While some recruiting trips are more important than others, the one Keevan Lucas took to Tulsa in 2012 was one of those landmark type of trips.

His future quarterback and good friend Dane Evans was one of the hosts. And the rest is history in the making.

“He’s one of my best friends ever since I’ve been up here,” Evans told Inside Tulsa Sports. “I hosted him on his official visit, me and Josh (Atkinson), and I’ve known him ever since that day. I don’t even know how many balls we’ve thrown together, just countless."

With any luck at all, Lucas and Evans could break a lot of records this season as seniors at TU, and the Golden Hurricane could have a banner year.

Lucas graduated early from Abilene (Texas) High School to enroll in the spring of 2013 to join Evans, who had just completed his first semester at TU, where he redshirted.

The two have spent so much time together practicing and playing that they have developed an almost telepathic ability to communicate on the football field.

“I give Dane a look and he knows what I’m going to do,” Lucas said. “We’ve got that connection.”

“He’s right,” Evans said. “He can just give me that look, and I can give him that look without even giving a signal, based on what the defense is showing, I’ll know exactly where he will be.”

Evans needs just 2,605 yards to break Paul Smith’s career record of 10,936 yards. Considering he passed for 4,332 yards last season and 3,102 yards as a sophomore, the record is sure to be shattered as long as Evans is healthy. He is currently fourth behind Smith, G.J. Kinne and T.J. Rubley.

“That would be cool to go out on top,” said the 6-1, 210-pound Evans from Sanger, Texas. “That is kind of what I said when I committed here is I want to be remembered as the best one to come through here.

“For me that would really mean that if I break those records that Keevan is probably going to break the records that he’s supposed to break, and we’re going to be a really good team and we’re going to be on the verge of a conference championship.”

Lucas will need to have his best season of his career to move up from 15th place to pass Howard Twilley’s totals of 261 receptions for 3,343 yards. Lucas, who posted career best totals of 101 catches for 1,219 yards as a sophomore, needs 103 catches for 1,274 yards to break Twilley’s marks.

Considering Tulsa played only 12 games in 2014, and a bowl season would guarantee at least a 13th game, and the fact that Tulsa’s offense is more conducive to big numbers than the 2014 offense, it appears Lucas would be a good bet to get the records. Lucas would need to pass former receivers coach and current Director of Player Development and Personnel Dan Bitson, who is second, and Keyarris Garrett, who is third after leading the nation in receiving last season.

“Wherever I’ve been, I’ve looked at who is number one, and I wanted to leave my mark and beat that,” said the 5-10, 195-pound Lucas, who caught 26 passes for 409 yards last season in four games before injuring his right knee.

Lucas has declared his right knee is 100 percent after recovering from his patella tendon injury. So not only is his knee healthy, but so is his passion for football, which has always been high.

A big fan of Dallas Cowboys’ Dez Bryant, Lucas says he is just as emotional as Bryant. He has a good reason why his emotions don’t get out of control like they do for Bryant at times.

“I like Dez Bryant’s passion for the game. I show more emotion in practice than games because I know I can’t get a penalty in practice,” said a laughing Lucas.

Sitting out with the injury gave Lucas the opportunity to see the game from a different perspective.

“I learned a lot from getting to watch from the press box, learning what (coach Philip Montgomery’s) thought process is and seeing from a different view how plays develop,” said Lucas, who watched most of the home games from the coaches’ box in the press box before watching the Independence Bowl game from the sideline.

For Evans, having Lucas back is a huge relief. There isn’t a bigger fan of Lucas than Evans.

“Keevan’s such an amazing receiver to get to throw to because he’s one of those guys who can take a five-yard pass and turn it into 75 yards, and that’s an amazing aspect to have for our offense,” Evans said.

“He’s incredible. Him and Keyarris are easily the best two guys I’ve thrown to. It’s crazy because Keyarris is the deep threat guy, and Keevan can go deep, can go across the middle, he can go short, he can run any route, he can play running back. He’s just a guy that you want him on your team with the ball in his hand.

“I really don’t see why Keevan wouldn’t be considered one of the best in the country.”

Although Evans lost Garrett to the Carolina Panthers of the NFL this year, having guys like Lucas and Atkinson, who caught 76 passes for 1,071 yards in 2015 is a luxury few college quarterbacks possess. Also, Evans believes Montgomery’s system brings out the best in players.

“Having Keyarris leading the country in receiving, that set the bar for receivers,” Evans said. “There is no reason any of our receivers that are here right now should think that they won’t lead the country in receiving.”

Evans and Lucas both share goals of playing pro football and then coaching after their playing careers are over.

“I’ve always told everyone that I’ll play NFL, Canadian, Arena,” Evans said. “I just want to play. I’ll play as long as I can, and when I can’t play anymore, I want to coach college football.”

Although a senior, Lucas is appealing to the NCAA for a chance for an additional year of eligibility due to his injury last season. There is precedent for players getting another year of eligibility due to medical reasons, but the process is complicated.

A huge benefit for Lucas for getting another year would be teaming up with his younger brother, Keylon Stokes, a receiver who has committed to play for the Golden Hurricane in 2017.

“I’m looking at this as my last year,” said Lucas. “It will be a bonus if I get another year.”

All of the returning players, especially Evans, are more confident going into their second season under Montgomery after winning six games and going to the Independence Bowl last season.

“I feel a lot more comfortable in the fact that Coach Monty has never led me astray, and I’ve never led him astray” Evans said. “I feel like he’s a lot more comfortable this year putting things on my plate than he was last year because I showed him I can do it and I can handle it.

“I feel like I’m really understanding how he calls plays in a game, his strings of plays, when he’s going to go tempo, when we’re going to go our normal tempo, when we’re going to dial up a shot here and there.”

All of that comfort leads to a much higher level of expectations.

“Winning the conference title is what we’ve been talking about all since spring ball started,” Evans said. “That’s our one goal this season. Obviously we want to get bowl eligible as fast as we can, but conference championships, that’s what we’ve been breaking out on, and we want it here in December.”

“Our goal is the conference championship,” Lucas said. “I feel we can do it.”