E-E's top area grads to follow in 2023 fall college sports, Part II
Former Bartlesville-area high school greats will bolster the football, soccer and cross-country rosters for several college teams when a new fall sports season opens in the next month.
The E-E has selected 12 of these talented warriors to keep an eye on this fall, divided up into three parts. Our first installment featured Kenzie Hendrix (Little Rock cross country), Briley-Anne Brown (Harding women's soccer), Camron Molder (Oral Roberts men's soccer) and Brandon O'Rourke (Oral Roberts men's soccer).
Next up are four more to be featured today, in no particular order.
LAKEN CLOWDUS
Football (sr.)
High school: Bartlesville
College: Friends (Kan.)
Sometimes fate is downright spiteful.
Take the case of Bartlesville High's running back situation about five seasons ago.
The Bruins were blessed with two human ground-gobbling machines at the same time -- DeAndre Young and Laken Clowdus.
Problem was there was only one ball to hand off and only so many plays to run, so one of these two talents was going to get short-changed. It turned out to be mostly Clowdus, who was a class behind and would get only one year as the "man."
Even so, Clowdus had chances to prove himself prior to his senior year -- such as rushing for 260 yards in one half against Sapulpa in place of the injured Young.
"He always practiced at game speed, he didn't shy away from work," said former Bruin head coach Jason Sport. "He was always fun to be around. … He'd hold people accountable."
Young's injuries also gave Clowdus plenty of other opportunities to showcase his talents.
As a senior in 2019, he was one of the Bruins' bright spots during a 3-7 campaign, rambling for well more than 1,500 yards and leading the team in touchdowns. In a 2019 victory against Sand Springs to break a losing streak, Clowdus ran for more than 300 yards and four touchdowns.
From Bartlesville, the 5-foot-8, 185-pound stick of mortal dynamite started his playing career at Friends.
As a freshman (2020), he ripped off the longest gain from scrimmage (56 yards) for the team and finished with 302 yards rushing. In 2021, he topped the Falcons with 663 yards rushing.
Injury limited in 2022 to six games and only 35 carries (147 yards).
Through three years, Clowdus has carried the ball 276 times for 1,112 yards and eight scores, and caught 11 passes for 108 yards and a score.
He also earned conference all-academic honors.
"He has a very bright future outside of football," Sport said.
BRAEDEN WINTERS
Football (RS soph.)
High school: Bartlesville
College: Southeastern Oklahoma
From his linebacker spot, Winters terrorized many opposing offenses that faced Bartlesville High.
He also provided smash-mouth production his senior season as a fullback and tight end.
"From day one we got him … his work ethic never waned," said Sport, adding his number of tackles as a senior waned due to his dual responsibility as an offensive player.
He still earned All-State kudos as a linebacker. Winters served two years as a team captain and excelled in the classroom as an honor roll student.
He is listed at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds heading into this season as an inside linebacker for Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU).
After redshirting in 2021, Winters saw time last season in seven games, producing 20 tackles (six solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and one pass defensed. SOSU finished with a 6-6 record, 6-5 in the Great American Conference.
SOSU boasts a new head coach this season, but one with Bartlesville football roots.
Early in his coaching career, Bo Atterberry served four years in the Bartlesville sports program and went on to work as a head college football coach in Texas and at SOSU. He is in second stint with SOSU, which competes in NCAA-II.
BRYCE DRUMMOND
Football (RS soph.)
High school: Pawhuska
College: Oklahoma State
Following an incredible prep career, Drummond has been mostly a man in search of a permanent position during his college journey.
He is listed on the OSU roster as a tight end (6-3, 219).
Drummond transferred from North Texas, where he filled the roles of quarterback and linebacker, but saw most his time on special teams.
Not surprising, in a way, considering Drummond started out at Pawhuska as an offensive lineman!
That's the spot he held for the 2017 Huskie team that finished at 0-10, which prompted the hiring of a new coach.
When Matt Hennesy took the job, he conducted an extensive quarterback tryout and settled on Drummond to be his man.
It turned out to be an inspired -- and inspiring -- choice.
In Drummond's three seasons (2018, 2019, 2020) guiding the Pawhuska offense, the team accumulated a 29-8 record and played in the Class A quarterfinals (2019) and in the semifinals (2020). The 2020 squad became the first Huskie team to go unbeaten (10-0) in the regular season.
Drummond's career prep passing statistics included: 544-of-808 for 8,881 yards and 111 touchdowns. As a senior, the three-star prospect hit on 233-of-308 passing for 3,837 yards and 59 scores.
He received offers from multiple schools, including Purdue, Texas State and Tulsa and chose North Texas.
He redshirted his first year and moved to linebacker his second season (2022), where he saw action in 12 games, mostly on special teams.
He then transferred to Oklahoma State with a chance at a new position to try to optimize his considerable athletic attributes.
TODD DRUMMOND
Football (fr.)
High school: Pawhuska
College: South Dakota
Following the graduation of Bryce Drummond as the Pawhuska High quarterback, his taller and leaner younger brother Todd (6-foot-5, 200 pounds) moved into the position.
Todd brought a cannon passing arm and unflappable nerve and verve to the job.
Pawhuska registered a 17-8 record during his two years (2021, 2022) as starter, although that mark is a bit deceptive. In 2022, Pawhuska (6-5) moved up to Class 2A and into a brutal district that included Vinita (8-3), Claremore-Sequoyah (11-2) and Rejoice Christian (10-1).
During Drummond's junior season (2021), Pawhuska had bolted to an 11-3 record, including an appearance in the Class A semifinals.
For his Pawhuska career, Drummond threw for 7,500 yards (an average of 3,750 per year) and 85 touchdowns. His senior passing numbers included 3,156 yards passing, 558 yards rushing and 40 touchdowns.
He also won a state track bronze medal in the discus throw and earned a spot on the honor roll.
Drummond was listed on South Dakota's 2023 spring football roster.
The Coyotes finished 3-8 last season, including a 34-0 loss to Kansas State of the Big 12.
They beat Cal Poly, Southern Illinois and Missouri State.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Part ii: Former area prep sports icons prepare for college play this fall
