THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Bru McCoy and his family have a ton of respect for the Texas staff
I spoke with Horace McCoy, the father of five-star athlete Bru McCoy, earlier this week. Among the things we talked about was the family’s impression of the Texas staff, and Horace gave the Longhorn coaches a very strong endorsement, with Tom Herman, Drew Mehringer and Bryan Carrington receiving specific mentions.
“(Carrington) is phenomenal. He did it the right way, and I wish more people recruited the way Texas and BC have,” Horace McCoy said. “He developed a rapport with myself. He developed a rapport with my wife. When you have two people who are both strong figures in (Bru’s) life, he took the time to spend time with us before (Bru) even made that unofficial visit. He developed that report with us and we felt comfortable with Texas. He’s been phenomenal in the process.
“From there, my interactions with coach Herman, stand-up guy. I know his past, I saw what he did at Ohio State, at the University of Houston, and I think that’s going to extrapolate over to Texas, with the players he’s going to have the opportunity to recruit, with the overall Texas brand. We’re all seeing a snapshot of it right now, what it could be. That’s very, very impressive to me.
“And then, the most impressive person out of anyone has been Drew (Mehringer). He has done a phenomenal job of recruiting Bru. You’re talking about a kid – there was Texas, USC, Washington, Alabama. USC, without overstating it, probably led the way of anyone. He was able to close that gap, which is incredible. He just doesn’t talk football with him. A lot of time we look at these kids and they’re phenomenal athletes, but they’re not just football players. Yeah, he loves to play football and he loves to compete, but he also has other interests. Drew Mehringer has done a great job. His philosophy really fits the style of person Bru is, and that’s who you spend the majority of your time with. BC’s job is to get you in, coach Herman is the overall guy, but the guy you spend time with is your receivers coach and he’s made a great connection with him.”
Mehringer has done a good job recruiting his position for the Longhorns over the past two classes, and he’s set to sign another solid wide receiver class in 2019. In talking to Horace McCoy, if Texas is able to land Bru, it’s clear that Mehringer will have a huge role in that recruiting win.
“His personality is that he’s a special guy. I enjoy talking to him,” McCoy said. “We talk a little football, we talk a little life. He incorporates real – and I think a lot of ballplayers need this right now – the intangibles that you take away from the game, how that relates to the real world. I don’t think that’s done enough. When I talk to Drew, I love how he relates it to something, maybe in history, or maybe something in the present day, or something they might face one day outside of football. I think that’s really important.”
2. Texas made a huge impression on McCoy’s official visit and has a lot to offer overall
McCoy and his family were in Austin in September to see the Longhorns defeat USC. According to Horace McCoy, the environment surrounding that game was unlike anything his son had seen before and it made a strong impression on the entire family, as has UT’s academic reputation.
“I’ll tell you this. The overarching thing we have is academics. We know at Texas, you’re going to get a fantastic education. Then there are some intangibles that you look for, and Texas checks all these boxes,” Horace McCoy said. “You look for tradition, you look for a strong alumni base, you look for him to have the ability to play early, to be able to come in and compete for a spot. Texas brings that. One day football is going to end. It’s going to end sooner than later. I hope it’s not until he’s like 35 years old, but it could very well be when he’s 25 years old. You’re going to need a great academic background or degree to be able to lean on when you’re done with the game. Those are some of the things we really look for, that degree, the tradition.
“The environment down there was just, going down for USC-Texas, I really wanted him to see. He’s used to Pac-12 football. He’s used to walking into a stadium and there’s 50,000, that sort of thing. I wanted him to see what 100,000 felt like. I remember him looking at me during the game and being like, ‘I get what you’re saying.’ I said ‘Dude, it’s a different world when you walk in that stadium and there’s 100 grand in the stadium and you can’t hear the person next to you.’ He felt that.”
There’s been a lot of talk that wins and losses could ultimately determine where McCoy winds up. If USC turns in a good season, most feel he’ll stay close to home and play for the Trojans. If USC struggles, and if Texas wins, there’s a sense that the Longhorns could pull McCoy out of Cali. While wins can never hurt, Horace McCoy said the family is focused on a much bigger picture than just wins and losses.
“No impact. They could win a national championship, but that’s not going to be the reason he goes there,” Horace McCoy said. “That can change. You can be losing now. I look at a team like UCLA, I’m watching them and they’re playing all freshmen and sophomores. Wait until next year. Those guys get a year, they acclimate, they come back next year, so it’s not wins/losses.
“It’s really about a fit. I need him to walk in the locker room, I need him to look at the guys around him, I need him to fit culturally. And then also, the relationship he has with the position coach and does he really believe in the head coach? All of those things – we literally do a plus/minus spreadsheet and Texas checks every box. Every single box.”
3. Texas is one of several schools talking to McCoy about playing on both sides of the ball
Just about every school that is on McCoy’s radar is talking to him about playing primarily at wide receiver. A handful, including Texas, have also discussed the possibility of McCoy playing some defense, mostly in situation pass-rushing situations. Of the schools squarely in contention, only USC has talked about offense only.
According to Horace McCoy, the family sees some positives and some not-so-positives to the idea of Bru playing both ways in college.
“There are about four or five schools that are interested in him doing it. I’m not sure how big of a fan I am of it, but if Bru enjoys it and that’s what he wants to do, I’m all about it,” Horace McCoy said. “I think it just heightens the risk for not-so-good things to happen. You’re on the offensive side of the ball and you come over to the defensive side of the ball, the game is dangerous enough as it is, we don’t need to add to it.
