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Texas recruiting notes 2019

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closetojumping
closetojumping

There's more than just 2019 stuff in this update, but I'm not being paid to post, so I'm dumping it all here and you guys can do with it/disseminate it/ignore it as you like. Regarding the UA guy

Carl Winslow
Carl Winslow

word 😂 brooks not being a take clemson starting rb pistol whipped & robbed his own teammate he lead clemson to a national championship & 3 playoff appearances recruit to wi

RadiologyHorn
RadiologyHorn

Now Mpagi is better than Leal???!???    Guys tell me you’re trolling. Please tell me this isn’t real. I feel like I’m in a Seinfeld bizarro world episode. I can’t take this shit anymore. Whe

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CowtownHorn

CowtownHorn 5126

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13 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

JFC. Shitposting isn’t a strong enough term for this nonsense. I think I’d rather be on the shag recruiting thread. In fact, that gives us the proper term for this thread. Scatposting.

 

6 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Do you have any other bright ideas to get us to 1000, smart guy?

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satyanash

satyanash 15590

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22 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Anyone have this? 

https://247sports.com/college/texas/LongFormArticle/Behind-the-scenes-look-at-2019-Texas-recruiting--128823166/

E.J. HOLLAND: BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT 2019 TEXAS RECRUITING

 

— Let’s go ahead and start with Bru McCoy, as his recruitment was one of the craziest of all-time. Yes, McCoy was considered a heavy USC lean from the start. In fact, when Texas first offered McCoy in October of 2017, we felt like he was an extreme long shot. However, Tom Herman, Tim Beck and Drew Mehringer all made McCoy a priority from the get go and started to gain some traction in the spring.

With close friend and 7v7 teammate De’Gabriel Floyd in the fold, Texas was able to make an even bigger impact. Interest in UT really started to heat up in April when he made it to Austin with Floyd for an unofficial visit. It was then when we were told something was definitely there.

When I flew out to Los Angeles the following month, I got a sense that McCoy’s interest was genuine as he talked over and over about getting a new experience away from home. Those close to McCoy also indicated that he would be very open to leaving Southern California. I returned to Los Angeles a few more times in the offseason and continued to hear the same.

— But it wasn’t until Sept. 15 when things really started to pick up for McCoy. That was the date of his official visit. It was there where he bonded with the Texas staff, got an in-depth look at the program, saw the Longhorns beat down USC, and when he really started to envision himself in Austin. McCoy also built a strong relationship with UT commit Jordan Whittington and started to tell other Texas pledges that him inking with the Longhorns was a real possibility. There was confidence around the Texas program after the visit, but I wanted to wait to put in a Crystal Ball until I felt like I was pretty sure. After Texas beat Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown, I was told ‘shooters take shots, so put it in’ and so I did. My confidence with McCoy grew in November as confidence around the program grew as well — from both commits and sources.

— There was no doubt in my mind that McCoy was going to sign with Texas at the time USC parted ways with his lead recruiter, Tee Martin. Then came the Kliff Kingsbury hire. That really did reignite things with McCoy and USC, and I was told his father was really wowed by the move. After a couple of meetings with Kingsbury and his official visit, we got super worried. In fact, I was told McCoy had given a silent to USC.

Also, the family was unable to make a return trip to Texas. All signs pointed to the Trojans, but I stuck with my gut. I had talked to McCoy and his mother so many times that I felt they would ultimately make the decision to side with stability and a new experience. Herman, after all, made a huge dent in this recruitment with his ‘be comfortable being uncomfortable’ pitch. And the aforementioned Floyd met with McCoy for eight hours right before the early period.

— McCoy was set to sign during the early period. However, he kept delaying things, which gave us reason for optimism. He ended up signing a financial aid agreement with the Trojans. Still, Texas continued to recruit him hard. There were talks about a Letter of Intent, but he was never entered in a database available to coaches to avoid violations. Texas kept fighting, but we didn’t feel like the Longhorns were making up ground. That’s when my reporting started to take a negative turn. Mike and I drove to San Antonio for the All-American Bowl right after New Year’s Day. We had every intention to switch our CBs to USC, but I wanted to hold off until we gathered more information at the Alamodome.

— McCoy was nowhere to be found that day. We were told he had informed NBC of his decision to pick USC. But… we talked a source very close to the McCoy situation that repeatedly said he was going to USC ‘right now’ with heavy emphasis. The source reiterated that McCoy wanted to be at Texas, but there was too much pressure for him to go to USC. The source added that if Kingsbury left, the plan would be for McCoy to look into entering the transfer portal. McCoy obviously picked USC later that week. He never told Texas no. Mike has a good source with access to the transfer portal, and we checked it every single day as Kingsbury immediately bolted to the NFL.

— With USC in a state of disarray and Kingsbury off to the league, buzz around McCoy and the transfer portal intensified. We caught wind of his meeting with USC compliance and were told that McCoy was definitely coming to Texas upon entering the portal. Once his name was entered, it was all gravy from there. Again, we always felt like McCoy himself wanted to be at Texas. And we have every reason to believe he’s happy to be a Longhorn despite how it all transpired. Herman, Beck and Mehringer deserve so much credit in this one. They never gave up and kept fighting. They blew this recruitment out of the water.

— Oh man, Trey Sanders. This was a really fun one to cover. Let me say Sanders was one of my favorite kids in the class. The dude has swag, and I expect big things from him at Alabama. So let’s go ahead and ask the question you want answered: Was his Texas interest real? Yeah, it really was. Let me tell you a great story from the trail. I was at the Adidas 7v7 tournament in the spring and was spending a lot of time with the Fast 7v7 program. I’m pretty tight with Marcel Brooks, and we were talking about player rankings and early predictions.

Marcel randomly told me Sanders would end up at Texas. I laughed, and he said he was serious. Marcel moved around a lot as a child and had known Sanders for years. In fact, Sanders visited Dallas every now and then and stayed with Marcel. Anyway, Marcel pulled out his phone, put it on speaker and called Sanders (I, of course, stayed quiet). Marcel asked: “Trey, where are you going?” Trey: “You already know.” Marcel: “Tell me again, I need to know.” Trey: “Texas. Leave me alone I’m sleeping.”

— I still didn’t buy it. It was too hard to believe. I had talked to Trey in the past already — I actually met him at San Antonio at the All-American Bowl when he was a junior — and fully expected him to end up back at Alabama. But I started to dig into it. The reason Sanders frequented Dallas and the Marcel household was his girlfriend. Sanders wanted to be close to her, and he saw Texas as a place where he could become ‘The Star’ and play under a former NFL running backs coach in Stan Drayton. Getting to the NFL was perhaps the biggest priority for Sanders. The five-star prospect eventually visited in the summer, and that’s when things really started to become real for us. With that said, I talked to Sanders’ dad at The Opening, and he flat out told me Texas wasn’t the move.

— Sanders made an official visit in September. He loved it. But I continued to report that there was work to do with his parents. Texas did a great job on home visits late in the cycle and improved that. However, they really wanted Sanders closer to home. Alabama was always the preference. Sanders’ girlfriend ended up picking a school in Louisiana — that’s when his interest in LSU increased. Come the week of early signing day, Sanders had still only applied to one school — Alabama. He did end up filling out one for Texas late, which is when we reported some optimism. But we always got the sense it was going to be Alabama or Georgia, which made a great run late.

— Speaking of Marcel Brooks, those saying that there was no interest from Texas late were wrong. Point blank. I went out to see Brooks close to the end of the regular season when Flower Mound Marcus took on Coppell. Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlandowas there to see Brooks in action, but I was told not to say anything, so I didn’t take photos of Orlando or report it. Brooks told me that game that an OV to Texas was a real possibility.

It never happened, but there was a little bit of mutual interest there. By the way, Brooks was very close to committing to Texas when he first camped with the Longhorns in the summer, but interest from both sides wavered. Brooks was also slated to make that summer visit to Texas with Sanders, but another site reported it, and he decided to stay home. That report really burned Texas as Brooks was committed to LSU and wanted to keep it quiet.

THE JIMBO EFFECT

— There is no way around it, Texas lost some key in-state battles this cycle as Texas A&M fed off the momentum of having a new head coach in Jimbo Fisher. The first domino to fall for the Aggies was elite safety Brian Williams. He and his family gave us every indication that they loved Texas from the very beginning. I lived about 10 minutes away from Bishop Dunne and am a frequent visitor there, and I was assured by the staff there as well that Texas was the team to beat for Williams. It wasn’t until Texas A&M hired Mike Elko that things got really interesting in that recruitment. Williams loved Elko, who recruited him hard at Notre Dame — a school considered a real threat to Texas at the time.

— Williams’ interest in Texas A&M rapidly grew. The dude didn’t even make it to a Texas A&M game the previous fall, but he committed on an early unofficial visit. The timing was really surprising. Williams quickly became a ringleader for the class and developed some ill will against Texas. He was perhaps the biggest negative recruiter against the Longhorns. In fact, we were told that there was a group chat with several top in-state recruits involving Williams, Jeffery Carter and Theo Wease that featured plenty of anti-Longhorn talk. We were also told that Garrett Wilson was the one prospect that really stood up for Texas.

— Speaking of Wilson, he never had anything against Texas. He is one of the best guys you’ll ever meet and was extremely respectful throughout the process. Wilson is originally from Ohio and fell in love with the Ohio State program. He didn’t really mesh well at Texas, and he simply felt that Ohio State was the better fit. He also had some questions about UT’s ability to produce offensively. There was some communication between Wilson and Texas late, but nothing ever came from it.

— Wilson leaning towards Ohio State early in the spring played a big role with Elijah Higgins, who also started to question fit at Texas and the overall ability of the offense. Higgins and Wilson are close and talked all the time. When we first met Higgins at the All-American Combine that January, he told us if Texas offered, his process would basically be over. But again, Higgins started to have doubts, and the opportunity to play at Stanford really weighed heavy on his mind. Later that spring, I was told outright that Stanford was the team to beat for Higgins. He loved the academics and grew fond of the idea of getting a new experience out West. Texas created some real movement late as Mehringer made an in-home, but Higgins ultimately decided that Stanford was the right move for himself.

— Let’s get back to some of these wacky Texas A&M battles. Perhaps the weirdest to cover was Demani Richardson. Texas offered Richardson on Christmas Eve. He called it his dream offer, and there was plenty of reason to believe he would pick Texas early. When Williams committed to Texas A&M, it really had an influence on Richardson. The Aggies started to build some serious momentum there, but we fully expected him to visit Texas after seeing A&M.

He made a visit to College Station with his father, who suddenly reentered the picture, and gave the Aggies a verbal pledge. Richardson told Texas he was going to come in for an unofficial visit on several occasions after his commitment to A&M. In fact, it became a running joke between Mike and myself. One weekend in the spring, Richardson was all set to visit Texas with one of his high school coaches. The morning the visit was supposed to happen, his father completely shut it down and didn’t allow Richardson to visit. That was the end of that and the last time we heard of any real movement with the Longhorns.

— I still remember the day Mike told me he had unearthed a truly special prospect. He told me about a young freshman quarterback that was going to turn into a monster wide receiver. That was Dylan Wright. Mike grew extremely close to his father over the years, and we felt we had a great grasp on his recruitment. The Wright family told Mike Texas was the leader early in the spring. In fact, Texas A&M wasn’t really in the picture until after he made a late spring visit — that really got the ball rolling for the Aggies. Despite family maintaining that Wright would wait until Under Armour to make a decision, they secretly filmed a commitment video. The day before the video released, Wright’s father told Mike point blank that no decision had been made. And that’s why we never moved our CBs.

