A sign a player isn’t worried about living up to his brother’s feats is when he takes his number.

For Keylon Stokes, wearing his brother Keevan Lucas’ number 2 is not only a matter of pride. It is a reminder that he aims to surpass the number Lucas put up during his fantastic career at TU from 2013-2016.

“I talk to him all the time about getting his records,” said Stokes, whose eyes light up when he talks about Lucas. “That’s what’s mainly on my mind, defeating his records, so I just let him know about that.”

Stokes knows that if he puts up numbers that would set records at TU, then winning will likely follow. If the numbers are there, then the offense will be rolling up yards and points.

At look at his brother’s numbers shows that if Stokes can ever surpass Lucas, he will be one of the greatest receivers in Tulsa history. That is certainly something to shoot for.

Lucas is tied for first with Howard Twilley and NFL Hall of Famer Steve Largent with 32 touchdowns. He is second in catches with 240 behind Twilley’s 261, and is third in receiving yards with 3,250. Twilley is first with 3,343, and current Director of Player Personnel & Development Dan Bitson is second with 3,300 yards.

If Stokes were to even approach those numbers, he will need to have some monster years. Stokes led Tulsa in catches and yards last season with 41 for 575, and caught six passes as a true freshman for 143 yards.

So in order for the 6-foot, 190-pound junior from Manvel, Texas, to surpass Lucas, he must average over 1,266 yards and 97 catches per season. As far as touchdowns, Stokes had both of his TD catches last season. He would need 15 a year to tie the school record. Lucas' top individual numbers were 101 catches for 1,219 yards in 2014 and 15 touchdowns catches in 2016.

Those type of statistics are the numbers of an elite receiver. Certainly possible. But lofty goals. No more daunting than taking on the challenge of wearing number 2.

“Just wearing the number alone is big shoes to fill,” Stokes said. “A huge target on my back. I hear it from him all the time. He says, ‘you know, you’ve got that number 2 on your back, you can’t be out there messing up or anything.’

“Just with that alone, it puts a lot on me, because I don’t’ want to be messing up his number. I still think of it in my mind as just a number, so I’ve just got to go out there and play my game and do what I’ve got to do.”

Stokes talks with his brother frequently, which lately has been from thousands of miles away while Lucas continues his football career in the German Football League.

“He always says I’ve got big shoes to fill, that’s just something I’m always going to hear from him,” Stokes said. "I take it with a grain of salt and just keep moving.”

Stokes improved greatly in 2018 as the season went on, as he and freshman quarterback Seth Boomer gained more experience. With Boomer or heralded junior Baylor transfer Zach Smith at the helm this year, it is highly probable the passing game will take a major step up.

Stokes believes both quarterbacks are capable of taking the Golden Hurricane back into the winning column and well beyond this season.

“They’re great quarterbacks, great leaders,” Stokes said. “It’s going to be a tough decision because they both have a great arms, they’re both smart.

“Seth developed a lot as the season went on. From his games until now, he knows the ins-and-outs of defenses. He knows the smarts of the offense. He knows what reads, what things he needs to say, what blitzes that have to be picked up, and that just comes from playing the game, getting his reps in.

“Zach is the same way. He’s smart. He’s got a strong arm. It’s like, you just can’t wait for him to get into a game to see what he’s like.”

As for Stokes, the coaches are putting a lot on his plate this season. Not only are great things expected of his catching the ball, but he is also a threat rushing and in the return game. Last season, he rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, and returned 13 kickoffs for a 23.5 yard average. He is also being strongly considered to add punt returns this season as well.

But it will always be as receiver where Stokes will make his biggest impact.

“I feel like, as a receiver, I’ve developed a lot from my freshman year until now,” Stokes said. “Explosiveness, route running, knowing the defense, just smarts of being a receiver. I feel like I’ve come a long way. I can’t wait to put it together.”

But even though Stokes talks about individual goals, the team’s success is first and foremost on his mind. And he is as confident of team success as he is of any personal feats.

“As a team, we’ve worked on getting to know each other as brothers. I feel like we did that this summer, and we achieved our goal," Stokes explained. “I feel like the offense is going to be great. Very young, very explosive. We have a lot of weapons that we just have to put to use. I just can’t wait.”