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(From Suchomel)
Where else to start this week’s War Room but with an update on the UT intramural hoops championships?
On second thought, let’s update everyone on the Bru McCoy story as best we can without stepping on any toes. This thing is evolving quickly with lots of new information (and misinformation) coming out, but here’s what we know as of Thursday night …
McCoy, the five-star receiver out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana (CA), did officially enter his name into the transfer portal, as we reported on Thursday afternoon. For those of you who are somehow unfamiliar with this story, McCoy committed to USC in early January, choosing the Trojans over Texas. He then turned around the next week and enrolled at USC to begin classes on January 7, and less than three weeks later he’s now going to transfer.
News first came out of McCoy wanting to get away from USC on Wednesday, but the truth of the matter is that this thing has been bubbling up for several weeks.
Even while in San Antonio for the All-American Bowl, McCoy had expressed some uneasiness about his (privately) having signed with USC in the early signing period, and there was some behind-the-scenes talk that week that he could look to make an early transfer out of the USC program.
McCoy did decided to stick it out with his commitment to the Trojans, but when he was enrolling at USC – literally as he and his family were driving to campus to drop him off – they got word of then-USC offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s sudden departure to take over the head coaching job of the Arizona Cardinals. Needless to say, McCoy and has family were thrown for a loop at the timing of that news, but McCoy went ahead with his plans and enrolled and started classes. Not much else he could do at that point. In the days after he stepped foot on campus, my sources indicated he was having second thoughts and his family was taking measures behind the scenes in case he wanted out, but the USC coaches talked him off the ledge and tried to alleviate his concerns, and McCoy again decided to try to stick to his commitment and stay enrolled.
Fast forward two-and-a-half weeks and things began to pick up steam again this week when word began to circulate that McCoy was once again thinking about transferring. On Thursday, McCoy made his intentions official when his name surfaced in the transfer portal.
It is important to note that just because a player enters his name into the portal, he is not obligated to transfer. Until he publicly announces something, there could be a scenario where McCoy decides to stick with USC, but that goes against a lot of common sense thinking and from what I’ve been told as I write this, there isn’t expected to be any turning back. Texas appears to be the obvious choice and I’ve heard differing timeframes on when fans should expect McCoy to land in Austin (ranging from this weekend to early next week). I haven’t heard any clarification on an NCAA petition to grant McCoy immediate eligibility at his next school (that process could take a bit of time), but one source that I spoke with on Thursday evening said Tuesday could be the day you see McCoy begin classes at UT, if there are no unforeseen snags.
This is still a sensitive story to cover and there are still some moving parts and uncertainty– mostly on timing – but at this point it would be a real surprise if McCoy isn’t officially part of the Texas program soon. If that’s the plan, as we expect and one key source has indicated, I’d expect an official announcement to come out in the near future.
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Some notes on Houston North Forest OL and Texas commitment Javonne Shepherd as we hit the home stretch of his recruitment …
Shepherd is currently on an official visit to Georgia that will run until Saturday. From there, he’ll head to Alabama for an official visit before finishing things off next week with a Texas official visit beginning on February 1.
The speculation and discussion on Shepherd has been all over the place in recent weeks (months?), especially after he took a Texas A&M official visit earlier this month. Is he still committed to Texas? Will he sign with the Longhorns or will he flip to A&M? Could one of these out-of-state schools pull a surprise?
In talking to a couple different sources this week, I don’t get the impression that ANYONE truly knows what Shepherd will wind up doing. His trainer, Rischad Whitfield (Footwork King) told me this week that he truly feels it’s a 50/50 race between Texas and Texas A&M. In talking to a couple A&M reporters, there was confidence on that side of things coming out of A&M’s official visit, but any talk of this one being wrapped up for the Aggies or Texas considering throwing in the towel is misguided. Texas continues to recruit Shepherd aggressively, is still planning to host him on his official visit and there’s hope that getting the last visit will be enough to keep Shepherd in the fold.
