Max Cummins is living a dream by committing to Texas
When Max Cummins committed to the Texas Longhorns on Tuesday night, he caught most of the recruiting world by surprise. It turns out, Cummins had a pretty good idea coming into the evening that he'd be giving the Longhorns a commitment.
The Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal defensive end had seen his stock rise in recent weeks, with interest coming in from the likes of Houston, Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma and Texas. When Texas came calling and set up an in-home visit for Tuesday, Cummins was ready to shut things down if things went the way he was hoping.
"I was talking to (Oscar) Giles and (Tom) Herman and (Todd) Orlando when they were at Houston. When they went to Texas, it was about a week before I heard from coach Giles," Cummins said. "He called me up, said they were interested, wanted me to come down there and visit. After he did that, he said he would come to the school and visit and try to come to the house for a home visit. After all that, he came to the house (Tuesday) and visited, said he was going to offer me a scholarship. I had previously talked to my coach and family, so I knew I wanted to commit if I got offered. He (Giles) wasn't expecting it. He didn't pressure me or anything. I made the decision on my own."
When the moment happened and Giles formally extended a scholarship offer, Cummins wasted little time in verbally committing. He's still riding high from his decision.
"I was super excited. I couldn't be happier, couldn't be more grateful to the coaches of the Texas staff to give me this chance," Cummins said. "I'm going to make the most of this opportunity."
After transferring to All Saints for his senior year, the 6-5, 245-pound Cummins had flown under the radar for most of the recruiting cycle. Recently, people began taking notice after seeing his season highlights and while Cummins welcomed the increased attention from larger programs, others tried to tell the former UConn commit he should stick with some of the smaller programs that were recruiting him.
"Some people have come to me and said these guys showing up late are kind of like second decision, plan B for me," Cummins said. "I don't think so. I don't think any had seen my film. I think they wanted to see my film and just got it recently."
Cummins, who has been clocked as low as a 4.18 in the shuttle, recorded 77 tackles and 5.5 sacks as a senior. He says he'll bring a hard work ethic and willingness to do whatever it takes to win to the Texas program.
"I believe I can bring a great sense of attitude and perseverance and commitment to the program. I'll also bring a lot of athletic ability and a lot of strength a lot of people didn't know I had," Cummins said. "I think that will bring out a lot of great things for myself and the coaching staff. I really appreciate the way they've handled things and I'm excited to get there."
Cummins will get a close look at his future home this weekend during his official visit.
"I'm just trying to accomplish building more of a relationship with the staff," Cummins said. "I'll do a little more recruiting for the school if they need it, if they want me to. Other than that, I'm just coming to have a good time."