Published: February 07, 2008 12:10 pm         

Stanley chooses McNutt, Mississippi

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The unassuming country boy is headed to the deep south to play football.

Former Sequoyah High School quarterback Nathan Stanley chose Houston Nutt and the Ole Miss Rebels as his college football destination.

He did so by picking up the Mississippi hat out of four other hats on the table that included Oklahoma State, Louisiana Tech, Oregon State and Florida Atlantic.

Stanley said it was his relationship with Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt that helped him make his decision.

"I've always been a big fan of Coach Nutt," Stanley said. "He's been recruiting me since I was a sophomore and I've been to his camp and we got real close, not only as a coach and a player but as people and as soon as he made the switch to Oxford, Miss., I got a call saying he wanted me there."

Nutt had been the coach at Arkansas for the past seven seasons, but resigned after the season was over and took over the job at SEC rival Mississippi.

"I felt that's kind of where I wanted to be," Stanley said. "It was a tough decision and I feel good about it."

In four years at Sequoyah, Stanley had over 6,000 yards passing and more than 70 touchdowns.

Stanley said he made his decision after talking with his mother on Tuesday night and called Nutt about his decision on Wednesday morning.

"It wasn't a guarantee at all," Stanley said. "I felt good with him, I felt comfortable with him and there are a lot of coaches I felt comfortable with. I felt comfortable with the town, the environment."

Nathan's mom and superintendent of Sequoyah Schools, Gina, said the family sacrifices were well worth it.

"There was a point in time when he got a little ornery and kind of fell off the path a little bit and me and his brother kind of had to get him back in line," Gina said. "There have been a lot of sacrifices made by the family. His schedule has been inconvenient, but when he signed his name to that paper it was all worth it."

SHS football coach Brent Scott said he didn't know until the moment Nathan picked up the Ole Miss hat where Nathan was going to go.

"When the whole recruiting process started, I told him I wouldn't tell him what to do and in return, he didn't have to tell me anything, all I do is process information," Scott said. "I thought it might have been Ole Miss, but the way everybody came in on him and everybody had offers, I truly didn't know. I told him to make sure he chose a place he was going to be comfortable at for the next four or five years and that there are no wrong answers."

Also signing on Wednesday was former Indians running back Hunter Cunningham who made the decision to sign at Northeastern State University.

"I just talked to coach [Kenny] Evans and I felt we had a connection," Cunningham said. "I went and looked at the facilities and I liked what I saw. I also liked that it was close to home so my family can watch me play."

Other Indians that have signed to play college football include Brandon England, Cody Broch, Jonah Hulbutta, Kemah Charcoal, Eric Sanders and Brett Littlebear who all will play football at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan. and Eric Wofford who also will play at NSU.



Travis Metcalf writes for the Tahlequah (Okla.) Daily Press.