— Wright’s father, Fred, is actually Jason Washington’s cousin. One of the best recruiters on staff, Washington was heavily involved in this recruitment, which gave us even more confidence with Wright. Fred is/was a huge Texas fan. In fact, I was told Fred was the biggest Texas fan out of any parent this cycle. Fred stayed in contact with the staff throughout the process and inquired about visiting for the USC game, but nothing ever transpired. If it was up to Fred, we feel like Wright would have ended up at Texas. I was told UT was blindsided by Wright’s decision to commit to A&M so early as he was planning to make a visit that summer.

— DeMarvin Leal actually wasn’t that strange at all. I visited Converse Judson the spring of Leal’s junior year, and he basically told me he loved Texas A&M and that was the team to beat early on. Texas hadn’t offered yet, and he didn’t seem all that interested in the Longhorns. I put in my CB for the Aggies that day. Texas eventually offered and hosted Leal and his mother for junior day, and we were told the visit was a grand slam.

The Longhorns won over his mother, and it appeared UT had turned the tide in his recruitment. Leal, of course, visited A&M and committed. He did make an official visit to Texas, which created some optimism, and the staff continued to recruit him all the way up to signing day. We were told his mom and brother loved Texas and that the Longhorns did everything they could. At the end of the day, Leal wanted to be at Texas A&M. His heart was always there, and you can’t fault him for that.

— Chris Steele!!!! No, Chris didn’t lie to us. I still love that dude, and he’s one of my favorite recruits ever. Early in the process, we were told Steele wanted to go far away from home and really wanted to play in the South. We were told Texas was a prime candidate and decided to put in a flier CB after various talks with Steele. The California corner developed a great relationship with Jason Washington and tried planning a spring official visit.

I saw texts, and Steele did have every intention of making that trip to UT. When I was in Los Angeles that spring, Steele’s father talked up Washington and told me they would visit as well. However, there was a miscommunication with Texas about coming in for a UV as opposed to an OV. After hosting Derek Stingley for an OV, Steele told us that was a turn off, and his interest in Texas faded. There were some talks between Steele and Texas throughout the process, but the visit scheduling ordeal killed momentum. By the way, Steele was positive about Texas with McCoy and not so positive about USC, so he kind of helped the Longhorns after all (laughs to myself).

— With Noah Cain, let’s just fast forward to the end of the process. He always liked Texas, but the feeling was that he would end up at LSU — he’s a Baton Rouge native and his father is a big Tigers fan. When LSU filled up at running back, it became clear that Texas and Penn State were the only true contenders. We were told Texas had the clear advantage — his mother lives in Dallas, he’s friends with guys on the team and had visited on several occasions. But that really wasn’t the case. Most of y’all might not remember, but there was a point early in the season where we reported that the Cain family had concerns about Texas and LSU on the field and that Penn State was the school highest on his list because it was the safe bet.

— Texas and LSU had great seasons, so Penn State became an afterthought in our minds. It shouldn’t have been. The Cain family built a great relationship with James Franklin and loved the system and fit in Happy Valley. Penn State, not Texas, was actually the team to beat after the LSU situation. About a week before signing day, Texas was able to pull about even. Cain spent the night before signing day agonizing over his decision.

He had a great talk with Tim Beck late, and we were told it would likely be Texas from someone in the room with Cain that night. He stayed up until close to 4 a.m. contemplating his decision. That morning he gave Penn State the indication that it would be Texas. As his announcement approached, he called Penn State back and informed them he would be going there. Cain was still crying at the table before the ESPN broadcast because he wasn’t confident in his decision. It was rough to watch.

— Isaiah Hookfin was one of the weirder recruitments of the cycle. Texas made an impression shortly after offering and was pegged as the clear favorite. However, Baylor really wowed him on his official visit, and he felt extremely comfortable there. We got a bad vibe when we were told Hookfin wasn’t really interacting on his Texas OV the following weekend and stayed in his hotel room the first night of his visit.

Baylor became the favorite shortly after, and we expected him to sign there. While signing day was going on, a report about him picking Baylor was prematurely released. That and UT’s recruiting pitches throughout the day made him push back his decision. Hookfin picked Texas on the last day of the early period as the staff was able to make a dramatic turn in a short period of time. Bryan Carrington was huge in this one and deserves plenty of credit.

— The Zach Smith fiasco didn’t really hurt Texas on the recruiting trail with the exception of one prospect — four-star defensive back Jalen Catalon. Arkansas used that against Texas all recruitment long, and his parents really bought into it. Chad Morris did a tremendous job of winning over the Catalon family as he was extremely involved in this recruitment. His religious stance was also a big selling point that we were told the Catalon family loved.

I don’t think Texas was ever able to win over his parents, but if it were up to just Catalon, I feel like UT would have been the pick. He made several visits to UT without his parents in the offseason and really bonded with Craig Naivar over their love of baseball. He was also really close to Josh Thompson and Caden Sterns — they all use the same trainer. Catalon gave Arkansas a silent on his OV. It’s also worth noting that he has two teammates committed there, Morris’ sister is an employee at his high school and his parents wanted him in a small college town.

AND NOW LET’S GO RAPID FIRE…

— As crazy as the Javonne Shepherd recruitment was, there really wasn’t a ton of behind the scenes. We basically laid everything out in public. Obviously, there was plenty of indecisiveness and some off the field concerns that we won’t go into here. We were told that towards the end of the cycle, Texas had this mentality: “If he signs, we’ll turn him into something if he buys in, and if he doesn’t, we’ll explore other options.”

— One of the biggest recruiting wins this cycle was Jake Smith. His father actually emailed Stan Drayton his film, which got the ball rolling. Smith visited a couple of time and fell in love with the program. USC was a childhood dream school, but he felt comfortable at Texas and thought it was a better fit. Jake told me he was 90 percent sure he was picking Texas before he made his USC OV when I visited him in Arizona in the spring. By the way, Tim Brewster tried to make an in-home for A&M late in the process but immediately bolted for North Carolina. The station wasn't lit that day.

— Kennedy Lewis was fully set to commit to Texas after backing out of his verbal pledge to TCU. But the Longhorns had taken Peyton Powell, and there was some confidence with McCoy, so he cancelled his announcement. UT continued to recruit Lewis and eventually took him down the line. I’m told Herman personally loved his potential. Beck was great in this recruitment down the stretch when there appeared to be hurt feelings, and he looked like he was going to sign with Baylor. Lewis’ dad told me Texas is always where they wanted to be.

— Speaking of Powell, he was one of the weirder dudes we covered this cycle. He planned to visit UT in the summer, but it never happened and told us early in the fall that he didn’t have much interest. Powell decided to make an OV and committed soon after in what was kind of a surprise to us before the days leading up to his announcement. Powell and Texas eventually parted ways for mutual reasons. By the way, he told both TCU and Baylor that he was picking them before signing with Baylor.

— Texas also had a mutual parting with Demariyon Houston. I think he was an early take when there were concerns about the receiver position, and it just didn’t work out in the end.

— Marcus Washington had some second thoughts about Texas right before signing day. But it wasn’t really him. We were told Missouri really impressed his family and that they got cold feet about UT. At one point, it appeared that he was going to flip to Mizzou — he got Fong’d. But I stuck with Texas because I was told Marcus would end up making his own decision, and he wanted to be at Texas.

— Arjei Henderson had a whirlwind of a recruitment. He called Texas his dream school early, and his dad told me that was his school of preference. After backing out of pledges to Oregon and OU (the first time), Texas recruited him, but he never made a visit. Henderson had some contact with Texas in January, but there really wasn’t anything there.

— There have been a lot of questions about Theo Wease. He camped with Texas the summer going into his junior year but didn’t show much interest after that. Theo told us he just didn’t connect with the staff and didn’t see himself as a fit. He also had a negative perception of Texas, but we’re not sure where that really came from.

— Texas was able to create some movement with elite offensive lineman Kenyon Green, but it was never going to be enough. Green always loved Texas A&M, and his family felt comfortable there.

— We had several questions about Kenyatta Watson II down the stretch. There was some miscommunication about Marcus Banks and Kaiir Elam visiting late, which caused the family to second guess some things. Watson visited other schools, but it was always as a guest of his teammates. Watson wanted to be at Texas and after those visit issues were resolved, the family became huge advocators for the program.

— Speaking of Banks, he was all Texas early on. In fact, I have a picture of him and his mom throwing up the Hook Em’ that I was going to use for his commitment edit. Banks kept delaying things, and his interest in Texas A&M grew, while his interest in Texas faded. Jason Washington did everything right here, but Banks grew increasingly interested in playing in the SEC and eventually ended up at Alabama. As mentioned, he visited Texas late — his request — but nothing really came of it.

— TCU offensive line signee Andrew Coker made a secret visit to Texas in the spring. However, another site reported it, which hurt UT a bit. He did make a return trip for an official visit late in the cycle, but Coker and his family were really set on TCU. Speaking of secret visits, there was never any secret visitor. It was going to be a stunt, but for some reason, it was never released. Again, no actual recruit made it to campus.

— Lewis Cine had Texas in his top group throughout the fall. But he gave Georgia a silent commitment and fulfilled his dream of playing big football in the South. Lewis felt like he was a better fit in the SEC and fell in love with Georgia. Craig Naivar did talk to him and saw him at school after Mel Tucker bolted for Colorado as Cine had some questions. But Georgia is where he wanted to be.

— NaNa Osafo-Mensah gave Notre Dame a silent commitment before officially visiting Texas. However, he was telling Texas commits that he was coming to Texas and gave indications that he was leaning towards UT, which caused some confusion in our reporting. Osafo-Mensah obviously sided with Notre Dame. He loved what the program offered religiously, academically and athletically.

— Texas was the early leader for Branson Bragg and that was his father’s school of preference. However, we were told his mother preferred Stanford, and the Cardinal was able to win him over. Bragg is an amazing student in the classroom and jazz pianist. He fits the Stanford mold.

(Photo: 247Sports)

— Texas was in the top three for Arkansas offensive lineman Stacey Wilkins. He and his family really connected with assistant Jake Langi. The Polynesian traditions Texas had for him on his visit were a hit. However, there was a lot of Oklahoma influence in his recruitment. Wilkins planned to make an OV for the USC game, but there was a mutual parting of ways.

— Maninoa Tufono visited Texas for junior day and planned to come back. Like Wilkins, Tufono and his family loved Langi and the Polynesian traditions on his visit. The day before he set his commitment date, there was a lot of confidence around Texas, so I put in a Crystal Ball. However, distance, familiarity and comfort all played roles in him picking USC. Tufono did reach out to Texas late in the fall, but the Longhorns had already moved on.

— Louisiana prospect Makiya Tongue was on the verge of committing to Texas. He really wanted to play wide receiver, and Texas pitched him on it. The Longhorns won both him and father over on their visit. But Tongue always loved Georgia. He visited there right before the decision. The Bulldogs told him he could play receiver, and he committed shortly after. That was the turning point.

— I was close to putting in my Crystal Ball for JUCO linebacker Lakia Henry after he backed out his pledge to Tennessee because there was an SEC credit issue.

I was told Henry would have no problem getting into Texas. However, Henry always wanted to play in the SEC. When Arkansas and Ole Miss resolved the credit issue, it was basically over. The OV didn’t create much movement.

— The first Texas commit of the cycle was four-star quarterback Roschon Johnson. He was always going to commit to UT, but the way it happened was pretty funny. After winning fastest man at Under The Lights, Sam Ehlinger encouraged Johnson to grab the microphone and commit. And he did in front of the all the recruits in attendance.

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Not a Sock

Not a Sock 2366

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5 minutes ago, satyanash said:
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— Let’s go ahead and start with Bru McCoy, as his recruitment was one of the craziest of all-time. Yes, McCoy was considered a heavy USC lean from the start. In fact, when Texas first offered McCoy in October of 2017, we felt like he was an extreme long shot. However, Tom Herman, Tim Beck and Drew Mehringer all made McCoy a priority from the get go and started to gain some traction in the spring.

