THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. If the Bru McCoy story wasn’t the most unique one I’ve covered in recruiting, it is now
Every time I cover a unique recruiting story with twists and turns I haven’t seen before, I tell myself that surely I’ve seen everything now and nothing in the future will surprise me. Someday I’ll learn my lesson.
As you all are certainly aware by now, Longhorn freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy was again in the headlines beginning on Sunday evening when it was reported he was considering transferring back to USC … about four months after he transferred from USC to Texas.
Maybe it’s fatigue from the long holiday weekend. More likely, it’s fatigue from covering McCoy’s impossible-to-follow story through all the twists and turns, but I just don’t have the energy to get too worked up about this story at this point. As I mentioned to another writer when word started to trickle out this weekend, my biggest hope is that this story has a quick resolution and isn’t one we’re having to track for the next couple weeks.
A couple thoughts on the whole situation …
--- If McCoy feels after one semester that he’ll be happier at Southern Cal, I hope he’s right and he’s able to find some peace in a situation that has obviously been a major struggle. It’s always fun for the board when a guy picks Texas (and it’s fun covering those stories), but I’ve always said that I don’t care where a player winds up. I want them all to go to a spot that gives them a chance to be successful and happy. If that’s USC, that’ll be a kick in the gut for Texas, but best of luck to McCoy in Los Angeles.
--- When McCoy decided to leave USC, the departure of Kliff Kingsbury as USC’s short-lived offensive coordinator played a big role. He was blindsided by that news and McCoy’s family told me Kingsbury leaving played a big role in Bru wanting out of USC. We’re now hearing the idea of playing in new USC coordinator Graham Harrell’s offense is a factor in McCoy wanting to return to USC. If that’s accurate, saying scheme must be extremely important to McCoy would be a pretty dramatic understatement.
--- Rivals.com’s USC site reported on Monday evening that McCoy has told USC head coach Clay Helton that he plans to return to the Trojans program. From what I’ve gathered, McCoy has not told people at Texas of his intentions, including his teammates. In fact, I’m told some of the guys close to McCoy are completely shocked by his desire to leave UT … he seemed genuinely happy. If that report referenced above is accurate and McCoy has informed Helton of his intentions before informing the Texas staff, it’s not a good look. I don’t think McCoy is a bad kid at all … far from it … but that’s a poor decision to not directly tell the Texas staff his intentions. Again, that’s assuming the report is true.
--- I have no clue how the transfer rules will work if he does leave Texas, but there need to be some sort of consequences for all these guys who jump ship so quickly. If he does leave and if the NCAA somehow lets him play in 2019, they might as well just have complete free agency in college.
--- The transfer portal sucks.
2. A McCoy departure would leave a void on the roster and could impact potential recruiting efforts in California
If McCoy does bolt for USC, it will leave an obvious hole on the Texas roster. McCoy was ranked as a five-star prospect for a reason and was the highest-rated prospect in the Longhorns’ 2019 class. Assuming his transfer waiver was approved, McCoy was expected to play for Texas as a true freshman, and the Longhorns will now need other young players to step up. The good news for Texas is that it has recruited the receiver position well of late and there’s talent like Marcus Washington, Kennedy Lewis, Brennan Eagles and Al’Vonte Woodard on the roster. Unproven talent, but players with a lot of upside.
Looking at 2020 recruiting, a McCoy departure will almost certainly impact UT’s wide receiver recruiting numbers. However many receivers Texas was going to take previously (probably 3 or 4) needs to get bumped up by one, and the importance of landing a players like Troy Omeire and Quentin Johnston is ratcheted up a few notches. Texas does have a couple new wide receiver offers out – including one on Monday to Las Vegas Bishop Gorman wideout Rome Odunze – and I’d expect other names to land on the radar as well.
Losing McCoy would sting, but Texas will be fine at receiver. This staff recruits well and they’ll find talent to help keep the cupboard stocked. What will be interesting is whether or not losing McCoy would impact UT’s willingness and efforts in recruiting the state of California. With Cam Rising leaving after one year in Austin and McCoy possibly bolting quicker than that, could it make Texas a bit gun shy in recruiting players from the West Coast? Probably not to the extent that it will make the staff pull back on any top targets, but it’s something that cannot be totally ignored either.
In McCoy, Texas has (had?) a very personable, well-liked player on campus who could be a real ambassador for the Longhorns with other players from the state of California. McCoy and De’Gabriel Floyd are both players who are highly-respected by their peers out West, and not having McCoy around to help UT’s recruiting efforts would be a bit of a setback. Again, Texas will overcome that obstacle, but having McCoy on Texas’ side sure as hell wouldn’t have been a bad thing.
3. Texas will host a big recruiting weekend coming up
Speaking of California wide receivers, the Longhorns are set to host five-star Calabasas (CA) wideout Johnny Wilson on an unofficial visit this coming weekend. Interesting timing, for sure. Wilson is then slated to return on the weekend of June 21 for his UT official visit.
With any luck, the Bru McCoy situation will be resolved by the time Wilson gets on campus so the coaches will have a chance to thoroughly answer any potential questions. In getting Wilson on campus, Texas will have a chance to make an impression on a key player with whom the Longhorns are already in pretty good standing. Wilson, the 6-6, 220-pounder, has had Texas in his top five for a while despite not having been to Austin. This weekend will be UT’s first chance to really make an impression and I’d be surprised if the Longhorns’ chances for Wilson didn’t increase by the time he leaves town.
