Top 2020 Oklahoma OL Making Notre Dame Trip

David Alexander knows plenty about being an offensive lineman.

Prior to becoming the head coach at his alma mater, Broken Arrow High School in Oklahoma, Alexander was a standout at the University of Tulsa before playing a decade in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets.

So, it didn’t take Alexander long to recognize what he had in Andrew Raym‍, a talented lineman, who is currently a sophomore at Broken Arrow.

“Andrew is a special talent,” Alexander said. “I’m an offensive lineman by trade. That’s what I played in the NFL, I’ve been coaching offensive linemen for 15 years and he’s the best one I’ve coached, especially so early.”

The 6-foot-4, 275-pounder in the Class of 2020 already has offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Memphis, SMU and Tulsa.

“You don’t get recruited by some of these schools he’s getting recruited by without being big,” Alexander said. “But he’s a special athlete. He’s our deep snapper. He’d probably be our punter if somebody else could snap. He’s just a different kind of kid and they don’t come along very often.”

Raym’s advanced understanding and talent have led to advanced coaching tips from Alexander.

“His talent level allows him to do more things, but he’s very smart,” the coach said. “His math teacher wants him to take the test to be a National Merit in math. I can talk to him about the little things, stuff I didn’t learn until I was in the NFL; head placement, footwork and understanding what the defense is trying to do. He’s smart.

“His goal is not to be a good offensive lineman. His goal is to be the best player in the state. He just wants to be the best at everything he does. Having God-given ability matched up with a great internal drive to be great makes him the special kid he is.”

Notre Dame defensive backs coach Todd Lyght was at Broken Arrow during the spring recruiting period, which has led to Raym scheduling a trip to South Bend this weekend for Notre Dame’s primetime matchup against USC.

“Coach Lyght and I were in the NFL about the same time,” said Alexander. “He got my prospect list and went back and watched film.”

Alexander isn’t surprised Notre Dame was a school Raym and his family are taking out time to see.

“I haven’t asked Andrew this, but to me, it’s pretty obvious,” the coach said. “Notre Dame is a national school. They’ve always been a national school. They have a national brand. Nationally, it’s probably the number one school as far as branding and the reputation of the academics, reputation of athletics and everything that school stands for. That alone, right there, sets them apart.”

It’s still very early in Raym’s recruitment, but his coach knows it’s likely to get a little crazy in the months and years to come.

“You don’t see very many kids commit as a sophomore, but I’m hoping he’ll narrow it down to two, three, however many schools after Christmastime,” Alexander said.

Alexander knows there will be scores of schools jostling to get Raym’s attention and believes narrowing it down will help make it just a little less overwhelming.