Hometown Heroes: How three TPS alumni made the decision to come play back home

Tre Lamb was named the next head coach of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team on December 8th.

It didn't take many players in the portal to take notice of the coaching staff he was putting together and the goals he had in mind for the 2025 season.

Recruiting Local Mantra

One thing he embraced more than anything: recruiting local. Even wears a hat around that says just that.

Lamb picked up three locals in the 2026 class and quickly went after guys in the transfer portal to form his team for the upcoming season.

He picked up a lot of Green Country guys who were looking to come home and help make 11th and Harvard a place that wins again from when they were young.

One being Micah Tease and JD Drew, who went to Booker T Washington and Sevion Morrison from Edison.

"It's pride for them," said Tre Lamb.

Tease makes the jump first

Micah Tease spent two seasons in College Station at Texas A&M before deciding he wanted to hit the transfer portal. On December 9th, Tease took the plunge into the portal and, with his bags packed, headed back to T-town. He got a call from Ryan Switzer, the receivers coach at TU.

"For me, it was really about timing and opportunity. I felt like the timing couldn't of been any better. The more local guys we got on board, it was kind of like okay let's get a feel for the team and once the team accepted us being locals, it was like, let's do it," said Micah.

Eight days later, he commits to Tulsa and begins a trend he didn't know at the time he was creating.

Morrison follows

Sevion Morrison went the northern route to begin his collegiate career, starting in Nebraska for one semester and then transferring to Kansas, where he spent three seasons with the Jayhawks. Morrison spent a little more time in the transfer portal, and on his way back from a visit to a potential landing spot, he got a call from Kam Martin, the running backs coach, and he told Sevi he just wanted to catch up.

"I brought him to my momma's house and he met my people and it was just a special feeling. Then, I started taking TU more serious," Morrison said.

After the talk with Martin, Micah Tease was calling Sevion, saying, "We can do something different for the city."

Morrison then committed on Christmas Day.

Drew completes the Triangle

Tease had one former high school teammate in the portal. JD Drew was a year older than Micah and liked being far enough away from home where he could visit from time to time.

Drew and Morrison entered the portal on the same day. After both committing, Tease and Morrison reached out to Drew to just see where his mind was.

Drew stated, "I was talking to God about it, praying about it every single day. It's wasn't my first decision, but after talking with Tease, he was like, 'we can do something special.' I was like 'yeah but I still don't want to be home. I want to be far away.'"

After a week, Drew completed the trio on New Year's.

One Goal In Mind

As local guys, they all have the same mindset of helping their hometown university find its identity again on the gridiron under new coaches.

"We're hungry everyday. We make each other better. We're ready. It's going to be a great season with all the athletes coming back, all the Tulsa kids," added Drew.

"We're all pretty much on the same page. We're all bought in on what we're trying to achieve," said Morrison.

Role Models for TPS

Being back home and playing in a jersey they once watched from the stands is a full-circle moment for the trio, and they know there are kids looking up to them now in those same seats every Saturday.

"I think it's really special. We check our Instagram DMs or our Twitter DMs is Edison and Booker T kids and they're asking for advice or just saying hi," said Sevion.

Micah Tease extended interview:

Sevion Morrison extended interview:

JD Drew extended interview: