USC early signee Bru McCoy signed a financial aid agreement Friday with Texas to join the Longhorns program, school spokesman John Bianco said. McCoy had entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal Thursday. The prospect ranked No. 27 overall in the 2019 ESPN 300 had signed with USC out of Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California) in the early signing period in December and enrolled for classes in January. McCoy, who was the highest-ranked recruit in the Trojans' class, had an opportunity to earn playing time in his first season on campus. He announced his commitment to USC on Jan. 5. Days later, USC offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury left the program to join the Arizona Cardinals. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound athlete was recruited as a wide receiver (he also played linebacker in high school) and was affected by Kingsbury leaving USC for the NFL. The Trojans still have not named a new offensive coordinator. Because he already attended classes at USC, however, McCoy will need to sit out the 2019 season or get a waiver from the NCAA to allow him immediate eligibility.<doc-sep>Better late than never — isn’t that the saying? After entering the NCAA transfer portal on Thursday, USC Trojans wide receiver Bru McCoy, ranked as the No. 1 athlete in the 2019 recruiting class, signed his financial aid agreement in preparation to transfer to the Texas Longhorns, according to a report from Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports. Horns247 provided confirmation minutes later. McCoy plans on beginning classes in Austin next week after receiving his admittance into school, which was confirmed by Texas on Friday afternoon. When decision day finally arrived for McCoy on Jan. 5, the dynamic Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei star snatched the cardinal and gold USC hat from the table at the All-American Bowl, solidifying his choice to stay close to home and suit up for the Trojans, a decision he had made days earlier by signing his National Letter of Intent. The burnt orange Texas hat, along with others, remained on the table. Just days later, McCoy enrolled at USC, but as soon as the five-star prospect arrived, former Texas Tech head coach and recently-hired Trojans offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was on his way out an on to the NFL as the newly-named head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Two weeks came and went and all was mostly quiet on the McCoy front — that was, at least, until the rumor mill began roaring from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast. On Wednesday, speculation began to circulate hinting at McCoy’s plans to depart from the USC program. Throughout the subsequent 24 hours, those message board murmurs blossomed into national reports, and ultimately, reality, as McCoy officially entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal on Thursday afternoon. Seemingly as soon as McCoy’s exit plan became apparent, all signs began pointing towards Texas, arguably the only program that enjoyed more than a mere puncher’s chance throughout his recruitment. McCoy followed those signs and they led him to the Forty Acres, as the elite talent signed a financial agreement with Texas on Friday. With McCoy now officially taking his talents to Texas, head coach Tom Herman’s 2019 class features a new headliner, as McCoy was dubbed as the No. 9 overall prospect in his class. 247Sports provided an in-depth evaluation of McCoy’s NFL-caliber skill set: Unique two-way player with a high projection at receiver or outside linebacker. Big, strong and physical as a wideout with good hands and high-level body control. Runs well enough to get behind a defense, makes the tough catch look routine and can do something with the ball in his hands after the catch as well. Is also a tremendous blocker and plays with incredible effort. Outstanding pass rusher who combines an explosive first step to get the edge with the power to bull rush a tackle or change direction and flashes a quick move to the inside. Plays the run very well and is comfortable in space or dropping back in to coverage. Where he plays in college will be interesting as he prefers receiver but might have more upside as a 3-4 outside ‘backer. Potential early impact player at BCS level and high round NFL draft pick. As a senior, McCoy’s said skill set was on full display as the 6’2, 205-pounder hauled in 78 receptions for 1,428 yards and 18 touchdowns, in addition to 13 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks as a pass-rushing specialist. The Longhorns pitched McCoy on the plan to implement him similarly in Austin. McCoy’s potential to provide an immediate impact is apparent, but the question that now looms largest is whether or not the Longhorns will be able to utilize him immediately. USC reportedly released McCoy from his NLI, but given that McCoy did sign and enroll at USC, he’ll require a waiver from the NCAA in hopes of becoming eligible for the 2019 season. Otherwise, per the NCAA transfer rules, McCoy will have to sit out one season before becoming eligible in 2020. With McCoy now in the mix, the 2019 recruiting haul leapfrogs Oklahoma and Texas A&M to take over the No. 3 spot nationally, per the 247Sports Composite, setting Texas up for its second consecutive top-three finish.