MUSKOGEE — Kayden McGee welcomed a new era of football when he stepped onto the field at Rougher Village.

Muskogee had lost every home game in the final season at its old stadium, and that stung for McGee and his teammates. But last September, the star receiver quickly showed fans how the Roughers’ fortune would change with their brand-new setting.

After nearly scoring on the opening kickoff, McGee christened the stadium with the first touchdown catch, revving up the Roughers for a 47-3 win against Putnam City.

Last season, perhaps no Oklahoma high school football turnaround was more remarkable than Muskogee’s 10-2 breakout only one year after a 2-8 slog.

McGee, a 6-foot-1 senior wideout/defensive back, has played a vital role in this surge.

“He’s kind of like the rest of the program,” said Muskogee coach Travis Hill. “The program’s growing up.”

College coaches across the nation have noticed.

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Ranked No. 27 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list of the state’s best recruits in the 2024 class, McGee holds multiple Division I offers. He committed to UNLV on Tuesday, choosing from a group of 10 schools that included Arkansas State, Howard, Grambling State and Montana.

McGee embraced each offer, starting with the first from Campbell in North Carolina, but the attention hasn’t shaken his focus.

“Just because you have offers doesn’t mean you can stop,” McGee said. “Even when you’re committed, you still have that target (from opponents). You need to grind, no need to stop.”

Before he takes off for Vegas, McGee is amped about continuing what he and his teammates started last year.

There’s a fresh sense of confidence in the air at Muskogee, the Class 6A-II program that competes about 52 miles southeast of Tulsa. After a trip to the state semifinals, the idea of winning a gold trophy has morphed from a faraway dream into a legitimate goal. The emergence of junior quarterback Jamarian “Byrd” Ficklin is certainly a reason, but the Roughers also need senior leadership.

That’s where McGee steps in.

Growing up in an active household with twin sister Kaitlynn and older brother Kennedy, McGee quickly learned about competitiveness and camaraderie.

He also has length, speed and a knack for reading defenses, so he can haul in a highlight-worthy catch in a flash. Schools have recruited McGee on both sides of the ball, but he said he wants to primarily play receiver.

“He’s able to get behind the defense,” Hill said. “He’s able to stretch the defense, and that’s what he does really well.”

More: The Oklahoman's Super 30: Jino Boyd is 'just really electric' for 6A-I power Tulsa Union

It’s the reason for the nickname that appears in capital letters on his Twitter account: “BIG PLAY.”

During his junior season, Kayden “BIG PLAY” McGee lived up to the moniker with 739 yards and 16 touchdowns on 37 receptions, forming a solid connection with Ficklin.

Hill described McGee as someone who constantly communicates with his teammates. He has been a trendsetter, leading at least a dozen Roughers – including Ficklin – to join popular 7-on-7 football program Sooner7 just a year after being the sole Muskogee player on the team.

When it comes to food, McGee has an individual streak.

While most of his peers devour steak at a team dinner, the star receiver reaches for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

That’s because he never eats meat.

Ann-Marie Toberny, his mother, said he wouldn’t try it as a child, perhaps because of the texture, and his dietary preference stuck.

“I was born like that, I think,” McGee said.

To prepare for football season, McGee has to load up on protein, but you won’t see a hamburger on the menu. Eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches and cheese pizza are staples of his diet. He usually drinks nutrient-rich smoothies before and after workouts, and Muskogee’s booster club knows to have options for him at team meals.

“We worked around it with certain ways to get him some food, nutrition to go along with our pregame (routine),” Hill said. “...There’s 1,000 ways to get there.”

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The same is true for reaching the next level in football, and McGee sought advice from friends and family as he found his way to get there. He listened to his older brother, Kennedy, who plays at Bethany in West Virginia. He also learned from friend Micah Tease, the former Tulsa Booker T. Washington standout who flipped his commitment from Arkansas to Texas A&M in December.

Drawing from that experience, Tease advised him to be “110%” certain, McGee said.

The Muskogee senior found a good fit. UNLV is looking to rebuild under first-year coach Barry Odom, who graduated from Ada High School, and McGee knows how to buy into a football revival.

It happened at Muskogee, and it’s not over.

“He enjoys the idea of the turnaround,” Hill said. “And he enjoys the big expectations that are coming now, not only from our team but from him as an individual, too.”

The Oklahoman's 2024 Super 30

• Name: Kayden McGee

• School: Muskogee

• Super 30 ranking: No. 27

• Ht./Wt.: 6-foot-1, 165 pounds

• Position: Wide receiver

• Committed to: UNLV

About the series

The Oklahoman’s Super 30 feature series will spotlight each high school football player on the Super 30 recruit rankings for the 2024 class. The series continued Wednesday with No. 27, Muskogee’s Kayden McGee. See No. 26 on the list in Thursday’s edition of The Oklahoman. Here are the first four players we’ve featured:

• No. 30: Kingston Tito, LB, Lawton Eisenhower

• No. 29: Jino Boyd, WR, Tulsa Union

• No. 28: Ezra Ballinger, OL, Tulsa NOAH

• No. 27: Kayden McGee, WR, Muskogee

More: The Oklahoman’s Super 30: With family inspiration, Kingston Tito leads at Lawton Ike

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS football: Kayden McGee, Muskogee recruiting profile