From what I’ve been told, Texas A&M did try to get Shepherd to flip his commitment during his official visit. It wasn’t necessarily a hard sell the way it was described to me, but the conversation did happen. Similar to what he told us after the visit, Shepherd informed the A&M staff he was still committed to Texas, was going to take his other visits and wouldn’t have a final answer until National Signing Day on February 6.
Bottom line … this one’s still impossible to predict with any real confidence and even those close to Shepherd don’t have a great feel for where he’ll wind up. The confidence from the A&M side does give some reason for pause, but Shepherd did commit to Texas for a reason and with the Longhorns getting the last visit, this one is far from over.
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Texas OL coach Herb Hand went out to see Virginia graduate transfer offensive lineman RJ Proctor last week and according to Proctor, he’s expecting Hand to be back for a second visit soon, possibly even later this week or sometime next week.
Hand, Proctor and Proctor’s mother met at a restaurant and Proctor said Hand made a strong impression right off the bat.
“We got there and he was waiting. My mom and I came in, he hugged my mom, gave me a handshake. She loved that,” Proctor said. “We got to talking, he kept it real with me. He was telling me about their needs of their offensive line. The one thing I always tell coaches to do is to be real with me. This is like free agency for me. I have one year and six months to do what I need to do. It’s nice to be wanted I also need to go somewhere that I’m needed. I want to start, want to help the team. I get the education, the platform, and I get to help them win. And I get to build a relationship with the coaches. It was really good.
“He told me I can’t promise you a starting spot and the NFL. In order to get both of those you have to work. I can tell you if you come here, there’s a spot open (to compete for).”
Proctor said a number of schools have been trying to push him to visit, but he’s told everyone he’s not scheduling visits until the end of January. He wants to focus on school, formulate a top five and then take all five official visits before committing in March.
Proctor did say Texas will absolutely get one of his visits, and he’d like to set it up for February so he can see a UT spring practice.
“Texas will definitely get one visit. I’m definitely taking a visit to FSU, I’m going through Ohio State and Oklahoma right now. I’ll most likely take one to those two and then need to decide on my fifth visit.”
Hand plans to get Proctor in touch with Texas offensive tackle Calvin Anderson, who found himself in a similar position last year. Proctor is hoping they can start communicating soon and then spend some time together when he takes his Texas official visit later this spring.
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Hand also visited Iowa Western Community College offensive lineman Willie Tyler earlier this week and Tyler said it was a good visit that lasted about an hour and a half. According to Tyler, he was told that he’d hear soon whether or not Texas will bring him in for an official visit on the weekend of February 1.
“I think he should let me know in the next few days. He was just clearing things with the player personnel department,” Tyler said. “That’s all I’m waiting for. He told me to keep that weekend open, so that makes me think it’s going to happen.”
Tyler’s an interesting prospect that’s very much under the radar. The 6-7, 315-pounder originally committed to play at Garden City Community College coming out of high school where he was supposed to play defensive tackle. He decided to take a greyshirt instead of do that and that’s when Iowa Western stepped in and offered him a chance to play on offense. After a semester off, he went with the Iowa Western offer and played as a freshman this year.
Tyler is trying to take a heavy course load and graduate in May, which is something college coaches are watching to get a feel for if he can pull off the early graduation.
“The coaches had told me the reason they hadn’t pulled the trigger is because I was supposed to be a next December grad, but with me being a May grad, they’re scared I won’t graduate because I’m taking 17 hours and a 3 credit class for an accelerated grade. So that’s 20 hours, that’s a pretty heavy load. I was just assuring them that I’m going to graduate,” Tyler said.
Tyler said he’ll likely wait to decide until mid-March, but if Texas was to bring him in for a visit next weekend and extend an offer, he’d strongly consider shutting things down and just signing in February.
“That would definitely be an option, just because they lost a lot of positions. Even if I don’t go for tackle, they lost both guards and left tackle, so they have three positions up for grabs.”
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(From Anwar)
Texas freshman quarterback Casey Thompson had the attention of his coaches, players and college football observers since early December.
Thompson entered the transfer portal after the regular season, along with Cameron Rising. He was the fourth quarterback last season, playing behind Sam Ehlinger, Shane Buechele and Rising. Thompson did not appear in any games and 2018 will be a redshirt season for him. However, Thompson was unsure of his future at Texas and decided to enter the transfer portal, aka, college free agency.