<doc-sep>Bru McCoy might be ready to pick up that Texas Longhorns hat after all. Early this month, McCoy committed to the USC Trojans over Texas in a ceremony at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, leaving the burnt orange hat neglected on the table. But days after McCoy enrolled as USC, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury left to take the head coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals. As a result, McCoy entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal on Thursday afternoon. So what’s next for McCoy? Schools like Texas are now free to contact McCoy and the Longhorns are the expected landing spot if the former consensus five-star prospect decides to leave Los Angeles. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger certainly seems to know something: The looming issue is the National Letter of Intent that McCoy signed in December — the penalty for a player not completing their freshman season at the institution that received that NLI is losing one season of eligibility and not being able to compete for one year. To receive a release from the NLI, McCoy needs to submit an NLI release request to the USC athletic department and the NCAA Eligibility Center. After receiving the release request, the Trojans athletic director and director of compliance would have 30 days to render the NLI release decision. In that scenario, if USC decides not to grant the release, the McCoy family would have the option of appealing the decision to the NLI Committee. Texas has actually been in this position before — in 2016, numerous Baylor signees requested their release from the institution in the wake of the sexual assault scandal that resulted in the termination of head coach Art Briles, among others. Wide receiver Devin Duvernay, now set to enter his senior season at Texas, never had his paperwork submitted to the Big 12 office, so his NLI was deemed invalid. Other Baylor players, like his twin brother Donovan, had to wait until Baylor officially released them from their NLIs. In all, four former Bears signees joined the Longhorns program and were eligible for the 2016 season — the Duvernay brothers, offensive guard Patrick Hudson, and offensive tackle JP Urquidez. Given the circumstances of the scandal that engulfed Baylor, releasing those players from the NLIs seemed like a clear-cut decision. USC would likely receive some negative publicity by declining to release McCoy from his NLI due to the departure of an assistant coach, but it is a different situation and the appeals process could take some time if it comes to that. If McCoy does leave USC and come to Texas, he has a window to enroll for classes during the spring semester. Friday is the fourth class day and the end of the official add/drop period. It’s the last day that undergraduate students can register with the approval of the registrar. The 12th class day falls on Feb. 6 — National Signing Day, coincidentally enough — and that’s the last day that an undergraduate student can add a class except for rare and extenuating circumstances. So look for this story to develop quickly in regards to whether McCoy enrolls at Texas, though it may take longer for USC to make a decision about whether to release him from his NLI. Update (Thursday 8:36 p.m. Central): My apologies here, folks — since McCoy enrolled at USC and was therefore considered a student athlete, he’ll have to petition the NCAA for a hardship waiver, which seems extremely unlikely. And does help explain this tweet:<doc-sep>
247sports.com Bru McCoy, a 5-star athlete who signed a letter of intent on Jan. 6 to play with USC, reportedly will instead transfer to Texas. Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel reported Friday that McCoy will start taking classes at Texas next week after being admitted to the school and signing a financial aid agreement. Per 247Sports, McCoy had 25 offers and made visits to USC, Texas, Alabama and Washington. He chose USC but entered the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 24. Chris Swanson of usc247.com offered reported rationale behind McCoy's decision-making: "McCoy was all set to commit to Texas before the 2019 All-American Bowl but was convinced to commit to USC by former Trojan offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury at the last minute. After Kingsbury was hired away to be the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, McCoy apparently soured on the idea of wearing cardinal and gold." Kingsbury signed a deal with the Arizona Cardinals just two days after McCoy signed a letter of intent with the Trojans. Ranked as the ninth-best overall prospect in the class of 2019 by 247Sports' composite rankings, the 6'2", 205-pound McCoy should make an instant impact for the Longhorns. He starred at linebacker and wideout in high school, but it remains to be seen what he would do on the collegiate level. Ultimately, McCoy is a huge steal for Texas given his versatility and potential. The question is whether McCoy has to sit a year due to NCAA transfer rules. He can petition the NCAA to let him play in 2019, per Gerard Martinez of 247Sports: Video Play Button Videos you might like However, there's no guarantee he'll win the petition. If he doesn't, Texas will have to wait until 2020 to see him suit up. If McCoy does win and plays starting in 2019, he'll join and up-and-coming Texas team that just beat No. 5 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and finished No. 9 in the Associated Press poll. If he plays wideout, then he'll join a talented offense that includes quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who have may have hinted at his happiness regarding the McCoy news: Ehlinger threw 25 touchdown passes and completed 64.7 percent of his passes last season en route to leading Texas to a 10-win season. Second-leading rusher Keaontay Ingram, No. 2 wideout Collin Johnson and No. 3 wide receiver Devin Duvernay will also be back. No. 1 pass-catcher Lil'Jordan Humphrey will not, but McCoy can help fill that void.