Going from an intense, but fun rivalry to being teammates, D'Angelo Brewer joined Nigel Carter and Bishop Louie to represent North Tulsa for the University of Tulsa football team in 2014.

The trio features skill and talent, as well as providing hope for other kids from North Tulsa.

As for bragging rights between Central and McLain, the subject comes up every once in a while.

“We always go back and forth because in our last two years of high school, we played against them, and we ended 1-1,” said Brewer, a Central graduate. “My junior year I ran for 233 yards against them.”

But amazingly, Central lost in that 200-yard plus game. But Brewer almost single-handedly brought his Braves back on a game-winning final drive when the three were all seniors.

Brewer was a dynamic quarterback in high school who really wasn’t what most people think of as being a quarterback. Brewer simply had the ball snapped to him because he was the team’s best player. He could pick a hole and run at any time, or he could pass a little bit.

Dan Bitson, the TU receivers coach at the time, was primarily responsible for getting Brewer to come to Tulsa. Bitson, the former TU All-American, had tried to get Brewer to come to McLain when Bitson was the head coach there. Bitson coached both Carter and Louie as sophomores before coming to TU as an assistant. He is now in his second year as Director of Player Personnel and Development at TU under head coach Philip Montgomery.

“Coming from high school, Dan Bitson recruited me. Coming out of middle school, he was always telling me he liked that I had vision,” said Brewer. “I guess I’ve always had that knack to find open spaces. In high school I never specifically played running back. I came in playing slot receiver, that’s why I still have soft hands - best hands on the team, I think.”

When Brewer made the comment about best hands on the team, he said it with a smile, as if to get a little reaction from some of his teammates. But also, he strongly believes he has good hands.

Besides leading Tulsa in rushing last season with 837 yards, the 5-foot-9, 194-pound Brewer caught 15 passes for 107 yards - which was more than twice the number of catches by the other Tulsa running backs combined.

Brewer believes added weight and his maturation as a player will result in much bigger things in 2016.

"My goal has always been to get to 1,000 yards every year since I've been playing," said Brewer.

Brewer, Carter and Louie all played on offense as true freshmen out of high school, and all are juniors. Carter and Louie are both receivers.

The electrifying Louie had the best freshman year of the trio with 23 catches for 274 yards, seven carries for 100 yards, as well as returning kicks as a freshman, but didn’t play as much when Montgomery took over. His 9-yard touchdown pass against Virginia Tech in the Independence Bowl was the highlight of the season for the 5-10, 172-pound Louie.

“I’ve been playing with Bishop since mighty mites, so we always compete and make each other better by competing,” said Brewer. “So we’re going to talk about that forever.”

Carter’s career highlight among his five career catches was a 25-yarder into double-coverage in the second half of the Independence Bowl.

“Man, I was just excited to get up in there,” said the 6-3, 205-pound Carter. “I was waiting on that moment, and I knew that is was coming, so I had to just stay prepared the whole time.”

Carter is currently the fourth receiver. The team often plays four receivers, and sometimes five at a time. A fourth receiver comes in when there is no tight end in the game.

“I’m looking to start, inside position. I feel comfortable playing there now,” said the 6-3, Carter.

Montgomery has been especially impressed with Carter since the spring. Carter led all receivers in the spring game with six catches for 76 yards.

"Nigel had as good of a spring as anybody," Montgomery said.

Carter has worked hard at what he felt were areas in his game that needed improvement.

“Just catching the ball and finishing the process,” Carter said. “What I mean by that is using my eyes to see the ball and catching the ball before I do anything else. And that was really my main problem, because I always had problems with my eyes. I had to do a lot of tennis ball machines, jugs machines catching to train my eyes. I’ve really improved in catching the ball. My speed has improved, too.”

Carter credits McLain head coach Jarvis Payne for solving a critical problem. Payne, who took over at McLain when Bitson left for TU, was an assistant at McLain under Bitson.

“I’ve worn contacts since my junior year in high school,” Carter said. “I noticed a problem in my sophomore year. It was a goal line play, a ball was thrown to me, and I couldn’t see the ball, really. I had a visor on, and that kind of messed everything up. Coach Payne noticed, and he suggested I get contacts.

“There could be times when you run an out route, and the ball is coming to you and you want to hurry up and get up the field, but you have to catch the ball first to get up the field. So my problem has been just seeing the ball and trying to hurry up and get up the field and leaving the ball.”

Making North Tulsa proud is a big deal for the trio.

“Of course I want to represent North Tulsa as much as I can,” Brewer said. “This is my city, and Bishop and Nigel, we all love our city. I want people to know me for working hard and being able to influence a lot of kids who grew up watching me grow up since I was young.”

“It’s good for other people on the north side of Tulsa to see you doing good and trying to do something for yourself,” Carter said. “I try to go out there every now and then to see my folks and talk to my people and go to McLain.”

As for Bitson, the coach responsible for recruiting the trio, they all give him a lot of credit for keeping them focused, as well as keeping them grounded. They smile when talking about him.

“He’s still around being Coach Bitson,” said Carter.

Another Central graduate, Shemarr Robinson, is a 6-4, 280-pound defensive tackle who signed in the 2016 class. He was a sophomore when Brewer was a senior at Central.

"Now, I have a former teammate, a freshman, Shemarr Robinson, to balance things out," Brewer said.

Being teammates now is obviously more important to all of them, but the past rivalry is always there.

“Central was our big rival, so beating them was always important,” said Carter.

“It’s weird being on the same team, but it’s all right because they’re my boys,” Brewer added.