“But there are about four or five schools out there that are interested in him coming in on some rush packages, third and longs, second and longs. But you have to be better than the guy that’s there. That’s what I told Bru. He practices offense, spends very little time on defense. A lot of what he does on defense, he’s just natural at it. But when you go to college, it’s a whole different level. Everybody is great, everybody can rush. What can you do that’s better than the guy there, to beat him out, to earn the right to play both ways, contribute on both sides of the ball?”
Most likely, McCoy settles in on the offensive side of the ball when he gets to college. If he does play defense, his dad said it might be in his best interest to focus only on that side of the ball.
“I think, realistically, I think receiver is definitely where he’s going to make out. He’s 6-3, 215 pounds. He has really good speed and quickness for his size. I think that’s where he’s probably going to make out but we definitely understand the upside (of him on defense),” McCoy said. “If he wanted to go on the defensive side of the ball and take that seriously, the upside there, the sky is the limit.”
There’s been a lot of speculation that Texas giving McCoy a chance to play on both sides of the ball could be a selling point in UT’s favor. While it’s certainly appealing to Bru himself, playing both offense and defense doesn’t sound like it’s going to tip the scales in one direction or the other.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. What does all the above mean, and what are the Longhorns’ chances with Bru McCoy?
In talking to Horace McCoy, it was pretty clear the entire family has an incredibly strong interest in the Texas program and an enormous amount of respect for the Texas coaching staff. In fact, as we were saying our goodbyes and hanging up, Mr. McCoy made it a point to mention to just how real the interest in Texas is … that it’s not just lip service. I fully believe him.
Six months ago, I would have told you that the idea of Texas actually landing Bru McCoy would have been a bit of a pipe dream. This one, on the surface, appeared to be a complete USC lock, but I’m not so sure anymore. Getting McCoy away from Southern California won’t be easy – McCoy has grown up a little more than an hour from the USC campus, it’s been his childhood favorite school and he has friends and former teammates that are on the team. But this is a family that appears to be looking to make a sound business decision more than just acting on emotion, and the entire family knows Texas would provide a great opportunity for Bru.
Mr. McCoy said wins and losses won’t matter, and while I do believe him, you have to think that the Longhorns’ chances only go up if Texas shows the family that Bru would be playing at a championship level should he choose the Longhorns. Bru wants to play on a big stage – the quotes about the environment at the USC game in Austin prove that – so continuing to show him that the program is on the upswing is important.
One thing worth mentioning … when Horace McCoy mentioned that Texas checks every single box on the spreadsheet the family had put together, I did ask him if there were any others that also hit on every box. USC and Washington do as well, Horace said. With upcoming visits to Oklahoma and one more left to take, it’s possible that others could work their way towards the front of the race, but I continue to believe this one will come down to USC and Texas. Will the Longhorns be able to win him over and close the deal? It’s probably too early to say and I genuinely don’t think Bru’s mind is made up yet, but I feel very confident in saying that Texas has done as good of a job with this one as could have possibly been expected, and it feels like a near toss-up at this point. A lot of times in recruiting, the longer things go on the more proximity becomes a factor so that’ll be worth watching, but McCoy’s family is very open to the idea of him leaving the state if that’s what Bru feels is in his best interest.
Bottom line … it’s been a great job by the UT staff to position itself within striking distance in this one. My gut still says USC is the team to beat in the long run, but with the relationships and trust the Texas staff has built, this one feels to close to call at this point.
2. Where there any shake-ups in the Big 12 after last week?
It was a light schedule on the Big 12 docket last week, although Oklahoma and Texas Tech both looked impressive. And Texas was able to use its bye week to get a little more healthy and move up a spot in the polls. That’ll work.
Texas faces a tricky game on Saturday night in Stillwater, one in which the Longhorns are favored by only a field goal and ESPN’s FPI rating gives UT a 52 percent chance of being victorious. This week should tell us quite a bit about how Texas will finish, and there’s another potential Big 12 shake-up game with Texas Tech travelling to Iowa State. My updated Big 12 rankings …
1. Texas – Sam Ehlinger’s should is a major concern. If he’s unable to go or less than 100 percent this week, the Oklahoma State game suddenly looks pretty scary. (Last week: 1)
2. Oklahoma – The Sooners made easy work of TCU in Fort Worth last week. This is a scary good OU offense. (Last week: 2)
3. West Virginia – WVU gets Baylor at home on Thursday night. That should be a game the Mountaineers win easily, but I’ll be curious to see how their defense plays. (Last week: 3)
4. Texas Tech – The Red Raiders made easy work of Kansas in Lubbock, as expected. Tech has played well on defense of late. (Last week: 4)
5. Iowa State – Other than Texas-OSU, I’m as interested in the Tech-ISU game this weekend as any on the Big 12 schedule. (Last week: 5)
6. Baylor – Last week I considered putting TCU ahead of Baylor. Not anymore. (Last week: 6)
7. Kansas State – Honestly, these last four or five spots pretty much feel like a toss-up. (Last week: 8)
8. TCU – Could the Horned Frogs actually be better without Shawn Robinson? We’ll see. (Last week: 7)
9. Oklahoma State – I still think the Cowboys are better than what they’ve shown. For UT’s sake, let’s hope I’m wrong for at least one more week. (Last week: 9)
10. Kansas – You can pretty much write this spot in with a permanent marker. (Last week: 10)
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ONE PREDICTION – It’s going to be a productive recruiting week for Texas
The Longhorns have been on a recruiting roll of late, and there’s plenty of reason to believe that the recruiting momentum will continue to build. Marcus Washington is schedule to announce his decision out of Texas, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio State on Friday night, and the Longhorns have put themselves in a great position on that one. If you’ve been paying attention to Twitter, you’re probably aware that there could be other news coming down the pike soon and while I’m not going to give away any secrets, just know that there should be another good recruiting win for Texas in the near future.