With close friend and 7v7 teammate De’Gabriel Floyd in the fold, Texas was able to make an even bigger impact. Interest in UT really started to heat up in April when he made it to Austin with Floyd for an unofficial visit. It was then when we were told something was definitely there.

When I flew out to Los Angeles the following month, I got a sense that McCoy’s interest was genuine as he talked over and over about getting a new experience away from home. Those close to McCoy also indicated that he would be very open to leaving Southern California. I returned to Los Angeles a few more times in the offseason and continued to hear the same.

— But it wasn’t until Sept. 15 when things really started to pick up for McCoy. That was the date of his official visit. It was there where he bonded with the Texas staff, got an in-depth look at the program, saw the Longhorns beat down USC, and when he really started to envision himself in Austin. McCoy also built a strong relationship with UT commit Jordan Whittington and started to tell other Texas pledges that him inking with the Longhorns was a real possibility. There was confidence around the Texas program after the visit, but I wanted to wait to put in a Crystal Ball until I felt like I was pretty sure. After Texas beat Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown, I was told ‘shooters take shots, so put it in’ and so I did. My confidence with McCoy grew in November as confidence around the program grew as well — from both commits and sources.

— There was no doubt in my mind that McCoy was going to sign with Texas at the time USC parted ways with his lead recruiter, Tee Martin. Then came the Kliff Kingsbury hire. That really did reignite things with McCoy and USC, and I was told his father was really wowed by the move. After a couple of meetings with Kingsbury and his official visit, we got super worried. In fact, I was told McCoy had given a silent to USC.

Also, the family was unable to make a return trip to Texas. All signs pointed to the Trojans, but I stuck with my gut. I had talked to McCoy and his mother so many times that I felt they would ultimately make the decision to side with stability and a new experience. Herman, after all, made a huge dent in this recruitment with his ‘be comfortable being uncomfortable’ pitch. And the aforementioned Floyd met with McCoy for eight hours right before the early period.

— McCoy was set to sign during the early period. However, he kept delaying things, which gave us reason for optimism. He ended up signing a financial aid agreement with the Trojans. Still, Texas continued to recruit him hard. There were talks about a Letter of Intent, but he was never entered in a database available to coaches to avoid violations. Texas kept fighting, but we didn’t feel like the Longhorns were making up ground. That’s when my reporting started to take a negative turn. Mike and I drove to San Antonio for the All-American Bowl right after New Year’s Day. We had every intention to switch our CBs to USC, but I wanted to hold off until we gathered more information at the Alamodome.

— McCoy was nowhere to be found that day. We were told he had informed NBC of his decision to pick USC. But… we talked a source very close to the McCoy situation that repeatedly said he was going to USC ‘right now’ with heavy emphasis. The source reiterated that McCoy wanted to be at Texas, but there was too much pressure for him to go to USC. The source added that if Kingsbury left, the plan would be for McCoy to look into entering the transfer portal. McCoy obviously picked USC later that week. He never told Texas no. Mike has a good source with access to the transfer portal, and we checked it every single day as Kingsbury immediately bolted to the NFL.

— With USC in a state of disarray and Kingsbury off to the league, buzz around McCoy and the transfer portal intensified. We caught wind of his meeting with USC compliance and were told that McCoy was definitely coming to Texas upon entering the portal. Once his name was entered, it was all gravy from there. Again, we always felt like McCoy himself wanted to be at Texas. And we have every reason to believe he’s happy to be a Longhorn despite how it all transpired. Herman, Beck and Mehringer deserve so much credit in this one. They never gave up and kept fighting. They blew this recruitment out of the water.

— Oh man, Trey Sanders. This was a really fun one to cover. Let me say Sanders was one of my favorite kids in the class. The dude has swag, and I expect big things from him at Alabama. So let’s go ahead and ask the question you want answered: Was his Texas interest real? Yeah, it really was. Let me tell you a great story from the trail. I was at the Adidas 7v7 tournament in the spring and was spending a lot of time with the Fast 7v7 program. I’m pretty tight with Marcel Brooks, and we were talking about player rankings and early predictions.

Marcel randomly told me Sanders would end up at Texas. I laughed, and he said he was serious. Marcel moved around a lot as a child and had known Sanders for years. In fact, Sanders visited Dallas every now and then and stayed with Marcel. Anyway, Marcel pulled out his phone, put it on speaker and called Sanders (I, of course, stayed quiet). Marcel asked: “Trey, where are you going?” Trey: “You already know.” Marcel: “Tell me again, I need to know.” Trey: “Texas. Leave me alone I’m sleeping.”

— I still didn’t buy it. It was too hard to believe. I had talked to Trey in the past already — I actually met him at San Antonio at the All-American Bowl when he was a junior — and fully expected him to end up back at Alabama. But I started to dig into it. The reason Sanders frequented Dallas and the Marcel household was his girlfriend. Sanders wanted to be close to her, and he saw Texas as a place where he could become ‘The Star’ and play under a former NFL running backs coach in Stan Drayton. Getting to the NFL was perhaps the biggest priority for Sanders. The five-star prospect eventually visited in the summer, and that’s when things really started to become real for us. With that said, I talked to Sanders’ dad at The Opening, and he flat out told me Texas wasn’t the move.

— Sanders made an official visit in September. He loved it. But I continued to report that there was work to do with his parents. Texas did a great job on home visits late in the cycle and improved that. However, they really wanted Sanders closer to home. Alabama was always the preference. Sanders’ girlfriend ended up picking a school in Louisiana — that’s when his interest in LSU increased. Come the week of early signing day, Sanders had still only applied to one school — Alabama. He did end up filling out one for Texas late, which is when we reported some optimism. But we always got the sense it was going to be Alabama or Georgia, which made a great run late.

— Speaking of Marcel Brooks, those saying that there was no interest from Texas late were wrong. Point blank. I went out to see Brooks close to the end of the regular season when Flower Mound Marcus took on Coppell. Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlandowas there to see Brooks in action, but I was told not to say anything, so I didn’t take photos of Orlando or report it. Brooks told me that game that an OV to Texas was a real possibility.

It never happened, but there was a little bit of mutual interest there. By the way, Brooks was very close to committing to Texas when he first camped with the Longhorns in the summer, but interest from both sides wavered. Brooks was also slated to make that summer visit to Texas with Sanders, but another site reported it, and he decided to stay home. That report really burned Texas as Brooks was committed to LSU and wanted to keep it quiet.

THE JIMBO EFFECT

— There is no way around it, Texas lost some key in-state battles this cycle as Texas A&M fed off the momentum of having a new head coach in Jimbo Fisher. The first domino to fall for the Aggies was elite safety Brian Williams. He and his family gave us every indication that they loved Texas from the very beginning. I lived about 10 minutes away from Bishop Dunne and am a frequent visitor there, and I was assured by the staff there as well that Texas was the team to beat for Williams. It wasn’t until Texas A&M hired Mike Elko that things got really interesting in that recruitment. Williams loved Elko, who recruited him hard at Notre Dame — a school considered a real threat to Texas at the time.

— Williams’ interest in Texas A&M rapidly grew. The dude didn’t even make it to a Texas A&M game the previous fall, but he committed on an early unofficial visit. The timing was really surprising. Williams quickly became a ringleader for the class and developed some ill will against Texas. He was perhaps the biggest negative recruiter against the Longhorns. In fact, we were told that there was a group chat with several top in-state recruits involving Williams, Jeffery Carter and Theo Wease that featured plenty of anti-Longhorn talk. We were also told that Garrett Wilson was the one prospect that really stood up for Texas.

— Speaking of Wilson, he never had anything against Texas. He is one of the best guys you’ll ever meet and was extremely respectful throughout the process. Wilson is originally from Ohio and fell in love with the Ohio State program. He didn’t really mesh well at Texas, and he simply felt that Ohio State was the better fit. He also had some questions about UT’s ability to produce offensively. There was some communication between Wilson and Texas late, but nothing ever came from it.

— Wilson leaning towards Ohio State early in the spring played a big role with Elijah Higgins, who also started to question fit at Texas and the overall ability of the offense. Higgins and Wilson are close and talked all the time. When we first met Higgins at the All-American Combine that January, he told us if Texas offered, his process would basically be over. But again, Higgins started to have doubts, and the opportunity to play at Stanford really weighed heavy on his mind. Later that spring, I was told outright that Stanford was the team to beat for Higgins. He loved the academics and grew fond of the idea of getting a new experience out West. Texas created some real movement late as Mehringer made an in-home, but Higgins ultimately decided that Stanford was the right move for himself.

— Let’s get back to some of these wacky Texas A&M battles. Perhaps the weirdest to cover was Demani Richardson. Texas offered Richardson on Christmas Eve. He called it his dream offer, and there was plenty of reason to believe he would pick Texas early. When Williams committed to Texas A&M, it really had an influence on Richardson. The Aggies started to build some serious momentum there, but we fully expected him to visit Texas after seeing A&M.

He made a visit to College Station with his father, who suddenly reentered the picture, and gave the Aggies a verbal pledge. Richardson told Texas he was going to come in for an unofficial visit on several occasions after his commitment to A&M. In fact, it became a running joke between Mike and myself. One weekend in the spring, Richardson was all set to visit Texas with one of his high school coaches. The morning the visit was supposed to happen, his father completely shut it down and didn’t allow Richardson to visit. That was the end of that and the last time we heard of any real movement with the Longhorns.

— I still remember the day Mike told me he had unearthed a truly special prospect. He told me about a young freshman quarterback that was going to turn into a monster wide receiver. That was Dylan Wright. Mike grew extremely close to his father over the years, and we felt we had a great grasp on his recruitment. The Wright family told Mike Texas was the leader early in the spring. In fact, Texas A&M wasn’t really in the picture until after he made a late spring visit — that really got the ball rolling for the Aggies. Despite family maintaining that Wright would wait until Under Armour to make a decision, they secretly filmed a commitment video. The day before the video released, Wright’s father told Mike point blank that no decision had been made. And that’s why we never moved our CBs.

— Wright’s father, Fred, is actually Jason Washington’s cousin. One of the best recruiters on staff, Washington was heavily involved in this recruitment, which gave us even more confidence with Wright. Fred is/was a huge Texas fan. In fact, I was told Fred was the biggest Texas fan out of any parent this cycle. Fred stayed in contact with the staff throughout the process and inquired about visiting for the USC game, but nothing ever transpired. If it was up to Fred, we feel like Wright would have ended up at Texas. I was told UT was blindsided by Wright’s decision to commit to A&M so early as he was planning to make a visit that summer.

— DeMarvin Leal actually wasn’t that strange at all. I visited Converse Judson the spring of Leal’s junior year, and he basically told me he loved Texas A&M and that was the team to beat early on. Texas hadn’t offered yet, and he didn’t seem all that interested in the Longhorns. I put in my CB for the Aggies that day. Texas eventually offered and hosted Leal and his mother for junior day, and we were told the visit was a grand slam.

The Longhorns won over his mother, and it appeared UT had turned the tide in his recruitment. Leal, of course, visited A&M and committed. He did make an official visit to Texas, which created some optimism, and the staff continued to recruit him all the way up to signing day. We were told his mom and brother loved Texas and that the Longhorns did everything they could. At the end of the day, Leal wanted to be at Texas A&M. His heart was always there, and you can’t fault him for that.

— Chris Steele!!!! No, Chris didn’t lie to us. I still love that dude, and he’s one of my favorite recruits ever. Early in the process, we were told Steele wanted to go far away from home and really wanted to play in the South. We were told Texas was a prime candidate and decided to put in a flier CB after various talks with Steele. The California corner developed a great relationship with Jason Washington and tried planning a spring official visit.

