CAYSON BADLEY
NSU
Coming out of Ponca City High School in 2022, Cayson Badley had an outstanding career as an athlete. He played football, wrestled and threw the shot and discus in track. His senior year he was named to the All-State team, was the Class 6A-II Offensive Lineman of the Year and was a team captain. But like most students moving from high school to college, Cayson acknowledged there were some adjustments he had to make.
“In football adjusting to the speed of the game is always tough and so it took me a minute. About halfway through my freshman yearwe had some injuries, and I was kind of thrown into action. For awhile I got my butt kicked but I finally turned it up and got going. I also had to adjust my time management between athletics and classwork. I had always been a bit of a procrastinator when it came to classwork, so I had to adapt and make sure I got my classwork done on time.”
But there were also some positives about adjusting to the Tahlequah campus for Cayson.
“I’ve found everyone here is willing to help you and get to know you and they want to see you succeed.”
The RiverHawk footballers have a new coach this year in Darrin Chiaverini who is starting to change the culture of the program according to Badley.
“Coach has completely changed the environment and we’re going to get it going for sure.”
Cayson and his cohorts on the offensive line spend a lot of time together which is fine with the junior tackle who has played every position on the offensive line at NSU at some point.
“I like to hang out with the other O-line guys and play the NCAA ’25 video game or go to the river. It builds a brotherhood which I feel translates on to the football field as well.”
For athletes or non-athletes, Northeastern State offers a great atmosphere for college, says Badley.
“It’s a good place to be with a family atmosphere. We’re surrounded by great people with a great atmosphere and it’s a beautiful area.”
Cayson is majoring in Health and Physical Education and would like to coach football after college.