According to a source close to Thompson, he was contacted by several schools while in the transfer portal. Oklahoma, Miami, Utah, UCLA, Arkansas and Houston expressed interest in Thompson, but ultimately went in another direction. Auburn and Mississippi State showed interest. However, Thompson was informed those programs would rather pursue a grad transfer.
Thompson was still examining his options last week. He finally informed the Texas staff on Friday night he would return to Austin, ending weeks of speculation.
The good news for Longhorn observers is Thompson and everyone associated with the program have picked up from where they left off.
Texas held its first meeting on Monday, and Thompson was in attendance. He has participated in all team activities this week, as expected. I was told Thompson appeared enthusiastic, joking with teammates, and in a great mood.
In addition, his teammates have not thought twice about Thompson nearly leaving the Longhorns.
“One thing this generation of young people desperately avoids is conflict at any juncture,” one person told me. “We live in an era of Casey did what he felt like he needed to do. No harm, no foul.”
It appears Texas football coach Tom Herman’s staff has moved on, too.
Herman’s staff is one the road recruiting, but I have heard Thompson’s moment of indecision will be chalked up to him being a young man thrown into a new situation. Nobody is upset with Thompson. Instead, the coaches are glad he is back with the Longhorns and eager to contribute.
Thompson, who will be a redshirt freshman in 2019, is expected to be the No. 2 quarterback this season, followed freshman Roschon Johnson. After receiving scout team reps in practice last year, he now becomes a key member of Tim Beck’s quarterback room.
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It is way too early for offseason workout notes.
The first workout was on Wednesday, which means strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight is still laying the groundwork. McKnight has to spend this time teaching freshmen how to properly stretch. It will be a while before we can talk about the gains made in the weight room during the offseason.
One positive aspect about offseason workouts is players embrace all of McKnight’s exercises and drills because of the results. If you remember, McKnight inherited a group of players who were not physically strong when he arrived. McKnight worked hard to transform their bodies, but achieved the results he wanted entering the 2017 season. A year later, you witnessed Longhorn offensive lineman pounding opposing defensive lines in the fourth quarter, and part of that success can be attributed to McKnight.
Prior to last season, McKnight said at least 13 players squatted over 600 pounds. In addition, at least 55 players clean-and-jerked over 300 pounds. McKnight said the team back squat average was 490 pounds.
“We have 60 members of our football team right now that can vertical jump over 30 inches, we have 42 players on our football team that can power clean over 300 pounds from the floor,” Herman said during Big 12 Media Days last season. “We have 34 guys that can squat over 500 pounds. We have three guys that actually can squat over 600 pounds.”
In addition, it is important to remember McKnight does not emphasize the bench press because he prefers strong shoulders. He believes the bench press is tough on the shoulders and wants to keep players healthy.
Since there are no specifics to report, I can give you a general outline of what the next few weeks will look like.
The main objectives of winter workouts are weight gain, mass, bulk and strength. Over the next three weeks, McKnight will do his best to make sure his guys will gain as much strength and mass as possible.
After signing day, the Longhorn will participate in running sessions on Tuesday and Thursday. Players will also participate in mat drills every Wednesday morning.
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Texas running backs Kyle Porter and Tristian Houston entered their names in the transfer portal this week.
The Longhorns have only three running backs with college football carries on the roster – Keaontay Ingram, Daniel Young and Kirk Johnson. Texas freshman freshman Jordan Whittington is currently on campus, while Derrian Brown will join the team later this year.
I asked if the departures of Porter and Houston would accelerate the decision to give Whittington more reps at running back this spring, and I was told it had no impact.
The decision to utilize Whittington as a running back was made prior to his arrival on campus.
I previously reported Texas intends to Whittington similar to New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara and Carolina running back Christian McCaffrey. He could receive 100 touches out of the backfield and 40 to 50 receiving targets.
While Longhorn observers are worried about the depth at that position, it does not appear those associated with the program are concerned about the running back room.