I saw texts, and Steele did have every intention of making that trip to UT. When I was in Los Angeles that spring, Steele’s father talked up Washington and told me they would visit as well. However, there was a miscommunication with Texas about coming in for a UV as opposed to an OV. After hosting Derek Stingley for an OV, Steele told us that was a turn off, and his interest in Texas faded. There were some talks between Steele and Texas throughout the process, but the visit scheduling ordeal killed momentum. By the way, Steele was positive about Texas with McCoy and not so positive about USC, so he kind of helped the Longhorns after all (laughs to myself).

— With Noah Cain, let’s just fast forward to the end of the process. He always liked Texas, but the feeling was that he would end up at LSU — he’s a Baton Rouge native and his father is a big Tigers fan. When LSU filled up at running back, it became clear that Texas and Penn State were the only true contenders. We were told Texas had the clear advantage — his mother lives in Dallas, he’s friends with guys on the team and had visited on several occasions. But that really wasn’t the case. Most of y’all might not remember, but there was a point early in the season where we reported that the Cain family had concerns about Texas and LSU on the field and that Penn State was the school highest on his list because it was the safe bet.

— Texas and LSU had great seasons, so Penn State became an afterthought in our minds. It shouldn’t have been. The Cain family built a great relationship with James Franklin and loved the system and fit in Happy Valley. Penn State, not Texas, was actually the team to beat after the LSU situation. About a week before signing day, Texas was able to pull about even. Cain spent the night before signing day agonizing over his decision.

He had a great talk with Tim Beck late, and we were told it would likely be Texas from someone in the room with Cain that night. He stayed up until close to 4 a.m. contemplating his decision. That morning he gave Penn State the indication that it would be Texas. As his announcement approached, he called Penn State back and informed them he would be going there. Cain was still crying at the table before the ESPN broadcast because he wasn’t confident in his decision. It was rough to watch.

— Isaiah Hookfin was one of the weirder recruitments of the cycle. Texas made an impression shortly after offering and was pegged as the clear favorite. However, Baylor really wowed him on his official visit, and he felt extremely comfortable there. We got a bad vibe when we were told Hookfin wasn’t really interacting on his Texas OV the following weekend and stayed in his hotel room the first night of his visit.

Baylor became the favorite shortly after, and we expected him to sign there. While signing day was going on, a report about him picking Baylor was prematurely released. That and UT’s recruiting pitches throughout the day made him push back his decision. Hookfin picked Texas on the last day of the early period as the staff was able to make a dramatic turn in a short period of time. Bryan Carrington was huge in this one and deserves plenty of credit.

— The Zach Smith fiasco didn’t really hurt Texas on the recruiting trail with the exception of one prospect — four-star defensive back Jalen Catalon. Arkansas used that against Texas all recruitment long, and his parents really bought into it. Chad Morris did a tremendous job of winning over the Catalon family as he was extremely involved in this recruitment. His religious stance was also a big selling point that we were told the Catalon family loved.

I don’t think Texas was ever able to win over his parents, but if it were up to just Catalon, I feel like UT would have been the pick. He made several visits to UT without his parents in the offseason and really bonded with Craig Naivar over their love of baseball. He was also really close to Josh Thompson and Caden Sterns — they all use the same trainer. Catalon gave Arkansas a silent on his OV. It’s also worth noting that he has two teammates committed there, Morris’ sister is an employee at his high school and his parents wanted him in a small college town.

AND NOW LET’S GO RAPID FIRE…

— As crazy as the Javonne Shepherd recruitment was, there really wasn’t a ton of behind the scenes. We basically laid everything out in public. Obviously, there was plenty of indecisiveness and some off the field concerns that we won’t go into here. We were told that towards the end of the cycle, Texas had this mentality: “If he signs, we’ll turn him into something if he buys in, and if he doesn’t, we’ll explore other options.”

— One of the biggest recruiting wins this cycle was Jake Smith. His father actually emailed Stan Drayton his film, which got the ball rolling. Smith visited a couple of time and fell in love with the program. USC was a childhood dream school, but he felt comfortable at Texas and thought it was a better fit. Jake told me he was 90 percent sure he was picking Texas before he made his USC OV when I visited him in Arizona in the spring. By the way, Tim Brewster tried to make an in-home for A&M late in the process but immediately bolted for North Carolina. The station wasn't lit that day.

— Kennedy Lewis was fully set to commit to Texas after backing out of his verbal pledge to TCU. But the Longhorns had taken Peyton Powell, and there was some confidence with McCoy, so he cancelled his announcement. UT continued to recruit Lewis and eventually took him down the line. I’m told Herman personally loved his potential. Beck was great in this recruitment down the stretch when there appeared to be hurt feelings, and he looked like he was going to sign with Baylor. Lewis’ dad told me Texas is always where they wanted to be.

— Speaking of Powell, he was one of the weirder dudes we covered this cycle. He planned to visit UT in the summer, but it never happened and told us early in the fall that he didn’t have much interest. Powell decided to make an OV and committed soon after in what was kind of a surprise to us before the days leading up to his announcement. Powell and Texas eventually parted ways for mutual reasons. By the way, he told both TCU and Baylor that he was picking them before signing with Baylor.

— Texas also had a mutual parting with Demariyon Houston. I think he was an early take when there were concerns about the receiver position, and it just didn’t work out in the end.

— Marcus Washington had some second thoughts about Texas right before signing day. But it wasn’t really him. We were told Missouri really impressed his family and that they got cold feet about UT. At one point, it appeared that he was going to flip to Mizzou — he got Fong’d. But I stuck with Texas because I was told Marcus would end up making his own decision, and he wanted to be at Texas.

— Arjei Henderson had a whirlwind of a recruitment. He called Texas his dream school early, and his dad told me that was his school of preference. After backing out of pledges to Oregon and OU (the first time), Texas recruited him, but he never made a visit. Henderson had some contact with Texas in January, but there really wasn’t anything there.

— There have been a lot of questions about Theo Wease. He camped with Texas the summer going into his junior year but didn’t show much interest after that. Theo told us he just didn’t connect with the staff and didn’t see himself as a fit. He also had a negative perception of Texas, but we’re not sure where that really came from.

— Texas was able to create some movement with elite offensive lineman Kenyon Green, but it was never going to be enough. Green always loved Texas A&M, and his family felt comfortable there.

— We had several questions about Kenyatta Watson II down the stretch. There was some miscommunication about Marcus Banks and Kaiir Elam visiting late, which caused the family to second guess some things. Watson visited other schools, but it was always as a guest of his teammates. Watson wanted to be at Texas and after those visit issues were resolved, the family became huge advocators for the program.

— Speaking of Banks, he was all Texas early on. In fact, I have a picture of him and his mom throwing up the Hook Em’ that I was going to use for his commitment edit. Banks kept delaying things, and his interest in Texas A&M grew, while his interest in Texas faded. Jason Washington did everything right here, but Banks grew increasingly interested in playing in the SEC and eventually ended up at Alabama. As mentioned, he visited Texas late — his request — but nothing really came of it.

— TCU offensive line signee Andrew Coker made a secret visit to Texas in the spring. However, another site reported it, which hurt UT a bit. He did make a return trip for an official visit late in the cycle, but Coker and his family were really set on TCU. Speaking of secret visits, there was never any secret visitor. It was going to be a stunt, but for some reason, it was never released. Again, no actual recruit made it to campus.

— Lewis Cine had Texas in his top group throughout the fall. But he gave Georgia a silent commitment and fulfilled his dream of playing big football in the South. Lewis felt like he was a better fit in the SEC and fell in love with Georgia. Craig Naivar did talk to him and saw him at school after Mel Tucker bolted for Colorado as Cine had some questions. But Georgia is where he wanted to be.

— NaNa Osafo-Mensah gave Notre Dame a silent commitment before officially visiting Texas. However, he was telling Texas commits that he was coming to Texas and gave indications that he was leaning towards UT, which caused some confusion in our reporting. Osafo-Mensah obviously sided with Notre Dame. He loved what the program offered religiously, academically and athletically.

— Texas was the early leader for Branson Bragg and that was his father’s school of preference. However, we were told his mother preferred Stanford, and the Cardinal was able to win him over. Bragg is an amazing student in the classroom and jazz pianist. He fits the Stanford mold.

(Photo: 247Sports)

— Texas was in the top three for Arkansas offensive lineman Stacey Wilkins. He and his family really connected with assistant Jake Langi. The Polynesian traditions Texas had for him on his visit were a hit. However, there was a lot of Oklahoma influence in his recruitment. Wilkins planned to make an OV for the USC game, but there was a mutual parting of ways.

— Maninoa Tufono visited Texas for junior day and planned to come back. Like Wilkins, Tufono and his family loved Langi and the Polynesian traditions on his visit. The day before he set his commitment date, there was a lot of confidence around Texas, so I put in a Crystal Ball. However, distance, familiarity and comfort all played roles in him picking USC. Tufono did reach out to Texas late in the fall, but the Longhorns had already moved on.

— Louisiana prospect Makiya Tongue was on the verge of committing to Texas. He really wanted to play wide receiver, and Texas pitched him on it. The Longhorns won both him and father over on their visit. But Tongue always loved Georgia. He visited there right before the decision. The Bulldogs told him he could play receiver, and he committed shortly after. That was the turning point.

— I was close to putting in my Crystal Ball for JUCO linebacker Lakia Henry after he backed out his pledge to Tennessee because there was an SEC credit issue.

I was told Henry would have no problem getting into Texas. However, Henry always wanted to play in the SEC. When Arkansas and Ole Miss resolved the credit issue, it was basically over. The OV didn’t create much movement.

— The first Texas commit of the cycle was four-star quarterback Roschon Johnson. He was always going to commit to UT, but the way it happened was pretty funny. After winning fastest man at Under The Lights, Sam Ehlinger encouraged Johnson to grab the microphone and commit. And he did in front of the all the recruits in attendance.

And to no one's surprise EJ is full of complete and utter shit.

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Machinator

Machinator 32103

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6 minutes ago, satyanash said:

— I still didn’t buy it. It was too hard to believe. I had talked to Trey in the past already — I actually met him at San Antonio at the All-American Bowl when he was a junior — and fully expected him to end up back at Alabama. But I started to dig into it. The reason Sanders frequented Dallas and the Marcel household was his girlfriend. Sanders wanted to be close to her, and he saw Texas as a place where he could become ‘The Star’ and play under a former NFL running backs coach in Stan Drayton. Getting to the NFL was perhaps the biggest priority for Sanders. The five-star prospect eventually visited in the summer, and that’s when things really started to become real for us. With that said, I talked to Sanders’ dad at The Opening, and he flat out told me Texas wasn’t the move.

 

 

6 minutes ago, satyanash said:

He made a visit to College Station with his father, who suddenly reentered the picture, and gave the Aggies a verbal pledge. Richardson told Texas he was going to come in for an unofficial visit on several occasions after his commitment to A&M. In fact, it became a running joke between Mike and myself. One weekend in the spring, Richardson was all set to visit Texas with one of his high school coaches. The morning the visit was supposed to happen, his father completely shut it down and didn’t allow Richardson to visit. That was the end of that and the last time we heard of any real movement with the Longhorns.

 

Wonder what happened here...

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texifornia

texifornia 59012

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He made a visit to College Station with his father, who suddenly reentered the picture, and gave the Aggies a verbal pledge. Richardson told Texas he was going to come in for an unofficial visit on several occasions after his commitment to A&M. In fact, it became a running joke between Mike and myself. One weekend in the spring, Richardson was all set to visit Texas with one of his high school coaches. The morning the visit was supposed to happen, his father completely shut it down and didn’t allow Richardson to visit. That was the end of that and the last time we heard of any real movement with the Longhorns. 

