Last weekend’s Texas 7on7 Championships tournament in College Station didn’t prove as fruitful for Coppell as the Cowboys may have hoped entering the event. A narrow 26-25 loss to DeSoto on Saturday morning sent Coppell home with a record of 1-3, but 2019 athlete Jonathan McGill certainly served as a silver lining for the Cowboys and assured TexasHSFootball that the event was beneficial for the team, despite the losing record.
“Just going against DeSoto, coming off of the state championship, it just got us good looks, good experience,” McGill told TexasHSFootball of what Coppell can take away from the event. “Just going against the best and trying to play off technique so it works your craft, catching the ball and looking the ball in and we feel like we took away that we can compete with any team. We just need to learn how to finish.”
One of the few examples of Coppell struggling to finish in 2016 came in what became the Cowboy’s final outing of the season – a 49-45 loss to Round Rock in the third round of the playoffs to cap a 10-win season.
Such struggles were understandable, though, as Coppell wasn’t exactly forced to close games too often in 2016. Seven of the Cowboys’ 10 victories came by double digits and five were of the blowout variety, largely due to an explosive offense that churned out nearly 35 points per game.
To that end, in a setting that emphasizes offensive explosiveness, which McGill provided plenty of, the junior-to-be considered the trip to College Station an opportunity for Coppell’s offense to build further momentum entering 2017.
“On offense, it’s really about chemistry, knowing how many steps you’re going to take to break when the ball is coming, just looking it in,” McGill said. “We can just build momentum on the offensive side and for the defensive side, just communication.”
As far as McGill is concerned, his presence was apparent on both sides of the ball. He described his game as, “A ball hawk on defense and I just make plays on offense.”
Highlights vs Desoto today #3StripeLife #State7v7 pic.twitter.com/tqjOsbODrL
— Jonathan McGill (@OriginalMcGill3) July 1, 2017
Already dubbed a four-star recruit, McGill displayed his two-way versatility as a pesky and instinctive defensive back and an electric and elusive weapon in open space. So what did the prized recruit come out to College Station to prove?
Well, that he’s the best in his class.
“I just came out to grind with my teammates,” McGill said. “The ultimate goal is to win the state [7on7] championship, but we fell short of it. I just tried to come out here and prove that I’m one of the best, if not the best 2019 recruit in the nation.”
To date, McGill is garnering interest from some major programs from around the nation, including Texas, Stanford and SMU, which he said are the three schools in contact the most. Stanford and SMU have offered, along with Bowling Green, Nevada and Syracuse, but the Longhorns are yet to offer.
“That would be huge, especially because I feel like Texas is going to be back in the Top 25 for sure,” McGill said of what a Texas offer would mean. “They’re going to be back where they were in 2006. I just feel like that would be a huge offer. It’s Texas. It’s home.”
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