When Quentin Skinner first stepped onto the turf at Lantow Field in Claremore, dreams of playing in the NFL seemed distant.

However, that dream became reality Saturday.

Skinner, a 2020 Claremore High School graduate, officially signed a three-year, $2.975 million contract with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent — pocketing $185,000 in guaranteed money and a $10,000 signing bonus. In 2025, he will earn a base salary of $840,000, with scheduled raises to $1,005,000 and $1,120,000 over the following two seasons should he remain with the Jets throughout the length of his deal.

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The 6-foot-5, 195-pound wide receiver earned his opportunity the hard way.

He posted 59 catches for 759 yards and nine touchdowns across 28 high school games for the Zebras from 2017 to 2019 before blossoming into one of college football’s top deep threats at Kansas, where he finished his collegiate career ranked third nationally in yards per catch (22.3) during the 2024 season.

Skinner hauled in 25 passes for 557 yards and four touchdowns as a senior, following a junior year in which he averaged 20.2 yards per catch — the seventh-best mark in the nation. Across his career as a Jayhawk, he totaled 1,584 receiving yards on 80 catches (19.8 ypc), finding the end zone 11 times and demonstrating an elite ability to stretch the field.

Skinner now joins the small fraternity of Rogers County natives to reach the NFL.

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Josh Brown, a Foyil High School alum, was a standout kicker at Nebraska — making 98% of his extra points and 69.4% of field goals — before launching a 14-year NFL career that included stints with the Seahawks, Rams, Bengals and Giants and even a field-goal make for Seattle in Super Bowl XL in 2006 — a 21-10 loss to the Steelers.

Steve Gage, a 1983 Claremore graduate, went on to star at Tulsa before getting drafted by the Washington Redskins. Although a college quarterback, Gage switched to defensive back in the pros and helped the Redskins to a 42-10 win over the Denver Broncos in 1987’s Super Bowl XXII.

Sequoyah’s Levy Adcock made his mark protecting quarterbacks at Oklahoma State from 2009 to 2011 before playing for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants from 2012 to 2013.

Further back, Joe Allton (Claremore, late 1930s) played for the Chicago Cardinals in 1942, Jay Turner (Oklahoma Military Academy’s high school) played two seasons for the Redskins and Stub Blackman (Claremore, early-mid 1920s) spent a season with the Chicago Bears in 1930.

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Skinner’s rise from local standout to NFL signee serves as both inspiration and proof that sometimes, dreams that start on small-town Friday nights can end up under the bright lights of Sunday afternoons.

Now, he will head to New York hoping to add his own chapter to Rogers County’s storied (and rare) NFL legacy.