These kind of family dynamics make recruiting feel really icky sometimes

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satyanash

satyanash 15590

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6 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Wonder what happened here...

you bolded the wrong part

7 minutes ago, Machinator said:

He made a visit to College Station with his father, who suddenly reentered the picture, and gave the Aggies a verbal pledge. Richardson told Texas he was going to come in for an unofficial visit on several occasions after his commitment to A&M. In fact, it became a running joke between Mike and myself. One weekend in the spring, Richardson was all set to visit Texas with one of his high school coaches. The morning the visit was supposed to happen, his father completely shut it down and didn’t allow Richardson to visit. That was the end of that and the last time we heard of any real movement with the Longhorns.

 

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GRHorn

GRHorn 105

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10 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Well, it starts with that and then it collapses for him into him being bitchy about the way in which he’s mocked for it. I mean, it’s important that he acts nonchalant about it, but as you can see in the post he made earlier, he’s in a lot of pain over the shame of it all. It’s a tough gig, being a beloved, prominent recruiting poster, but it’s a yoke he is the best prepared to carry when that fall from grace happens, clearly. 

So Katfid=my son when he was about six and loudly asked me if the black guy walking past us on the HEB aisle was LeBron? 

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Burt Macklin

Burt Macklin 19230

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34 minutes ago, satyanash said:

E.J. HOLLAND: BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT 2019 TEXAS RECRUITING

  Reveal hidden contents

— Let’s go ahead and start with Bru McCoy, as his recruitment was one of the craziest of all-time. Yes, McCoy was considered a heavy USC lean from the start. In fact, when Texas first offered McCoy in October of 2017, we felt like he was an extreme long shot. However, Tom Herman, Tim Beck and Drew Mehringer all made McCoy a priority from the get go and started to gain some traction in the spring.

With close friend and 7v7 teammate De’Gabriel Floyd in the fold, Texas was able to make an even bigger impact. Interest in UT really started to heat up in April when he made it to Austin with Floyd for an unofficial visit. It was then when we were told something was definitely there.

When I flew out to Los Angeles the following month, I got a sense that McCoy’s interest was genuine as he talked over and over about getting a new experience away from home. Those close to McCoy also indicated that he would be very open to leaving Southern California. I returned to Los Angeles a few more times in the offseason and continued to hear the same.

— But it wasn’t until Sept. 15 when things really started to pick up for McCoy. That was the date of his official visit. It was there where he bonded with the Texas staff, got an in-depth look at the program, saw the Longhorns beat down USC, and when he really started to envision himself in Austin. McCoy also built a strong relationship with UT commit Jordan Whittington and started to tell other Texas pledges that him inking with the Longhorns was a real possibility. There was confidence around the Texas program after the visit, but I wanted to wait to put in a Crystal Ball until I felt like I was pretty sure. After Texas beat Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown, I was told ‘shooters take shots, so put it in’ and so I did. My confidence with McCoy grew in November as confidence around the program grew as well — from both commits and sources.

— There was no doubt in my mind that McCoy was going to sign with Texas at the time USC parted ways with his lead recruiter, Tee Martin. Then came the Kliff Kingsbury hire. That really did reignite things with McCoy and USC, and I was told his father was really wowed by the move. After a couple of meetings with Kingsbury and his official visit, we got super worried. In fact, I was told McCoy had given a silent to USC.

Also, the family was unable to make a return trip to Texas. All signs pointed to the Trojans, but I stuck with my gut. I had talked to McCoy and his mother so many times that I felt they would ultimately make the decision to side with stability and a new experience. Herman, after all, made a huge dent in this recruitment with his ‘be comfortable being uncomfortable’ pitch. And the aforementioned Floyd met with McCoy for eight hours right before the early period.

— McCoy was set to sign during the early period. However, he kept delaying things, which gave us reason for optimism. He ended up signing a financial aid agreement with the Trojans. Still, Texas continued to recruit him hard. There were talks about a Letter of Intent, but he was never entered in a database available to coaches to avoid violations. Texas kept fighting, but we didn’t feel like the Longhorns were making up ground. That’s when my reporting started to take a negative turn. Mike and I drove to San Antonio for the All-American Bowl right after New Year’s Day. We had every intention to switch our CBs to USC, but I wanted to hold off until we gathered more information at the Alamodome.

— McCoy was nowhere to be found that day. We were told he had informed NBC of his decision to pick USC. But… we talked a source very close to the McCoy situation that repeatedly said he was going to USC ‘right now’ with heavy emphasis. The source reiterated that McCoy wanted to be at Texas, but there was too much pressure for him to go to USC. The source added that if Kingsbury left, the plan would be for McCoy to look into entering the transfer portal. McCoy obviously picked USC later that week. He never told Texas no. Mike has a good source with access to the transfer portal, and we checked it every single day as Kingsbury immediately bolted to the NFL.

— With USC in a state of disarray and Kingsbury off to the league, buzz around McCoy and the transfer portal intensified. We caught wind of his meeting with USC compliance and were told that McCoy was definitely coming to Texas upon entering the portal. Once his name was entered, it was all gravy from there. Again, we always felt like McCoy himself wanted to be at Texas. And we have every reason to believe he’s happy to be a Longhorn despite how it all transpired. Herman, Beck and Mehringer deserve so much credit in this one. They never gave up and kept fighting. They blew this recruitment out of the water.

— Oh man, Trey Sanders. This was a really fun one to cover. Let me say Sanders was one of my favorite kids in the class. The dude has swag, and I expect big things from him at Alabama. So let’s go ahead and ask the question you want answered: Was his Texas interest real? Yeah, it really was. Let me tell you a great story from the trail. I was at the Adidas 7v7 tournament in the spring and was spending a lot of time with the Fast 7v7 program. I’m pretty tight with Marcel Brooks, and we were talking about player rankings and early predictions.

Marcel randomly told me Sanders would end up at Texas. I laughed, and he said he was serious. Marcel moved around a lot as a child and had known Sanders for years. In fact, Sanders visited Dallas every now and then and stayed with Marcel. Anyway, Marcel pulled out his phone, put it on speaker and called Sanders (I, of course, stayed quiet). Marcel asked: “Trey, where are you going?” Trey: “You already know.” Marcel: “Tell me again, I need to know.” Trey: “Texas. Leave me alone I’m sleeping.”

— I still didn’t buy it. It was too hard to believe. I had talked to Trey in the past already — I actually met him at San Antonio at the All-American Bowl when he was a junior — and fully expected him to end up back at Alabama. But I started to dig into it. The reason Sanders frequented Dallas and the Marcel household was his girlfriend. Sanders wanted to be close to her, and he saw Texas as a place where he could become ‘The Star’ and play under a former NFL running backs coach in Stan Drayton. Getting to the NFL was perhaps the biggest priority for Sanders. The five-star prospect eventually visited in the summer, and that’s when things really started to become real for us. With that said, I talked to Sanders’ dad at The Opening, and he flat out told me Texas wasn’t the move.

— Sanders made an official visit in September. He loved it. But I continued to report that there was work to do with his parents. Texas did a great job on home visits late in the cycle and improved that. However, they really wanted Sanders closer to home. Alabama was always the preference. Sanders’ girlfriend ended up picking a school in Louisiana — that’s when his interest in LSU increased. Come the week of early signing day, Sanders had still only applied to one school — Alabama. He did end up filling out one for Texas late, which is when we reported some optimism. But we always got the sense it was going to be Alabama or Georgia, which made a great run late.

— Speaking of Marcel Brooks, those saying that there was no interest from Texas late were wrong. Point blank. I went out to see Brooks close to the end of the regular season when Flower Mound Marcus took on Coppell. Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlandowas there to see Brooks in action, but I was told not to say anything, so I didn’t take photos of Orlando or report it. Brooks told me that game that an OV to Texas was a real possibility.

It never happened, but there was a little bit of mutual interest there. By the way, Brooks was very close to committing to Texas when he first camped with the Longhorns in the summer, but interest from both sides wavered. Brooks was also slated to make that summer visit to Texas with Sanders, but another site reported it, and he decided to stay home. That report really burned Texas as Brooks was committed to LSU and wanted to keep it quiet.

THE JIMBO EFFECT

— There is no way around it, Texas lost some key in-state battles this cycle as Texas A&M fed off the momentum of having a new head coach in Jimbo Fisher. The first domino to fall for the Aggies was elite safety Brian Williams. He and his family gave us every indication that they loved Texas from the very beginning. I lived about 10 minutes away from Bishop Dunne and am a frequent visitor there, and I was assured by the staff there as well that Texas was the team to beat for Williams. It wasn’t until Texas A&M hired Mike Elko that things got really interesting in that recruitment. Williams loved Elko, who recruited him hard at Notre Dame — a school considered a real threat to Texas at the time.

— Williams’ interest in Texas A&M rapidly grew. The dude didn’t even make it to a Texas A&M game the previous fall, but he committed on an early unofficial visit. The timing was really surprising. Williams quickly became a ringleader for the class and developed some ill will against Texas. He was perhaps the biggest negative recruiter against the Longhorns. In fact, we were told that there was a group chat with several top in-state recruits involving Williams, Jeffery Carter and Theo Wease that featured plenty of anti-Longhorn talk. We were also told that Garrett Wilson was the one prospect that really stood up for Texas.

— Speaking of Wilson, he never had anything against Texas. He is one of the best guys you’ll ever meet and was extremely respectful throughout the process. Wilson is originally from Ohio and fell in love with the Ohio State program. He didn’t really mesh well at Texas, and he simply felt that Ohio State was the better fit. He also had some questions about UT’s ability to produce offensively. There was some communication between Wilson and Texas late, but nothing ever came from it.

— Wilson leaning towards Ohio State early in the spring played a big role with Elijah Higgins, who also started to question fit at Texas and the overall ability of the offense. Higgins and Wilson are close and talked all the time. When we first met Higgins at the All-American Combine that January, he told us if Texas offered, his process would basically be over. But again, Higgins started to have doubts, and the opportunity to play at Stanford really weighed heavy on his mind. Later that spring, I was told outright that Stanford was the team to beat for Higgins. He loved the academics and grew fond of the idea of getting a new experience out West. Texas created some real movement late as Mehringer made an in-home, but Higgins ultimately decided that Stanford was the right move for himself.

— Let’s get back to some of these wacky Texas A&M battles. Perhaps the weirdest to cover was Demani Richardson. Texas offered Richardson on Christmas Eve. He called it his dream offer, and there was plenty of reason to believe he would pick Texas early. When Williams committed to Texas A&M, it really had an influence on Richardson. The Aggies started to build some serious momentum there, but we fully expected him to visit Texas after seeing A&M.

He made a visit to College Station with his father, who suddenly reentered the picture, and gave the Aggies a verbal pledge. Richardson told Texas he was going to come in for an unofficial visit on several occasions after his commitment to A&M. In fact, it became a running joke between Mike and myself. One weekend in the spring, Richardson was all set to visit Texas with one of his high school coaches. The morning the visit was supposed to happen, his father completely shut it down and didn’t allow Richardson to visit. That was the end of that and the last time we heard of any real movement with the Longhorns.

— I still remember the day Mike told me he had unearthed a truly special prospect. He told me about a young freshman quarterback that was going to turn into a monster wide receiver. That was Dylan Wright. Mike grew extremely close to his father over the years, and we felt we had a great grasp on his recruitment. The Wright family told Mike Texas was the leader early in the spring. In fact, Texas A&M wasn’t really in the picture until after he made a late spring visit — that really got the ball rolling for the Aggies. Despite family maintaining that Wright would wait until Under Armour to make a decision, they secretly filmed a commitment video. The day before the video released, Wright’s father told Mike point blank that no decision had been made. And that’s why we never moved our CBs.

— Wright’s father, Fred, is actually Jason Washington’s cousin. One of the best recruiters on staff, Washington was heavily involved in this recruitment, which gave us even more confidence with Wright. Fred is/was a huge Texas fan. In fact, I was told Fred was the biggest Texas fan out of any parent this cycle. Fred stayed in contact with the staff throughout the process and inquired about visiting for the USC game, but nothing ever transpired. If it was up to Fred, we feel like Wright would have ended up at Texas. I was told UT was blindsided by Wright’s decision to commit to A&M so early as he was planning to make a visit that summer.

