Commitment Spotlight: Bru McCoy

Let’s try this again, shall we? Bru McCoy committed to USC at the Army All-America Game, signed his letter or intent and then enrolled shortly after. About a week, after McCoy enrollee, then USC offensive coordijator Kliff Kingsbury left to take the head coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals. Ultimately, Kingsbury’s departure along with some other factors led McCoy to enter his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal. And as they say, “the rest was history.”

McCoy’s recruitment was always pretty straightforward. He was always destined to go to USC. Mater Dei has become a USC pipeline in recent years, with some of McCoy’s teammates like JT Daniels and Amon-Ra St. Brown heading to the Trojans. Texas quietly entered the picture for McCoy and slowly began to shift momentum its way. With a great season under its belt and USC clearly being far from stable, McCoy was intrigued by the prospects of playing in Austin.

At the All-American Bowl however, McCoy decided to go to Los Angeles. But Tom Herman won the battle, as McCoy found his way to Austin as a Longhorn. Thanks, Transfer Portal! McCoy is the No. 1 rated athlete in the nation, and the No. 4 prospect overall. This is the biggest get for Texas since Vince Young, rankings wise. Let’s analyze how McCoy will fit on the 40 acres:

*I analyzed McCoy as a WR because that is the position he will likely excel at in college. If he does indeed play some OLB, we will do a separate analysis*

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Pros:

The first thing that stood out is McCoy’s excellent footwork. He is a solid route runner, which will translate well to college.

Excellent hands. Hardly ever uses his body to catch the ball.

Great vision with the ball in his hands. Excels at getting yards after first contact.

Can high point the ball when needed. Uses his size well against smaller DBs.

Excels at multiple positions. Can be utilized in the slot or on the outside and have the same positive impact.

Not afraid of contact. Demonstrated he can be physical in the run game as a blocker and pancaked several defenders. [/one-half-first]

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Cons:

Sometimes is a little bit slow to get off the ball at the line of scrimmage, but makes up for it with his speed.

Not enough film showing McCoy’s ability on a diversity of routes. He mainly ran post routes and double moves at Mater Dei, but showed some ability on fade routes and bubble screens as well. [/one-half]

Summary

There is no other way to put it — Bru McCoy is an elite talent that can excel in the Texas system. McCoy has the ability to be a Lil’Jordan Humphrey type of player. He can be utilized outside, in the slot, or even in the backfield due to his physicality. McCoy will fight for playing time early on, especially if Humphrey decides to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. McCoy may not have the size advantage that Collin Johnson and Lil’Jordan Humphrey do, but his athleticism creates a unique nightmare for opposing defenders.

McCoy has a rare skillset that contains elite hands and footwork along with fantastic vision with the ball in his hands. In the Texas offense, McCoy has the ability to shine. With his speed and athleticism, Tom Herman has tons of different options at his discretion when it comes to McCoy, including bubble screens, intermediate slants, post routes, double moves, and more. McCoy has the ability to excel at all aspects of the Texas system, but it may take him some type to get familiar with the playbook. Nevertheless, we expect McCoy to show why he is the No. 1 athlete in the country for the 2019 class and make an immediate impact upon his arrival at Texas.

Final Verdict

This recruitment had some twists and turns, but ultimately the majority of those covering both USC and Texas football felt that McCoy would be a Trojan when all was said and done. With the Mater Dei connection to the Trojans as well as McCoy’s parents indicating a preference for him to stay close to home, Los Angeles seemed like the likely destination for the 5-star. However, McCoy decided that a change of scenery would be nice, and Austin would be the perfect fit.

There is no way to put into words how big of a victory this is for Tom Herman. With questions surrounding the stability of the USC program and whether or not new OC Kliff Kingsbury would stick around or bolt for the NFL, Herman took advantage and pulled off a last-minute upset. McCoy will compete for playing time immediately, and by the time his tenure at Texas ends, he has the potential to be one of the best players Texas fans have seen in burnt orange in years.