“He was little, he really was a little guy … a lot of coaches were really honest with him, like we really like the way you play but you're pretty small,” Bogert said. “I get that, but Texas Tech, especially Matt Wells and Luke Wells, they really believed in him. And them being Oklahoma guys, we've always had a good relationship with them.”
Freshman wide receiver Gavin Freeman during the home opener against UTEP on Sep. 3.
When Wells was fired from Texas Tech on Oct. 25, Freeman didn’t feel as connected to the incoming coaching staff. His scholarship was going to be honored, but it didn’t feel the same as before, when he couldn’t wait to commit.
“He didn't feel quite the love, the same bond with that staff,” Bogert said. “And really (former Oklahoma receivers coach) Cale Gundy and the OU guys came in and started giving him some attention, especially when (Venables) got the job, that really got Jason because he likes him a lot.
“They started paying him some attention. Gavin's always wanted to be an OU kid and so he asked his parents, he asked me and I was like, ‘Go where you feel wanted, go where you want to go.’”
He flipped his commitment to Oklahoma as a preferred walk-on and joined Wells, who Venables hired onto his staff as an assistant in March.
Freeman went to a few OU games with his father and said he remembers lying in bed dreaming of one day scoring a collegiate touchdown. Before he was drumming up gossip about his playmaking ability in Norman, Freeman was a star athlete in high school.
Growing up, Freeman participated in just about every sport including football, baseball, track and field and wrestling. Bogert remembers his size being an issue, but he says he always knew he would one day overcome it.
“He came into our program, he was a little guy,” Bogert said. “He was short, but he was a really good football player. And so even in middle school when he was five foot two, he was making all the plays and all that stuff. We just knew it was a matter of time until he grew up.”
Freeman more than grew up. Both Bogert and Jason see flashes of former Heritage Hall standouts Wes Welker and Sterling Shepard in his game. In fact, Freeman said his earliest memory of Oklahoma football is watching Shepard shine in Norman from the nosebleed seats inside the very stadium he lit up Saturday.
Bogert remembers a specific play in the state playoffs in which the Chargers trailed with 51 seconds to go in the game where Freeman showed a Shepard-like ability to take over a game.
“We’re in the huddle trying to figure it out and Gavin and I had some eye contact,” Bogert said. “I was like, I’ve got to get Gavin the ball. He had that look on his face like he was gonna make a play. And sure enough, we made the play and scored with under 50 seconds left to go. It was a really cool moment to know in the biggest moment of his career or whatnot at that point, that we could go to him and knew 100% he was going to make the play.”
After being told for years he was too small, combined with the competitive drive he’s had his entire life, Freeman is finally getting the chance to prove his doubters wrong and show the world what he’s made of. Jason always told him “when you're 6-foot-3 and have a big frame people are going to notice you, but when you’re smaller and walk in the door, you have to be different.”
By all accounts, Freeman is different. While everyone else began to figure that out Saturday, his family and friends just saw the same Gavin he’s always been. When Freeman passed the pylon and crossed into the endzone, Bogert sat back and watched Sooners fans marvel at what he already knew.
“I knew if he had some space, he would make a play because that's who he is.”