— DeMarvin Leal actually wasn’t that strange at all. I visited Converse Judson the spring of Leal’s junior year, and he basically told me he loved Texas A&M and that was the team to beat early on. Texas hadn’t offered yet, and he didn’t seem all that interested in the Longhorns. I put in my CB for the Aggies that day. Texas eventually offered and hosted Leal and his mother for junior day, and we were told the visit was a grand slam.

The Longhorns won over his mother, and it appeared UT had turned the tide in his recruitment. Leal, of course, visited A&M and committed. He did make an official visit to Texas, which created some optimism, and the staff continued to recruit him all the way up to signing day. We were told his mom and brother loved Texas and that the Longhorns did everything they could. At the end of the day, Leal wanted to be at Texas A&M. His heart was always there, and you can’t fault him for that.

— Chris Steele!!!! No, Chris didn’t lie to us. I still love that dude, and he’s one of my favorite recruits ever. Early in the process, we were told Steele wanted to go far away from home and really wanted to play in the South. We were told Texas was a prime candidate and decided to put in a flier CB after various talks with Steele. The California corner developed a great relationship with Jason Washington and tried planning a spring official visit.

I saw texts, and Steele did have every intention of making that trip to UT. When I was in Los Angeles that spring, Steele’s father talked up Washington and told me they would visit as well. However, there was a miscommunication with Texas about coming in for a UV as opposed to an OV. After hosting Derek Stingley for an OV, Steele told us that was a turn off, and his interest in Texas faded. There were some talks between Steele and Texas throughout the process, but the visit scheduling ordeal killed momentum. By the way, Steele was positive about Texas with McCoy and not so positive about USC, so he kind of helped the Longhorns after all (laughs to myself).

— With Noah Cain, let’s just fast forward to the end of the process. He always liked Texas, but the feeling was that he would end up at LSU — he’s a Baton Rouge native and his father is a big Tigers fan. When LSU filled up at running back, it became clear that Texas and Penn State were the only true contenders. We were told Texas had the clear advantage — his mother lives in Dallas, he’s friends with guys on the team and had visited on several occasions. But that really wasn’t the case. Most of y’all might not remember, but there was a point early in the season where we reported that the Cain family had concerns about Texas and LSU on the field and that Penn State was the school highest on his list because it was the safe bet.

— Texas and LSU had great seasons, so Penn State became an afterthought in our minds. It shouldn’t have been. The Cain family built a great relationship with James Franklin and loved the system and fit in Happy Valley. Penn State, not Texas, was actually the team to beat after the LSU situation. About a week before signing day, Texas was able to pull about even. Cain spent the night before signing day agonizing over his decision.

He had a great talk with Tim Beck late, and we were told it would likely be Texas from someone in the room with Cain that night. He stayed up until close to 4 a.m. contemplating his decision. That morning he gave Penn State the indication that it would be Texas. As his announcement approached, he called Penn State back and informed them he would be going there. Cain was still crying at the table before the ESPN broadcast because he wasn’t confident in his decision. It was rough to watch.

— Isaiah Hookfin was one of the weirder recruitments of the cycle. Texas made an impression shortly after offering and was pegged as the clear favorite. However, Baylor really wowed him on his official visit, and he felt extremely comfortable there. We got a bad vibe when we were told Hookfin wasn’t really interacting on his Texas OV the following weekend and stayed in his hotel room the first night of his visit.

Baylor became the favorite shortly after, and we expected him to sign there. While signing day was going on, a report about him picking Baylor was prematurely released. That and UT’s recruiting pitches throughout the day made him push back his decision. Hookfin picked Texas on the last day of the early period as the staff was able to make a dramatic turn in a short period of time. Bryan Carrington was huge in this one and deserves plenty of credit.

— The Zach Smith fiasco didn’t really hurt Texas on the recruiting trail with the exception of one prospect — four-star defensive back Jalen Catalon. Arkansas used that against Texas all recruitment long, and his parents really bought into it. Chad Morris did a tremendous job of winning over the Catalon family as he was extremely involved in this recruitment. His religious stance was also a big selling point that we were told the Catalon family loved.

I don’t think Texas was ever able to win over his parents, but if it were up to just Catalon, I feel like UT would have been the pick. He made several visits to UT without his parents in the offseason and really bonded with Craig Naivar over their love of baseball. He was also really close to Josh Thompson and Caden Sterns — they all use the same trainer. Catalon gave Arkansas a silent on his OV. It’s also worth noting that he has two teammates committed there, Morris’ sister is an employee at his high school and his parents wanted him in a small college town.

AND NOW LET’S GO RAPID FIRE…

— As crazy as the Javonne Shepherd recruitment was, there really wasn’t a ton of behind the scenes. We basically laid everything out in public. Obviously, there was plenty of indecisiveness and some off the field concerns that we won’t go into here. We were told that towards the end of the cycle, Texas had this mentality: “If he signs, we’ll turn him into something if he buys in, and if he doesn’t, we’ll explore other options.”

— One of the biggest recruiting wins this cycle was Jake Smith. His father actually emailed Stan Drayton his film, which got the ball rolling. Smith visited a couple of time and fell in love with the program. USC was a childhood dream school, but he felt comfortable at Texas and thought it was a better fit. Jake told me he was 90 percent sure he was picking Texas before he made his USC OV when I visited him in Arizona in the spring. By the way, Tim Brewster tried to make an in-home for A&M late in the process but immediately bolted for North Carolina. The station wasn't lit that day.

— Kennedy Lewis was fully set to commit to Texas after backing out of his verbal pledge to TCU. But the Longhorns had taken Peyton Powell, and there was some confidence with McCoy, so he cancelled his announcement. UT continued to recruit Lewis and eventually took him down the line. I’m told Herman personally loved his potential. Beck was great in this recruitment down the stretch when there appeared to be hurt feelings, and he looked like he was going to sign with Baylor. Lewis’ dad told me Texas is always where they wanted to be.

— Speaking of Powell, he was one of the weirder dudes we covered this cycle. He planned to visit UT in the summer, but it never happened and told us early in the fall that he didn’t have much interest. Powell decided to make an OV and committed soon after in what was kind of a surprise to us before the days leading up to his announcement. Powell and Texas eventually parted ways for mutual reasons. By the way, he told both TCU and Baylor that he was picking them before signing with Baylor.

— Texas also had a mutual parting with Demariyon Houston. I think he was an early take when there were concerns about the receiver position, and it just didn’t work out in the end.

— Marcus Washington had some second thoughts about Texas right before signing day. But it wasn’t really him. We were told Missouri really impressed his family and that they got cold feet about UT. At one point, it appeared that he was going to flip to Mizzou — he got Fong’d. But I stuck with Texas because I was told Marcus would end up making his own decision, and he wanted to be at Texas.

— Arjei Henderson had a whirlwind of a recruitment. He called Texas his dream school early, and his dad told me that was his school of preference. After backing out of pledges to Oregon and OU (the first time), Texas recruited him, but he never made a visit. Henderson had some contact with Texas in January, but there really wasn’t anything there.

— There have been a lot of questions about Theo Wease. He camped with Texas the summer going into his junior year but didn’t show much interest after that. Theo told us he just didn’t connect with the staff and didn’t see himself as a fit. He also had a negative perception of Texas, but we’re not sure where that really came from.

— Texas was able to create some movement with elite offensive lineman Kenyon Green, but it was never going to be enough. Green always loved Texas A&M, and his family felt comfortable there.

— We had several questions about Kenyatta Watson II down the stretch. There was some miscommunication about Marcus Banks and Kaiir Elam visiting late, which caused the family to second guess some things. Watson visited other schools, but it was always as a guest of his teammates. Watson wanted to be at Texas and after those visit issues were resolved, the family became huge advocators for the program.

— Speaking of Banks, he was all Texas early on. In fact, I have a picture of him and his mom throwing up the Hook Em’ that I was going to use for his commitment edit. Banks kept delaying things, and his interest in Texas A&M grew, while his interest in Texas faded. Jason Washington did everything right here, but Banks grew increasingly interested in playing in the SEC and eventually ended up at Alabama. As mentioned, he visited Texas late — his request — but nothing really came of it.

— TCU offensive line signee Andrew Coker made a secret visit to Texas in the spring. However, another site reported it, which hurt UT a bit. He did make a return trip for an official visit late in the cycle, but Coker and his family were really set on TCU. Speaking of secret visits, there was never any secret visitor. It was going to be a stunt, but for some reason, it was never released. Again, no actual recruit made it to campus.

— Lewis Cine had Texas in his top group throughout the fall. But he gave Georgia a silent commitment and fulfilled his dream of playing big football in the South. Lewis felt like he was a better fit in the SEC and fell in love with Georgia. Craig Naivar did talk to him and saw him at school after Mel Tucker bolted for Colorado as Cine had some questions. But Georgia is where he wanted to be.

— NaNa Osafo-Mensah gave Notre Dame a silent commitment before officially visiting Texas. However, he was telling Texas commits that he was coming to Texas and gave indications that he was leaning towards UT, which caused some confusion in our reporting. Osafo-Mensah obviously sided with Notre Dame. He loved what the program offered religiously, academically and athletically.

— Texas was the early leader for Branson Bragg and that was his father’s school of preference. However, we were told his mother preferred Stanford, and the Cardinal was able to win him over. Bragg is an amazing student in the classroom and jazz pianist. He fits the Stanford mold.

(Photo: 247Sports)

— Texas was in the top three for Arkansas offensive lineman Stacey Wilkins. He and his family really connected with assistant Jake Langi. The Polynesian traditions Texas had for him on his visit were a hit. However, there was a lot of Oklahoma influence in his recruitment. Wilkins planned to make an OV for the USC game, but there was a mutual parting of ways.

— Maninoa Tufono visited Texas for junior day and planned to come back. Like Wilkins, Tufono and his family loved Langi and the Polynesian traditions on his visit. The day before he set his commitment date, there was a lot of confidence around Texas, so I put in a Crystal Ball. However, distance, familiarity and comfort all played roles in him picking USC. Tufono did reach out to Texas late in the fall, but the Longhorns had already moved on.

— Louisiana prospect Makiya Tongue was on the verge of committing to Texas. He really wanted to play wide receiver, and Texas pitched him on it. The Longhorns won both him and father over on their visit. But Tongue always loved Georgia. He visited there right before the decision. The Bulldogs told him he could play receiver, and he committed shortly after. That was the turning point.

— I was close to putting in my Crystal Ball for JUCO linebacker Lakia Henry after he backed out his pledge to Tennessee because there was an SEC credit issue.

I was told Henry would have no problem getting into Texas. However, Henry always wanted to play in the SEC. When Arkansas and Ole Miss resolved the credit issue, it was basically over. The OV didn’t create much movement.

— The first Texas commit of the cycle was four-star quarterback Roschon Johnson. He was always going to commit to UT, but the way it happened was pretty funny. After winning fastest man at Under The Lights, Sam Ehlinger encouraged Johnson to grab the microphone and commit. And he did in front of the all the recruits in attendance.

Man, that was a lot of bullshit, I couldn’t even read all of it. My favorite part though was EJ bragging about how close he was with Marcel Brooks because of Fast 7v7 and saying that Orlando visiting Brooks means he was a take for Texas. 

Edited by Burt Macklin
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— Let’s go ahead and start with Bru McCoy, as his recruitment was one of the craziest of all-time. Yes, McCoy was considered a heavy USC lean from the start. In fact, when Texas first offered McCoy in October of 2017, we felt like he was an extreme long shot.

However, Tom Herman, Tim Beck and Drew Mehringer all made McCoy a priority from the get go and started to gain some traction in the spring.

