Arkansas DT Nick McCann Gives Insight behind Commitment to Texas Tech
Written by Ryan Wright
A change in the football recruiting winds has happened within the state of Arkansas. A decades long tradition of locking down the best players, if and when possible, within The Natural State has seemingly come and gone with the new notion of picking and choosing the best players as needed then filling in the rest of the team’s needs for a given recruiting class from out of state talent pools.
On Tuesday Texarkana High School defensive tackle Nick McCann verbally committed to Texas Tech sending another recruiting ripple effect through the state of Arkansas. McCann is the second in-state high school talent in the last eight days to commit a Division-I program outside state borders. The first shockwave sent off was when Little Rock Christian running back Damarea Crockett pledged to Boise State on July 13.
Crockett leaving the state for college was a shock on a couple of levels. The primary reason is the well known need for the Razorbacks to fill-in spots in the backfield with the expected departures of senior running back Jonathan Williams and junior Alex Collins, many believe Collins will be an early NFL draft entry after posting back-to-back 1,000 rushing seasons in the SEC, once the 2015 season is concluded.
The other shocker is Crockett’s recruiting ranking, which is that of a 4-star recruit. Recruiting rankings are just opinions that do not necessarily mean that much but more times than not is typically a pretty good barometer of a recruit’s talent or projected talent at the next level. Times have changed from within the Arkansas program from years past when the thought of losing such a highly ranked player was upsetting to everyone especially Razorback Nation.
With McCann, much like Crockett, he has some very credible D-I offers that includes Baylor, Kansas, SMU, Texas State, and of course Texas Tech with interests from teams like Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, and Texas among others. The 6’2”, 300 pound, defensive lineman lined up at defensive end last year but will move inside to play tackle during his senior season. McCann caught recruiting attention last year posting a stat line in the neighborhood of 89 tackles and 15 sacks, all from the defensive end position.
McCann has the frame to beef up or slim down making him a versatile recruit for any defensive coordinator assuming his skill set fits a coordinator’s defensive scheme.
In defense of the Razorbacks coaching staff two defensive tackles have already verbally committed, Rummel High School (Metairie, LA) 4-star Briston Guidry and Star City Senior (Star City, AR) 3-star Austin Capps, filling in the those two areas of need. A defensive end has not been taken, and McCann may not fit their ideal, but the conflict of interest still remains for loyal Arkansans fitted between a rock and a hard spot with the needs of the Razorbacks’ 2016 recruiting class.
In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview I sat down with Nick to find out the background story on his surprised commitment to Texas Tech and got a little insight on how he is preparing for his senior season.
Interview
Nick, first, congratulations on your commitment to Texas Tech.
“Thank you.”
I think everyone was surprised that you committed so early in the process. What influenced you to commit when you did?
“My coaches, as we were going to camps they kept saying for me to find a school that I really like where I like the coaches and commit before the football season just in case I get hurt. If you get hurt during the football season and you’re not committed anywhere everyone can pull their scholarship offer and you have nowhere to go. I went with Texas Tech. I really like their coaches, I like their campus, and I’ve watched some of their football games and I like the way they do stuff so I decided to commit there.”
How did the commitment take place?
“I called Coach (Trey) Haverty (assistant coach/outside linebackers) and I told him. After that he let me talk to the D-line coach (Mike Smith), the head coach (Kliff Kingsbury), the defensive coordinator (David Gibbs) and almost the whole staff. All of the coaches congratulated me and welcomed me to the family.”
What was the Coach Haverty’s reaction when you committed?
“He was excited. He said he started jumping up and down because they wanted me really bad. They didn’t think I was going to commit to them. They thought I was going to commit later but not to them. He got really excited – he was really happy that I did.”
How did you feel at that moment when you verbally committed?
“I was actually kind of nervous I don’t know why but excited at the same time. My brother (Kendrix McCann) is going to SAU (Southern Arkansas), it’s just exciting. I think only my pa-paw went to college. He went to Arkansas for a couple of years but other than that, me and my brother are the only ones in my family to go to college to play football. That’s why I was kind of nervous and excited at the same time. I was excited to go to a different place and not be in the same place my whole life.”
Do you plan on taking your visits to other schools during your senior season?
“Yes sir. I have an official visit setup for Texas Tech, I haven’t been there yet, but other than that I’ll see which schools want me to come out there and then I’ll decide if I should or not. I talked to Texas Tech coach and he said that of course they won’t like it but in the end they understand if I feel like there is a better school for me he can completely understand that.”
I know that you’ve been really high on Arkansas and Texas A&M after camping at both schools during the offseason. Neither school has offered you yet but what are your thoughts on the Arkansas program at this time?
“I like them. I like really like their football facilities and everything. I went up there a lot when my brother was being recruited by them. I thought I was close to getting an offer but I figured they were filled up on the defensive line. I’ve been up there so many times it is nothing new for me.”
What about Texas A&M, where is everything with the Aggies right now?
“I really liked their facilities and their school. I really like their coaches too. I really like them because when I got done with their camp they asked me to follow up with them. I did two days later. I hit them up and they were straight up with me telling me they have two-three guys ahead of me that we are looking at and said we’ll get back to you. I was like alright thanks for being forward with me. They want to see my senior highlight tape, so that’s where everything was left with them.”
Are any other schools showing interest in you right now that have not offered you yet?
“Texas said they want to see my senior highlight tape too.”
Do you plan on taking any unofficial visits to any schools before the season starts?
“No sir. I thought about it but I’ll be too busy with football and work to do stuff like that.”
What have you been doing in the offseason to prepare for your senior season?
“We started speed and conditioning camp on Monday. We do that two days a week but you can go on Tuesdays and Thursdays if you want to. I’m going Monday through Thursday both weeks. I’ve been working hard, lifting hard, and doing everything I possibly can to get better. Not getting better just for this year but for college to. I’m trying to prepare ahead for my college career.”
Have you looked at Texarkana’s 2015 schedule yet and if so is there a game or two that you are exited to play this year?
“I’m always excited to play the Texas (Texarkana, TX) game. I’m ready to play the Lake Hamilton game, Pine Bluff game, Parkview, and El Dorado. Those are the games I’m really excited to play because with Texas of course we beat them (20-14 OT), Parkview that was a really close game last year (17-14). It came down to one final throw in the back right corner of the end zone. Pine Bluff, I like playing them because I don’t know what it is but there is always something there like a grudge match really. El Dorado was close. Two years ago we beat them and this last year they beat us (13-30). I want that tie breaker. Against Lake Hamilton (27-16), the defense last year scored 14 or 21 points by their self. Then the offense stepped in and got a field goal and a touchdown. It was really close and really exciting.
Photo credit: 247sports.com; Nick McCann.