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Big 12 success means recruiting Texas. Against Baylor, BYU can make a statement with Texas recruits

Texas recruiting is predicated on relationships, and Big 12 programs do anything to get them. Can BYU get into the door?

BYU quarterback Jaren Hall (3) celebrates as teammate and running back Tyler Allgeier (25) crosses the goal line to score a touchdown as Baylor safety JT Woods (22) defends during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)

Soon after the 2019 Texas high school football season ended, Marco Regalado was holed up in his home in Alamo, Texas, making TikToks.

Trying to pass the time, he started making 30-second video clips impersonating the mannerisms of high school coaches. Then, somehow, his career took on a life of its own.

His viral fame led him to an assistant coaching position at Northwest Eaton High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Then a year into that gig, his ability to relate to Dallas-area recruits landed him a spot on Washington State’s recruiting staff.

And this past offseason, with Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren fighting for his job, Regalado was handed the reins to the program’s recruiting strategy; charged with making the Owls more competitive for Texas recruits.

Not a bad run for a former TikTok sensation.

Regalado personifies the unique culture of Texas football — and the lengths to which programs go to make sure they are mining the talent-rich state for recruits.

“For programs outside the state, you have to spend time here,” Regalado said. “Or, the easy way to do it, is to hire someone who has roots here. But you better start working hard to build those relationships in Texas, or you are not serious about recruiting the state. It hard just to throw a logo at these kids or an offer at these kids.”

With BYU hosting Baylor this weekend, it is a good time to take stock of where the program is in terms of recruiting Texas.

The Cougars are headed to the Big 12 conference, a league stationed in the heart of Texas. And BYU head coach Kalani Sitake wants to “recruit the world” but has admitted that if they are going to compete with Texas talent, they need to start recruiting it, too.

But there are glaring obstacles to overcome. The Cougars are stationed some 1,200 miles away from the hotbed of the conference. It has nobody on staff with significant ties to Texas. And it is recruiting against a conference armed with years of intricate relationships built over decades.

“I think it’s important for us to span [to Texas],” Sitake said. “... It’d be foolish of us not to go down that path in recruiting. Widening the net a little bit more and seeing the other possible candidates.”

More than one Big 12 program has been built on Texas recruits. Baylor, which Sitake called “the standard of the Big 12,” is obviously stacked with some 80 Texans. Oklahoma has made a living off of recruiting Texas, too; there are currently 45 Texans on the Sooners roster.

And athletic directors will overlook major gaps on the resume to get people with the relationships to recruit the area.

“I think I was probably hired because of my relationships,” Regalado said, still trying to sift through how he is now in charge of a Division I program’s roster. “To recruit in Texas, you have to know the coaches. If the coaches trust you, then players trust you. But you have to be known and have relationships.”

TCU hired Sonny Dykes, the son of Texas Tech legend Spike Dykes and a master recruiter in Dallas. Dykes’ last Power Five gig resulted in him being fired at Cal, but he knows just about every high school coach in the state and TCU wanted his Rolodex in recruiting.

Texas Tech just hired Joey McGuire, a man with no head coaching experience outside being the head coach at Cedar Hill — a Texas high school power.

“It’s a huge [advantage] for me,” McGuire said of his unconventional background. “Being a Texas high school football coach who gets to coach college football. My DNA is rooted here.”

Big 12 staffs also try to work unconventional ways to get their foot in the door.

Every year Division-I programs in Texas flock to San Antonio for the Texas High School Coaches Association convention. It is one of the few states that still have the convention, mostly because of how important the relationships are.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart was invited this year — as the national champion coach always makes an appearance. He started his remarks by saying “they had to cancel this event in Georgia” because of a lack of interest.

“This is the best state to recruit in the country,” Dykes said, noting that Texas produced the most five-star recruits in the nation according to 247Sports. “And this place is all about relationships. Showing up, being there and having a history.”

BYU, at this point, can’t compete with that. It has four players from Texas on its roster. In terms of the coaching staff, very few have even some ties in the area.

Jernaro Gilford might be the closest. His strong recruiting ties to Oklahoma are how BYU pried safety Korbyn Green away from Baylor.

There have been some recruiting wins in Texas recently. BYU hauled in three-star tight end Saimone Davis from Colleyville and unrated running back Landon Chambers from Keller Fossil Ridge.

But Sitake has acknowledged that the program needs to grow in that regard. He wants more recruiting resources to have people in Texas full-time.

“For us, we are just adding more bodies to spread out into those areas and broaden our recruiting,” Sitake said. “I feel like if you have the bodies, we won’t have guys so spread out they can’t really focus and master one [area].”