With close friend and 7v7 teammate De’Gabriel Floyd in the fold, Texas was able to make an even bigger impact. Interest in UT really started to heat up in April when he made it to Austin with Floyd for an unofficial visit. It was then when we were told something was definitely there.

When I flew out to Los Angeles the following month, I got a sense that McCoy’s interest was genuine as he talked over and over about getting a new experience away from home. Those close to McCoy also indicated that he would be very open to leaving Southern California.

I returned to Los Angeles a few more times in the offseason and continued to hear the same.

— But it wasn’t until Sept. 15 when things really started to pick up for McCoy. That was the date of his official visit. It was there where he bonded with the Texas staff, got an in-depth look at the program, saw the Longhorns beat down USC, and when he really started to envision himself in Austin. McCoy also built a strong relationship with UT commit Jordan Whittington and started to tell other Texas pledges that him inking with the Longhorns was a real possibility. There was confidence around the Texas program after the visit, but I wanted to wait to put in a Crystal Ball until I felt like I was pretty sure. After Texas beat Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown, I was told ‘shooters take shots, so put it in’ and so I did. My confidence with McCoy grew in November as confidence around the program grew as well — from both commits and sources.

— There was no doubt in my mind that McCoy was going to sign with Texas at the time USC parted ways with his lead recruiter, Tee Martin. Then came the Kliff Kingsbury hire. That really did reignite things with McCoy and USC, and I was told his father was really wowed by the move. After a couple of meetings with Kingsbury and his official visit, we got super worried. In fact, I was told McCoy had given a silent to USC.

Also, the family was unable to make a return trip to Texas. All signs pointed to the Trojans, but I stuck with my gut. I had talked to McCoy and his mother so many times that I felt they would ultimately make the decision to side with stability and a new experience. Herman, after all, made a huge dent in this recruitment with his ‘be comfortable being uncomfortable’ pitch. And the aforementioned Floyd met with McCoy for eight hours right before the early period.

— McCoy was set to sign during the early period. However, he kept delaying things, which gave us reason for optimism. He ended up signing a financial aid agreement with the Trojans. Still, Texas continued to recruit him hard. There were talks about a Letter of Intent, but he was never entered in a database available to coaches to avoid violations. Texas kept fighting, but we didn’t feel like the Longhorns were making up ground. That’s when my reporting started to take a negative turn. Mike and I drove to San Antonio for the All-American Bowl right after New Year’s Day. We had every intention to switch our CBs to USC, but I wanted to hold off until we gathered more information at the Alamodome.

(Photo: 247Sports)

— McCoy was nowhere to be found that day. We were told he had informed NBC of his decision to pick USC. But… we talked a source very close to the McCoy situation that repeatedly said he was going to USC ‘right now’ with heavy emphasis. The source reiterated that McCoy wanted to be at Texas, but there was too much pressure for him to go to USC. The source added that if Kingsbury left, the plan would be for McCoy to look into entering the transfer portal. McCoy obviously picked USC later that week. He never told Texas no. Mike has a good source with access to the transfer portal, and we checked it every single day as Kingsbury immediately bolted to the NFL.

— With USC in a state of disarray and Kingsbury off to the league, buzz around McCoy and the transfer portal intensified. We caught wind of his meeting with USC compliance and were told that McCoy was definitely coming to Texas upon entering the portal. Once his name was entered, it was all gravy from there. Again, we always felt like McCoy himself wanted to be at Texas. And we have every reason to believe he’s happy to be a Longhorn despite how it all transpired. Herman, Beck and Mehringer deserve so much credit in this one. They never gave up and kept fighting. They blew this recruitment out of the water.

— Oh man, Trey Sanders. This was a really fun one to cover. Let me say Sanders was one of my favorite kids in the class. The dude has swag, and I expect big things from him at Alabama. So let’s go ahead and ask the question you want answered: Was his Texas interest real? Yeah, it really was. Let me tell you a great story from the trail. I was at the Adidas 7v7 tournament in the spring and was spending a lot of time with the Fast 7v7 program. I’m pretty tight with Marcel Brooks, and we were talking about player rankings and early predictions.

Marcel randomly told me Sanders would end up at Texas. I laughed, and he said he was serious. Marcel moved around a lot as a child and had known Sanders for years. In fact, Sanders visited Dallas every now and then and stayed with Marcel. Anyway, Marcel pulled out his phone, put it on speaker and called Sanders (I, of course, stayed quiet). Marcel asked: “Trey, where are you going?” Trey: “You already know.” Marcel: “Tell me again, I need to know.” Trey: “Texas. Leave me alone I’m sleeping.”

— I still didn’t buy it. It was too hard to believe. I had talked to Trey in the past already — I actually met him at San Antonio at the All-American Bowl when he was a junior — and fully expected him to end up back at Alabama. But I started to dig into it. The reason Sanders frequented Dallas and the Marcel household was his girlfriend. Sanders wanted to be close to her, and he saw Texas as a place where he could become ‘The Star’ and play under a former NFL running backs coach in Stan Drayton. Getting to the NFL was perhaps the biggest priority for Sanders. The five-star prospect eventually visited in the summer, and that’s when things really started to become real for us. With that said, I talked to Sanders’ dad at The Opening, and he flat out told me Texas wasn’t the move.

— Sanders made an official visit in September. He loved it. But I continued to report that there was work to do with his parents. Texas did a great job on home visits late in the cycle and improved that. However, they really wanted Sanders closer to home. Alabama was always the preference. Sanders’ girlfriend ended up picking a school in Louisiana — that’s when his interest in LSU increased. Come the week of early signing day, Sanders had still only applied to one school — Alabama. He did end up filling out one for Texas late, which is when we reported some optimism. But we always got the sense it was going to be Alabama or Georgia, which made a great run late.

— Speaking of Marcel Brooks, those saying that there was no interest from Texas late were wrong. Point blank. I went out to see Brooks close to the end of the regular season when Flower Mound Marcus took on Coppell. Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlandowas there to see Brooks in action, but I was told not to say anything, so I didn’t take photos of Orlando or report it. Brooks told me that game that an OV to Texas was a real possibility.

It never happened, but there was a little bit of mutual interest there. By the way, Brooks was very close to committing to Texas when he first camped with the Longhorns in the summer, but interest from both sides wavered. Brooks was also slated to make that summer visit to Texas with Sanders, but another site reported it, and he decided to stay home. That report really burned Texas as Brooks was committed to LSU and wanted to keep it quiet.

THE JIMBO EFFECT

(Photo: Charles Morgan Engel, USA TODAY Sports)

— There is no way around it, Texas lost some key in-state battles this cycle as Texas A&M fed off the momentum of having a new head coach in Jimbo Fisher. The first domino to fall for the Aggies was elite safety Brian Williams. He and his family gave us every indication that they loved Texas from the very beginning. I lived about 10 minutes away from Bishop Dunne and am a frequent visitor there, and I was assured by the staff there as well that Texas was the team to beat for Williams. It wasn’t until Texas A&M hired Mike Elko that things got really interesting in that recruitment. Williams loved Elko, who recruited him hard at Notre Dame — a school considered a real threat to Texas at the time.

— Williams’ interest in Texas A&M rapidly grew. The dude didn’t even make it to a Texas A&M game the previous fall, but he committed on an early unofficial visit. The timing was really surprising. Williams quickly became a ringleader for the class and developed some ill will against Texas. He was perhaps the biggest negative recruiter against the Longhorns. In fact, we were told that there was a group chat with several top in-state recruits involving Williams, Jeffery Carter and Theo Wease that featured plenty of anti-Longhorn talk. We were also told that Garrett Wilson was the one prospect that really stood up for Texas.

— Speaking of Wilson, he never had anything against Texas. He is one of the best guys you’ll ever meet and was extremely respectful throughout the process. Wilson is originally from Ohio and fell in love with the Ohio State program. He didn’t really mesh well at Texas, and he simply felt that Ohio State was the better fit. He also had some questions about UT’s ability to produce offensively. There was some communication between Wilson and Texas late, but nothing ever came from it.

— Wilson leaning towards Ohio State early in the spring played a big role with Elijah Higgins, who also started to question fit at Texas and the overall ability of the offense. Higgins and Wilson are close and talked all the time. When we first met Higgins at the All-American Combine that January, he told us if Texas offered, his process would basically be over. But again, Higgins started to have doubts, and the opportunity to play at Stanford really weighed heavy on his mind. Later that spring, I was told outright that Stanford was the team to beat for Higgins. He loved the academics and grew fond of the idea of getting a new experience out West. Texas created some real movement late as Mehringer made an in-home, but Higgins ultimately decided that Stanford was the right move for himself.

— Let’s get back to some of these wacky Texas A&M battles. Perhaps the weirdest to cover was Demani Richardson. Texas offered Richardson on Christmas Eve. He called it his dream offer, and there was plenty of reason to believe he would pick Texas early. When Williams committed to Texas A&M, it really had an influence on Richardson. The Aggies started to build some serious momentum there, but we fully expected him to visit Texas after seeing A&M.

He made a visit to College Station with his father, who had recently reentered the picture, and gave the Aggies a verbal pledge. Richardson told Texas he was going to come in for an unofficial visit on several occasions after his commitment to A&M. In fact, it became a running joke between Mike and myself. One weekend in the spring, Richardson was all set to visit Texas with one of his high school coaches. The morning the visit was supposed to happen, his father completely shut it down and didn’t allow Richardson to visit. That was the end of that and the last time we heard of any real movement with the Longhorns.

(Photo: Andrew Ivins, 247Sports)

— I still remember the day Mike told me he had unearthed a truly special prospect. He told me about a young freshman quarterback that was going to turn into a monster wide receiver. That was Dylan Wright. Mike grew extremely close to his father over the years, and we felt we had a great grasp on his recruitment. The Wright family told Mike Texas was the leader early in the spring. In fact, Texas A&M wasn’t really in the picture until after he made a late spring visit — that really got the ball rolling for the Aggies. Despite family maintaining that Wright would wait until Under Armour to make a decision, they secretly filmed a commitment video. The day before the video released, Wright’s father told Mike point blank that no decision had been made. And that’s why we never moved our CBs.

— Wright’s father, Fred, is actually Jason Washington’s cousin. One of the best recruiters on staff, Washington was heavily involved in this recruitment, which gave us even more confidence with Wright. Fred is/was a huge Texas fan. In fact, I was told Fred was the biggest Texas fan out of any parent this cycle. Fred stayed in contact with the staff throughout the process and inquired about visiting for the USC game, but nothing ever transpired. If it was up to Fred, we feel like Wright would have ended up at Texas. I was told UT was blindsided by Wright’s decision to commit to A&M so early as he was planning to make a visit that summer.

— DeMarvin Leal actually wasn’t that strange at all. I visited Converse Judson the spring of Leal’s junior year, and he basically told me he loved Texas A&M and that was the team to beat early on. Texas hadn’t offered yet, and he didn’t seem all that interested in the Longhorns. I put in my CB for the Aggies that day. Texas eventually offered and hosted Leal and his mother for junior day, and we were told the visit was a grand slam.

The Longhorns won over his mother, and it appeared UT had turned the tide in his recruitment. Leal, of course, visited A&M and committed. He did make an official visit to Texas, which created some optimism, and the staff continued to recruit him all the way up to signing day. We were told his mom and brother loved Texas and that the Longhorns did everything they could. At the end of the day, Leal wanted to be at Texas A&M. His heart was always there, and you can’t fault him for that.

(Photo: 247Sports)

— Chris Steele!!!! No, Chris didn’t lie to us. I still love that dude, and he’s one of my favorite recruits ever. Early in the process, we were told Steele wanted to go far away from home and really wanted to play in the South. We were told Texas was a prime candidate and decided to put in a flier CB after various talks with Steele. The California corner developed a great relationship with Jason Washington and tried planning a spring official visit.

