These 2 didn’t need camps or self-promotion
COLLEGE STATION — Defensive end DeMarvin Leal and tight end Baylor Cupp own 10 recruiting stars between them at Texas A&M, but the five-star prospects would not have given 10 cents for the gussied-up recruiting process.
Instead, the duo relied on talent, tenacity and trust in their high school coaches to help guide their paths, an exceedingly rare approach in 2019 and one offering proof budding recruits don’t need bells, whistles and trumpet-blaring parents.
“Marv didn’t need all of those things; he trusted us,” said Leal’s coach at Converse Judson, Sean McAuliffe. “He was just focused on making sure his grades were good, making sure he could graduate early, and putting himself in a position to have a great senior year.”
About 260 miles north of Converse in Brock, Cupp was doing likewise. With the traditional signing day on Wednesday, Leal is 247Sports.com’s No. 3 player nationally, and Cupp is No. 16. Both already are at A&M as two of the Aggies’ eight early enrollees in a class of 23 (so far).
“I sat down with Baylor and his dad early in the recruiting process, and they had a lot of questions,” Brock coach Chad Worrell said. “I told them the main thing I’ve always said is pick a school you’d want to attend whether or not you were playing football — because you’re never guaranteed anything down the line.”
Old-fashioned approach
Cupp (6-6, 240) and his father quickly narrowed the blossoming tight end’s list to two prominent in-state schools and amazed even Worrell at their resolve in keeping the limelight dim and narrow.
“I believe Baylor only visited Texas and Texas A&M,” Worrell said. “I tried to get him to visit some of the other schools just for the experience. To be able to say, ‘I went to Alabama and Notre Dame on my recruiting trips.’ But he committed to A&M pretty quick.”
Call Leal and Cupp oldfashioned, but in many ways the two were on the cutting edge, allowing them to focus on what earned them scholarship offers to a prominent program in the first place. “Honestly with all of the technology out there, whether it’s Hudl (video), the Internet overall and even message boards, very few kids get overlooked,” Worrell said. “In terms of completely missing on a kid, that’s hard to do if you get your game film out there, because the guys who need to are going to take a look.”
Last winter, following Cupp’s junior year at Class 3A Brock, he still didn’t have any major offers after fighting injury as a sophomore and laying low on the camp circuit to recuperate from a taxing track season.
“I told Baylor let’s be patient and I’ll make a few phone calls,” Worrell said of the January 2018 conversation. “Kansas offered, and once that got put on Twitter and social media, then other Division I schools began to take a look. Once they saw his athleticism and size, it all happened really fast.”
No spotlight necessary
One coach who appreciates Cupp’s no-nonsense approach? A&M’s Jimbo Fisher.
“He didn’t go to all of the crazy camps; he didn’t go promote himself,” Fisher said. “He said, ‘I know what I want to do, and I know where I want to go.’ ”
Leal (6-4, 285) was a betterknown prospect, but neither player earned his coveted fifth star until late in the recruiting process — which was fine by them. McAuliffe said one of Leal’s favorite things at Judson was visiting with appreciative fans in the parking lot after games, and taking pictures with adoring children who considered him a role model.
The spotlight? Leal aimed to avoid the glare.
“He and his parents just trusted us, and early on I told him, ‘You don’t have to go to camps — you’re going to pass the eye test. And your video is going to validate you, so your camp days are over,’ ” McAuliffe said. “We told him if there was something he absolutely wanted to do, we could offer advice.
“We told Marv the same thing the A&M coaches told him: ‘Enjoy your senior season of high school. You only get one of those.’ ”
Added Fisher: “DeMarvin didn’t take tons of visits. He didn’t go to this camp or that camp, and he wasn’t looking for fame and stardom. But I’ll tell you what: He’s one heck of a football player.”
Worrell dubbed the athletic Cupp and his humility “a rare find.” As for Leal…
“Marv was just a blessing here,” he said. “I don’t know if there will be another one like him. Who knows — maybe if I’m lucky.”