Why Oklahoma HS multi-sport star Jaden Nickens intends to stay at Douglass for senior year
Jaden Nickens couldn't escape the outside noise while chasing a state championship in March.
Reports were he was headed elsewhere to play out his senior season. The stories, like a ripple effect, ultimately reached his school hallways at Douglass, causing understandable concern among friends and supporters about his next move.
However, Nickens has since reassured his peers about his plans to stay put on the Eastside.
"Stories were going around a few weeks ago that I was going to play at a prep school next year, which were completely false," Nickens told The Oklahoman. "I'm committed to helping Douglass' football program turn around. I'm looking forward to the challenge of changing the narrative. It should be fun."
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Nickens' future was the subject of speculation following his December transfer from Douglass to Millwood. Questions arose primarily because the Trojans' football program has lacked recent success despite its rich history of nearly 30 state playoff appearances. Douglass went 0-10 last season under first-year coach Damon Turner and has won just six games in the past five seasons.
Nickens is a four-star football prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, according to 247Sports, and recently announced he was reopening his recruitment after committing to OU in August.
"It came down to me just wanting to explore my options more," Nickens said. "I had been thinking about decommitting from OU for a long time. My mindset just changed to just giving it my all heading into my senior year and reopen my recruitment to see where things go."
As a junior at Millwood, Nickens caught 55 passes for 1,090 yards and 12 touchdowns.
He most notably sent the Falcons to the Class 2A title game with a 77-yard kickoff return for a touchdown as time expired in a 34-29 semifinal win over Kiefer. Millwood later lost to Washington for the second straight season in the state title game.
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Nickens, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound athlete, is a three-sport star with talents in track and basketball, too. In the latter, he rates as a three-star prospect and holds multiple Division I offers from Auburn, Ole Miss and Oklahoma State.
Nickens transferred a week following the Falcons' loss at state and played 11 games at Douglass during the basketball season. Once ruled eligible, he immediately impacted the Trojans, averaging 16.6 points, seven rebounds and two steals while leading Douglass to its second consecutive Class 4A state title.
Nickens was on The Oklahoman's Little All-City first team for both football and basketball. He was a second-team selection for All-State football and Super 5 basketball.
His impact was evident.
But just a week following basketball season, he announced that he was no longer headed to OU.
"I already knew I was going to be decommitting when I transferred to Douglass," Nickens said, "but I wanted to wait until after the basketball season to tell everyone."
"When everything was going on with my eligibility (appeal with the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association), my teammates told me they couldn't even walk around school without somebody asking about me. I didn't want something like that to happen again."
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Spring Ball gone be ah movie🖤🧡 #900Nawfpic.twitter.com/BqB6pw07Ja
— Jaden Nickens (@jaden_nickens) April 7, 2024
He recently visited Texas A&M and has received further football interest from Michigan State, South Carolina, Texas Tech and Penn State, among others.
Since reopening his recruitment, Nickens has gauged interest in his efforts in both sports. While he wants to continue to play basketball, he acknowledges his admiration for catching the pigskin has grown immensely over the past year.
"The feeling of football is just different, man," Nickens said. "It's like I get a rush whenever I run on the field. Wearing a helmet and pads gives me the freedom to express my feelings, and that's very fun to me. Seeing all these guys run routes and be as fast and quick as me challenges me to work even harder.
"You all will see that growth this fall."
And his intention is to be in orange and black.
Jordan Davis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached at jdavis@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jdavis34_. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com
Early 2025 Super 30 rankings
Douglass wide receiver Jaden Nickens was a top-10 selection in The Oklahoman's early Super 30 rankings of the state's top recruits in the 2025 class. Two members of the Super 30 class have left the state since February's signing day (Kevin Sperry Jr. and Hudson Ball):
1. Nate Roberts, TE, Washington
2. Trystan Haynes, DB/WR, Carl Albert
3. Kevin Sperry Jr., QB, Carl Albert*
4. Elijah Thomas, WR, Checotah
5. CJ Nickson, DE, Weatherford
6. Marcus James, LB, Carl Albert
7. Jaden Nickens, WR, Douglass
8. Trynae Washington, DB/WR, Carl Albert
9. Alexander Shieldnight, DE, Wagoner
10. Antoni Ogumoro, OL, Elgin
11. Shaker Reisig, QB, Tulsa Union
12. Blake Cherry, OT, Owasso
13. Caden Knighten, RB, Wynnewood
14. Ryan Grayson, DB, Beggs
15. Broderick Shull, OL, Bixby
16. CJ Simon, WR, Moore
17. David McComb, QB, Edmond Memorial
18. Demarius Robinson, RB, Edmond Santa Fe
19. Ryker Haff, OT, Owasso
20. Javion Antai, OT, Tulsa Nathan Hale
21. Matrail Lopez, WR, Idabel
22. Josiah Hammond, DE, Tulsa Will Rogers
23. Ravian Larry, RB, Idabel
24. Grady Adamson, QB, Deer Creek
25. Xzavier Thompson, WR, Millwood
26. Jamarian Ficklin, QB, Muskogee
27. Brayden Knox, LB, Putnam City
28. Hudson Ball, DE, Jenks*
29. Jon Grimmett, TE/S, Pauls Valley
30. Gracen Gruver, OL/DL, Moore
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why multi-sport star Jaden Nickens intends to stay at Douglass in 2025