I saw texts, and Steele did have every intention of making that trip to UT. When I was in Los Angeles that spring, Steele’s father talked up Washington and told me they would visit as well. However, there was a miscommunication with Texas about coming in for a UV as opposed to an OV. After hosting Derek Stingley for an OV, Steele told us that was a turn off, and his interest in Texas faded. There were some talks between Steele and Texas throughout the process, but the visit scheduling ordeal killed momentum. By the way, Steele was positive about Texas with McCoy and not so positive about USC, so he kind of helped the Longhorns after all (laughs to myself).

— With Noah Cain, let’s just fast forward to the end of the process. He always liked Texas, but the feeling was that he would end up at LSU — he’s a Baton Rouge native and his father is a big Tigers fan. When LSU filled up at running back, it became clear that Texas and Penn State were the only true contenders. We were told Texas had the clear advantage — his mother lives in Dallas, he’s friends with guys on the team and had visited on several occasions. But that really wasn’t the case. Most of y’all might not remember, but there was a point early in the season where we reported that the Cain family had concerns about Texas and LSU on the field and that Penn State was the school highest on his list because it was the safe bet.

— Texas and LSU had great seasons, so Penn State became an afterthought in our minds. It shouldn’t have been. The Cain family built a great relationship with James Franklin and loved the system and fit in Happy Valley. Penn State, not Texas, was actually the team to beat after the LSU situation. About a week before signing day, Texas was able to pull about even. Cain spent the night before signing day agonizing over his decision.

He had a great talk with Tim Beck late, and we were told it would likely be Texas from someone in the room with Cain that night. He stayed up until close to 4 a.m. contemplating his decision. That morning he gave Penn State the indication that it would be Texas. As his announcement approached, he called Penn State back and informed them he would be going there. Cain was still crying at the table before the ESPN broadcast because he wasn’t confident in his decision. It was rough to watch.

(Photo: @IsaiahHookfin)

— Isaiah Hookfin was one of the weirder recruitments of the cycle. Texas made an impression shortly after offering and was pegged as the clear favorite. However, Baylor really wowed him on his official visit, and he felt extremely comfortable there. We got a bad vibe when we were told Hookfin wasn’t really interacting on his Texas OV the following weekend and stayed in his hotel room the first night of his visit.

Baylor became the favorite shortly after, and we expected him to sign there. While signing day was going on, a report about him picking Baylor was prematurely released. That and UT’s recruiting pitches throughout the day made him push back his decision. Hookfin picked Texas on the last day of the early period as the staff was able to make a dramatic turn in a short period of time. Bryan Carrington was huge in this one and deserves plenty of credit.

— The Zach Smith fiasco didn’t really hurt Texas on the recruiting trail with the exception of one prospect — four-star defensive back Jalen Catalon. Arkansas used that against Texas all recruitment long, and his parents really bought into it. Chad Morris did a tremendous job of winning over the Catalon family as he was extremely involved in this recruitment. His religious stance was also a big selling point that we were told the Catalon family loved.

I don’t think Texas was ever able to win over his parents, but if it were up to just Catalon, I feel like UT would have been the pick. He made several visits to UT without his parents in the offseason and really bonded with Craig Naivar over their love of baseball. He was also really close to Josh Thompson and Caden Sterns — they all use the same trainer. Catalon gave Arkansas a silent on his OV. It’s also worth noting that he has two teammates committed there, Morris’ sister is an employee at his high school and his parents wanted him in a small college town.

AND NOW LET’S GO RAPID FIRE…

(Photo: 247Sports)

— As crazy as the Javonne Shepherd recruitment was, there really wasn’t a ton of behind the scenes. We basically laid everything out in public. Obviously, there was plenty of indecisiveness and some off the field concerns that we won’t go into here. We were told that towards the end of the cycle, Texas had this mentality: “If he signs, we’ll turn him into something if he buys in, and if he doesn’t, we’ll explore other options.”

— One of the biggest recruiting wins this cycle was Jake Smith. His father actually emailed Stan Drayton his film, which got the ball rolling. Smith visited a couple of time and fell in love with the program. USC was a childhood dream school, but he felt comfortable at Texas and thought it was a better fit. Jake told me he was 90 percent sure he was picking Texas before he made his USC OV when I visited him in Arizona in the spring. By the way, Tim Brewster tried to make an in-home for A&M late in the process but immediately bolted for North Carolina. The station wasn't lit that day.

— Kennedy Lewis was fully set to commit to Texas after backing out of his verbal pledge to TCU. But the Longhorns had taken Peyton Powell, and there was some confidence with McCoy, so he cancelled his announcement. UT continued to recruit Lewis and eventually took him down the line. I’m told Herman personally loved his potential. Beck was great in this recruitment down the stretch when there appeared to be hurt feelings, and he looked like he was going to sign with Baylor. Lewis’ dad told me Texas is always where they wanted to be.

— Speaking of Powell, he was one of the weirder dudes we covered this cycle. He planned to visit UT in the summer, but it never happened and told us early in the fall that he didn’t have much interest. Powell decided to make an OV and committed soon after in what was kind of a surprise to us before the days leading up to his announcement. Powell and Texas eventually parted ways for mutual reasons. By the way, he told both TCU and Baylor that he was picking them before signing with Baylor.

— Texas also had a mutual parting with Demariyon Houston. I think he was an early take when there were concerns about the receiver position, and it just didn’t work out in the end.

— Marcus Washington had some second thoughts about Texas right before signing day. But it wasn’t really him. We were told Missouri really impressed his family and that they got cold feet about UT. At one point, it appeared that he was going to flip to Mizzou — he got Fong’d. But I stuck with Texas because I was told Marcus would end up making his own decision, and he wanted to be at Texas.

— Arjei Henderson had a whirlwind of a recruitment. He called Texas his dream school early, and his dad told me that was his school of preference. After backing out of pledges to Oregon and OU (the first time), Texas recruited him, but he never made a visit. Henderson had some contact with Texas in January, but there really wasn’t anything there.

— There have been a lot of questions about Theo Wease. He camped with Texas the summer going into his junior year but didn’t show much interest after that. Theo told us he just didn’t connect with the staff and didn’t see himself as a fit. He also had a negative perception of Texas, but we’re not sure where that really came from.

— Texas was able to create some movement with elite offensive lineman Kenyon Green, but it was never going to be enough. Green always loved Texas A&M, and his family felt comfortable there.

— We had several questions about Kenyatta Watson II down the stretch. There was some miscommunication about Marcus Banks and Kaiir Elam visiting late, which caused the family to second guess some things. Watson visited other schools, but it was always as a guest of his teammates. Watson wanted to be at Texas and after those visit issues were resolved, the family became huge advocators for the program.

(Photo: © Taylor Estes, 247Sports)

— Speaking of Banks, he was all Texas early on. In fact, I have a picture of him and his mom throwing up the Hook Em’ that I was going to use for his commitment edit. Banks kept delaying things, and his interest in Texas A&M grew, while his interest in Texas faded. Jason Washington did everything right here, but Banks grew increasingly interested in playing in the SEC and eventually ended up at Alabama. As mentioned, he visited Texas late — his request — but nothing really came of it.

— TCU offensive line signee Andrew Coker made a secret visit to Texas in the spring. However, another site reported it, which hurt UT a bit. He did make a return trip for an official visit late in the cycle, but Coker and his family were really set on TCU.

— Speaking of secret visits, there was never any secret visitor. It was going to be a stunt, but for some reason, it was never released. Again, no actual recruit made it to campus.

— Lewis Cine had Texas in his top group throughout the fall. But he gave Georgia a silent commitment and fulfilled his dream of playing big football in the South. Lewis felt like he was a better fit in the SEC and fell in love with Georgia. Craig Naivar did talk to him and saw him at school after Mel Tucker bolted for Colorado as Cine had some questions. But Georgia is where he wanted to be.

— NaNa Osafo-Mensah gave Notre Dame a silent commitment before officially visiting Texas. However, he was telling Texas commits that he was coming to Texas and gave indications that he was leaning towards UT, which caused some confusion in our reporting. Osafo-Mensah obviously sided with Notre Dame. He loved what the program offered religiously, academically and athletically.

— Texas was the early leader for Branson Bragg and that was his father’s school of preference. However, we were told his mother preferred Stanford, and the Cardinal was able to win him over. Bragg is an amazing student in the classroom and jazz pianist. He fits the Stanford mold.

(Photo: 247Sports)

— Texas was in the top three for Arkansas offensive lineman Stacey Wilkins. He and his family really connected with assistant Jake Langi. The Polynesian traditions Texas had for him on his visit were a hit. However, there was a lot of Oklahoma influence in his recruitment. Wilkins planned to make an OV for the USC game, but there was a mutual parting of ways.

— Maninoa Tufono visited Texas for junior day and planned to come back. Like Wilkins, Tufono and his family loved Langi and the Polynesian traditions on his visit. The day before he set his commitment date, there was a lot of confidence around Texas, so I put in a Crystal Ball. However, distance, familiarity and comfort all played roles in him picking USC. Tufono did reach out to Texas late in the fall, but the Longhorns had already moved on.

— Louisiana prospect Makiya Tongue was on the verge of committing to Texas. He really wanted to play wide receiver, and Texas pitched him on it. The Longhorns won both him and father over on their visit. But Tongue always loved Georgia. He visited there right before the decision. The Bulldogs told him he could play receiver, and he committed shortly after. That was the turning point.

— I was close to putting in my Crystal Ball for JUCO linebacker Lakia Henry after he backed out his pledge to Tennessee because there was an SEC credit issue.

6COMMENTS

I was told Henry would have no problem getting into Texas. However, Henry always wanted to play in the SEC. When Arkansas and Ole Miss resolved the credit issue, it was basically over. The OV didn’t create much movement.

— The first Texas commit of the cycle was four-star quarterback Roschon Johnson. He was always going to commit to UT, but the way it happened was pretty funny. After winning fastest man at Under The Lights, Sam Ehlinger encouraged Johnson to grab the microphone and commit. And he did in front of the all the recruits in attendance.

 

What a shock that EJ penned a massive article, and the overarching theme was to tell everyone just how right he was about everything, and how wrong all the rest of us were...about everything. It's also about as surprising as seeing Darek Warehime buying pepto bismol to see that EJ is close friends with Marcel Brooks. Fucking myopic, hipster doucehebag piece of shit. "No guys, I just saw Noah Cain last week and he's STILL got tears streaking down his face over the decision he made."

Edited by SydneyCarton
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KYHorn

KYHorn 17614

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

What a shock that EJ penned a massive article, and the overarching them was to tell everyone just how right he was about everything, and how wrong all the rest of us were...about everything. It's also about as surprising as seeing Darek Wareheim buying pepto bismol to see that EJ is close friends with Marcel Brooks. Fucking myopic, hipster doucehbag piece of shit. 

 

4 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Yeah, and that was after I had to write and delete Stroke, Embolism, and Aneurysm, which we're me preferred choices. 

How's your morning going?

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KYHorn

KYHorn 17614

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, gordogg24p said:

EJ's full of shit usually, but this post-signing day "tell all" is another level of bullshit for him. If I had to guess, I'd say this is 70:30 made up shit to real shit.

Eh, most of it wasn't really worth being made up. The BS is more in calling it a "tell all". "X player planning an OV then cancelling and Y player's parents being more/less interested in Texas than their child" is just regurgitated info from his non-updates throughout the year. 

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49994

Posted
Posted (edited)
15 minutes ago, gordogg24p said:

EJ's full of shit usually, but this post-signing day "tell all" is another level of bullshit for him. If I had to guess, I'd say this is 70:30 made up shit to real shit.

EJ thinks he's Higdon...... wait

giphy.gif

Edited by LTtxfan
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