Lawrence High senior Amani Bledsoe sported an Oklahoma hat has he signed a letter of intent on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016.

Nearly 20 months after receiving his first college football scholarship offer, Lawrence High senior Amani Bledsoe finally crossed the finish line.

Bledsoe signed and faxed his letter of intent to the University of Oklahoma at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops posted a short video on Twitter two minutes later, which included pictures of Bledsoe in Oklahoma gear, to celebrate the signing.

In the afternoon, Bledsoe — one of the most highly recruited players in LHS history — was honored at a signing day ceremony with seven of his former teammates in the school’s gymnasium.

“I can’t even describe the feeling,” said Bledsoe, who wore a red shirt and an Oklahoma hat. “It feels great to just know it’s finally over, to see all of the hard work finally pay off and to just begin a new chapter in life. It’s amazing.”

Bledsoe, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive end, announced his commitment to Oklahoma on Jan. 21, but that didn’t make the final two weeks any less stressful.

“I had a little outside influence, but I stayed solid in my decision,” said Bledsoe, who chose the Sooners over Kansas University.

Hundreds of people filled the stands inside of Lawrence’s gym — families, coaches, teachers and classmates — to honor a talented senior class. Along with Bledsoe, Trey Georgie (Illinois State), Price Morgan (Air Force), Peter Afful (Hutchinson CC), J’Mony Bryant (Independence CC), Ivan Hollins (Baker), Nate Koehn (Butler CC) and JD Woods (Missouri Western) finalized their college choices.

“This just shows how much this school cares about, not only me, but all of the players up there,” Morgan said. “In some way, almost everyone out there has helped me along this journey. Whether or not they are at games, or just offering advice. It’s awesome. You don’t get that everywhere.”

Morgan, a 6-4, 210-pound linebacker, had trouble falling asleep Tuesday with signing day looming. He faxed in his Certificate of Intent, which is a little different because of the Academy appointment process, after arriving at school in the morning.

“I was up all night,” Morgan said. “I caught myself waking up thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to miss the deadline when it needs to be in by.’ But it was just great to finally sign it.”

Georgie chose Illinois State over South Dakota State, Northern Iowa and Missouri State. He will likely red-shirt next season before trying to crack a spot in the offensive line.

The 6-5, 260-pound lineman said an official visit sold him on the idea of playing for the Redbirds, where he “connected” with the coaches and players.

All eight of the signees were thrilled to sign as a group after playing together for the past four years.

“It’s really special because this group of kids we got here, in our senior class, we’ve been through everything,” Bledsoe said. “When I say everything — literally everything. It’s just a nice feeling.”

Other expected area football signees: Hersimran Aujla, Mill Valley (Hutchinson CC); Anthony Branch, Mill Valley (Hutchinson CC); TJ Boatwright, De Soto (Fort Scott CC); Anthony Brown, Mill Valley (Butler CC); Alex Cigard, Baldwin (Garden City CC); Spencer Clayborn, Mill Valley (Butler CC); Grant Elston, Eudora (Baker); Ben Harvey, Oskaloosa (St. Mary’s); Cody Hastings, Santa Fe Trail (Pittsburg State); Ben Hecht, Mill Valley (North Dakota State); Kyle Hopkins, Oskaloosa (Fort Scott CC); Christian Jegen, Mill Valley (Northern Iowa); Tanner Jenkins, Mill Valley (Missouri Western); Cal Lyle, Santa Fe Trail (Fort Scott CC); Cole Morris, Mill Valley (Butler CC); Dalton Trimble, Tonganoxie (Fort Scott CC).