Webbers Falls quarterback signs letter of intent with NEO
Webbers Falls senior quarterback Maddux Shelby signed a letter of intent with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in a signing ceremony Tuesday afternoon inside the lobby of Webbers Falls Event Center.
Shelby said it was just the right fit.
“It’s close to home,” he said. I felt at home there. It’s a great place. I like it a lot.”
However, Shelby won’t be playing QB. Instead of throwing the ball, he’ll be running it.
“I’ll be playing running back,” he said. “It will be awesome. No more ‘Q’ (quarterback). I’ll just be running the ball. It will be something different, but it’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a great time.”
“For the work and dedication that he’s put in, it’s exciting,” Webbers Falls football coach Trent Holt said. “I’m proud for him. I hope he does well. Whatever he wants to do he’ll accomplish it. His work ethic and his character are beyond reproach. If he gets after it, the sky’s the limit for him. I’m proud for him.”
Shelby said NEO wasn’t the only school interested in his football services.
“I think I had like a total of nine schools I had offers from,” the Webbers Falls senior quarterback said. “Each surrounding state to Oklahoma besides Colorado. It was fun. It would have been cool to go (to one of them).”
In his final varsity season, Shelby passed for 907 yards and 11 touchdowns, while rushing for 2,589 yards and 43 TDs. While he won’t be used on defense much, if at all, he had 99 tackles, 62 of which were solo, with 13 tackles for loss, a QB sack, three interceptions, a fumble recovery and two caused fumbles.
“He can play,” Holt said. “He’s a great kid. He’s a good athlete. We’re sure going to miss him. When he’s 80 percent of your offense, he’s going to be tough to replace. I started coaching him when he was in the fifth grade. I’ve watched him go from a little kid to the man he is today. It’s exciting. We’ll never replace him.”
Shelby, who was a member of the 2023 All-District B-5 Team and is in line to be named to the 2024 8-Man All-Star Game East team roster, said the NEO program also made the choice to be a Norseman even easier.
“The program is really great,” he said. “Their head coach (Zach Crisp) is an 8-man kid, so that did a lot. It was between there and a Texas school. I decided to stay in Oklahoma.”
There’s a good chance the Warriors’ star athlete will get a chance to start making contributions immediately.
“I haven’t been told, but I think if I go in working hard as I have been and get in the weight room, I can get in there make a difference,” Shelby said.
Holt said he hopes Shelby’s signing will be just the start of more to come in future years.
“He’s a testament to what you can do if you decide to do it,” he said. “I know he’s blessed athletically, but his desire and discipline are stellar. I wish these other kids would just look and say, ‘Hey, this can happen if you just put in the time.”