The other key visit scheduled to be in is Tucson (AZ) Salpointe safety Lathan Ransom, also a Rivals100 member. Like Wilson, it’ll be an unofficial visit and it will be Ransom’s first time in Austin. The 6-1, 185-pounder is set to release his top five soon and you can pretty much take it to the bank that Texas will make the cut. Ransom will be back in Austin the weekend of June 14 for his official visit.
TWO QUESTIONS
1. Can Texas make a move with Lathan Ransom this weekend?
Top safety prospect Lathan Ransom has already taken official visits to LSU and Oklahoma. He’ll finish up his five trips with stops at Notre Dame, Texas and Ohio State in consecutive weeks in June. As mentioned above, Texas will actually get a chance to make a strong first impression this weekend, when Ransom heads to Austin for a key unofficial visit.
“Really I want to just sit down, talk to my family, compare and contrast all the schools, then probably try to commit before the season,” Ransom said of his upcoming run of visits. “I just want to get it out of my way, not have to think about it during the season. Secure my future.”
Texas has been working on getting Ransom to campus for a while, and the elite safety prospect said he’s anxious to get his first look at the UT program.
“I’m super excited. This is my first time in Texas,” Ransom said. “They’ve really been trying to get me up there really hard. Keele (Ringo) talks really highly of Texas. I just want to see everything, honestly.”
Ranson and Ringo are good friends from being 7-on-7 teammates. Ringo, who has visited Texas a handful of times already, has given Ransom positive reviews of Texas.
“He likes it a lot. He talks about how their DBs are, their culture. He says it’s a great culture to be around,” Ransom said. “There’s a vibe from the coaches he really likes, and he likes what coach (Tom) Herman is doing. I can’t wait.”
Along with his connections to Ringo, Ransom is also a high school teammate of Texas running back target Bijan Robinson. Ransom said he’s had conversations with both guys about playing together in college, but all three of them are looking for the best fit for themselves. If it happens to be at the same school, it will be an unplanned blessing.
After he completes his official visits, Ransom said he’ll sit down with his family and work towards making a commitment later in the summer. When it comes time to decide, he said it will largely come down to a gut feel.
“Everyone says you’ll know, you’ll have that feeling,” Ransom said. “I’m just looking for that feeling, honestly, when I’m on campus. How my parents feel will have an impact. After these official visits, I’ll sit down and decide where I want to go.”
2. Which true freshmen will have the biggest impact in 2019?
The members of the Longhorns’ 2019 class who weren’t early enrollees are beginning to arrive on campus, so let’s take a look at the five players we think will make the biggest splash for Texas in their true freshmen seasons.
1. Jordan Whittington – The obvious choice for the top spot, I expect Whittington to be heavily involved in the offense from the opening game.
2. Jacoby Jones – Texas needs bodies and depth along the defensive line, and it seems that Jones has acclimated himself quickly to the UT culture. Time will tell how productive Jones can be, but you don’t usually bring in JUCO players to sit the bench and with Texas’ lack of proven d-line depth, Jones should play quite a bit.
3. Jake Smith – The only player on my list who isn’t an early enrollee, Smith is just too dynamic of a player to not get touches early in his career, be it on offense or on special teams. I would have had him ahead of Jones if he had been able to enroll in January. Regardless, I’d expect him to make a quick impact with his speed.
4. Caleb Johnson – Similar to Jones, Texas needs some depth at linebacker and being a JUCO product, Johnson does have some experience under his belt. Todd Orlando brought Gary Johnson along fairly slowly so the same could happen with Caleb, but I expect him to figure into the linebacker rotation heavily.
Jared Wiley – The fifth spot is tough. I don’t see the offensive linemen making a big impact. Texas fans better hope it’s not Roschon Johnson being forced into action before he’s ready. I could see someone like T’Vondre Sweat or Tyler Owens finding his way onto the field, but I’ll go with Wiley. He enrolled early, he was active in the spring game (although he had a couple hiccups as a receiver) and I could see him finding his way into the tight end rotation with his size and athleticism. Cade Brewer and Reese Leitao still need to prove themselves and Wiley is a bit different player than those two with his height and ability to stretch the field as a receiver.
*** If you’re wondering, I’d have Bru McCoy at number two on this list if I knew he was going to be part of the team in the fall. I’d have De’Gabriel Floyd at number three if not for his spinal issue.
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ONE PREDICTION - Golden State over Toronto in six
Well, I was wrong about the Eastern Conference Finals, so take whatever I say and bet the opposite, but I just don’t see a scenario where Toronto is able to take the Golden State down. Yes, Kawhi Leonard is playing at a very high level but the Warriors are on a roll and when they get like this, there’s not a team on the planet that can beat them in a seven-game series.
Toronto’s best bet may be to have DeMarcus Cousins (and to a lesser degree Kevin Durant) come back and upset the chemistry with which Golden State is currently playing. The Raptors absolutely have to win game one at home to have a chance. I don’t see it. Give me Golden State to win the series, which isn’t exactly sticking my neck out considering they’re -300 by the oddsmakers in Vegas.
