The Oklahoman’s Super 30: Millwood LB Micho Lavine’s patience leads him to North Texas
As Darwin Franklin shared a piece of wisdom about college football recruitment, Micho Lavine sat across from him.
“It’s uncomfortable waiting, especially in this era of cellphones,” said Franklin, Millwood High School’s coach. “... Sometimes, you got to wait and watch. You’re gonna get what you need, but you just got to wait and let it materialize. Kind of like a Polaroid.”
It might not have been the first time Lavine heard this insight. The senior linebacker/running back said the Falcons use lots of analogies, but perhaps no other can describe his burgeoning football career as accurately as Franklin’s photography comparison.
Instead of rushing the recruiting process, Lavine let the full picture develop, quietly relying on his versatility until college coaches started paying attention.
His approach has worked. Ranked No. 20 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list of the state’s best prospects in the 2024 class, Lavine committed to North Texas in June.
His recruitment took off after his junior season with Division I offers from not only the Mean Green, but also Washington State, Kent State, South Dakota and the University of Texas at San Antonio.
“I think with Micho, it’s just about being patient,” said Millwood assistant coach Nick Henderson, who also serves as a recruiting coordinator.
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Patience guided Lavine through his sophomore season, when his coaches took precautions and sidelined him after a minor injury. That quality also allowed Lavine to effectively share the backfield with now-Ohio running back Rickey Hunt Jr. last year.
And it bolstered him when he wasn’t sure what his future would look like.
Despite having the talents of a Division I recruit, Lavine headed into his junior year with no college offers. This wasn’t the timeline he or his coaches had hoped for, but Franklin and Henderson acknowledged the shifting landscape of recruiting, particularly the way the transfer portal can distract colleges from looking at high school prospects.
Although Lavine’s time hadn’t arrived, he ensured it would.
He knows how to improvise and combine different elements for one goal, and that translates to his favorite hobby away from football.
Lavine has been an avid chef for several years, considering fried shrimp and fried lobster to be his signature dishes. Although he learned from family members and recipes, he doesn’t just copy others.
“If it’s something I’m new to, I’ll go to recipes,” Lavine said. “But if I’ve been cooking it, I just go off of me. Even if I go off recipes, I’ll still add something of mine.”
He has a similar style on the field, putting his unique stamp on the Falcons’ plays with tenacity and size at 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds.
This is how Lavine made an undeniable impact on Millwood’s trip to the Class 2A state finals as a junior.
With the nickname “Tank,” he disrupted offenses with 61 tackles, 9.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles and five pass breakups. He also rushed for 665 yards and 10 touchdowns on 80 carries.
And the statistics don’t tell his whole story.
Lavine consistently excelled as a blocker, clearing traffic for Hunt to zoom into the end zone. Franklin said Lavine could have been the primary ball carrier, but he embraced his versatile support role for a straightforward reason.
“It was better for the team,” Lavine said.
This constant will to win guides him. He has proven he can maximize opportunities, averaging 8.3 yards per carry during the past season, and he can pick up responsibilities quickly.
When coaches ask Lavine to take on a new job, he responds with a nod or an “OK” and does his job, Henderson said. Last year, he unflinchingly moved to defensive end.
“He’s just so multifaceted,” Franklin said.
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Lavine started building this skill set at an early age. As a preteen, he trained in Texas with his uncle Tommie Harris, the former OU defensive tackle who played for the Chicago Bears.
It wasn’t easy, Lavine said, but Harris focused on details some people might overlook. This gave Lavine a solid foundation, and around eighth grade, he realized a college football career could be possible.
The image couldn’t take shape instantly.
During his sophomore year, the Falcons went through growing pains. Millwood missed the playoffs with a 4-6 record, and Lavine’s meniscus – the cartilage in his knee – slipped out of place during the season. Although he recovered quickly, Franklin didn’t take any chances.
A gold trophy was out of reach for the Falcons anyway, so Franklin gave Lavine extra time to rest, though he wanted to play at the end of the season.
After passing that test of patience, Lavine returned for his dynamic junior year.
He still had no offers at the end of the regular season, but right before the state championship game, it happened.
Although Oklahoma Baptist University extended the first offer, Henderson said the Division-II Bison recognized Lavine as a D-I prospect.
Sure enough, bigger offers followed. After visiting North Texas this summer, Lavine made up his mind.
When Franklin received the phone call about Lavine’s decision, he could sense confidence, hearing a tone of excitement in the linebacker’s typically even-keeled voice.
“I felt wanted there,” Lavine said. “It’s close to home. I like their facilities.”
After biding his time, Lavine enters his senior season with certainty. He is a college commit, and since Hunt has graduated, it’s Lavine’s turn to take on a larger leadership role.
Now that the picture is clear, Lavine is still the same quiet, motivated player. Team success has to develop like a Polaroid, too, and he’s striving to propel the Falcons to a state title after missing one by a few inches last year.
“It really hasn’t been different,” Lavine said. “I just keep doing what I do in order to get prepared for the season. If I need to change things up on how I do stuff during the season, then I’ll adjust.”
The Oklahoman’s 2024 Super 30
Name: Micho Lavine
School: Millwood
Super 30 ranking: No. 20
Ht.: 6-foot-3 | Wt.: 208 pounds
Position: Linebacker/running back
Committed to: North Texas
About the series
The Oklahoman’s Super 30 feature series will spotlight each high school football player on the Super 30 recruit rankings for the 2024 class. The series continued Wednesday with No. 20, Micho Lavine of Millwood. See No. 19 on the list in Thursday’s edition of The Oklahoman. Here are the last five players we’ve featured:
No. 24: Issac Covington, RB/DB, Tulsa Union
No. 23: Brody Duffel, OL, Bixby
No. 22: River Warren, QB, Del City
No. 21: MJ Graham, QB/DB, Westmoore
No. 20: Micho Lavine, RB/LB, Millwood
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS football: Micho Lavine, Millwood recruiting profile