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(From Alex)
A few things to update from Tuesday's report on the Longhorns here in Mobile at the Senior Bowl. I was able to review the All-22 film this morning from Wednesday's practice at South Alabama's indoor facility and of course took in the third day of practices live at Ladd-Peebles Stadium as usual: The bottom line is that neither Charles Omenihu nor Kris Boyd blew the doors off the Senior Bowl in the way many would have hoped. There is good news, though. I've talked to tons of scouts and professional analysts this week and no one thinks Omenihu falls out of the second round. Sitting at the airport and typing this, I was talking to a well-known sportswriter who said hello and I told him I was writing an update on the two and asked his opinion. He said that he couldn't see Charles going any later than Day 2 (meaning rounds 2 and 3) and a scout sitting at my gate next to me overheard the conversation and agreed that he will not. Armed with all this information, I think it is fair to project Omenihu's draft floor currently as late third-round with upside to move up from there with a good combine and/or a great game on Saturday.
We've seen edge guys like Ezekiel Ansah and even as recently as last year, Marcus Davenport, have a slow week of practices and then explode in the game to help their stock. Such an event for Omenihu would surely be a boon.
"There were so many good DL," one scout said when I asked about Omenihu's week, "it was hard to stand out. Better using his hands. You saw his arms, but I like the way he used his hands. The (North OL) is tough."
Dalton Risner of K-State could be the best player at the Senior Bowl and Omenihu, when aligned at the 5-tech, was consistently going to battle with either him or another true stud in USC's Chuma Edoga. It was disappointing to see Omenihu not make the absolute most of the opportunity because, truth be told, I really only saw him flash once during the week of practices, in an inside rep versus a less talented guard. He had a lot of trouble converting against the tackles of the North squad, plain and simple, but the infatuation with his tools is real among the scouting community.
As for Kris Boyd, he has struggled.
Ohio State WR Terry McLaurin has probably had the second-best week of any WR in Mobile behind Deebo Samuel (South Carolina) and much of that has had to do with his ability to shake Boyd's coverage and use his aggressiveness against him in the open field. Double moves and jukes Texas fans have seen defeat Boyd as a Longhorn were very easy to recognize. I figured that this would be remedied when the teams went into the traditional Thursday "red zone" practice today. As the field shrinks and the space the offense can operate in is decreased, surely it would benefit a physical corner like Boyd who is prone to biting on certain moves in space, but a true dog who will out-physical you for the football at the catch point and who will win in contested situations. That, unfortunately was not case. Boyd continued to struggle and looks like one of the lesser defensive backs in Mobile for the week. He probably didn't HURT his draft stock, as all of these deficiencies were evident on tape, but he didn't help it either. Barring a ridiculously athletic showing at the NFL combine, I have a hard time seeing how a team could justify spending anything more than a Day 3 pick on Boyd.
A few other quickie notes with relation to the Longhorns:
- One NFC scout on LB Gary Johnson (who numerous analysts asked me this week why nobody is talking about the guy): "He's fast and some of our guys think he's straight-line, but even though he's small, you see – that’s what plays in the league, speed at the LB position and versatility to use them in dime. He's real instinctive, nose for the ball. Could see him being a core (special) teams guy at the worst, I like him."
- The same scout said he didn't see PJ Locke or Breckyn Hager as having NFL futures, which is only one scout's opinion.
- The same person on TE Andrew Beck: "I think he's kind of intriguing, when you look at everything he can do. Think about it: I wasn't that blown away by (Geoff) Swaim when he was (at Texas) just off the cuff, and he's done well, Beck's more accomplished as a pass catcher, plus they're hard to find when they can move well enough to threaten (the defense) and can also be a helluva blocker for you, either inline or as (a lead blocker) - he's a salary-saver that way."
- I spoke with the agent of Chris Nelson who said that he's basically met with all the teams already at the Shrine Game where he had a great week. This agency also represents players like Daniel Wise, LJ Cornelius and Daylon Mack in the same class and they view them all as having equal draft ceilings and have offered all those guys the same sorts of deal with training, marketing advances, etc. I think the smart money is on Nelson being drafted. I was told teams really are interested in him, and I think they are smart to be.
