CougarCorner

If he is willing to sit out the Elite 11 camp, I wonder if this bodes well for potentially committing to BYU. That would be one of the few teams where he won't be practicing on a Sunday in college.

http://scout.com/college/football/recru ... -105994247

Regarding his five planned official visits--Bama, BYU, Stanford, Washington, Texas...

"I'm still working on those dates. Alabama will be during the LSU game and BYU is the final weekend before Signing Day. I'm planning to take all five trips for sure, even I fall in love with a school ahead of time, I'm still committed to taking all of those trips before making a decision.

The last paragraph gives insight to McKee's criteria:

"The academics and networking are huge for me, you always want to be set up for life after football. The locker room atmosphere and how well I relate with the coaches. I'm looking for a place where I can bond and fit in with the players and coaches, those are the guys you're going to be with for four years of your life so comfort level is huge for me as well."

Glad that he's committed to taking all 5 and that he's doing BYU last.

That said, if I were advising him, based on those criteria I'd steer him toward Stanford or maybe Texas. He'll always have the LDS network, but Texas and Stanford (in that order) will offer the best network. Stanford is best on academics, and BYU and Texas are tied in that regard--and well ahead of Washington or Bama. That said, if he does any graduate school, then the Stanford advantage is diminished somewhat because it's your terminal degree that matters most.
He'll have the best fit with team, scheme and coaches at BYU, though, followed by Stanford.
On net, if I weren't self-interested, I'd nudge him toward Stanford.

He is reportedly a "silent" BYU commit.

I always fear Stanford more than the other schools because there are other LDS players and a LDS coach on staff. I remember talking to the current Hemuli kid at Stanford when his mission days were drawing down. I asked him why Stanford and he cited the education, the nucleus of fellow LDS players and his great relationship with their LDS assistant coach.

DreadPuma wrote:I always fear Stanford more than the other schools because there are other LDS players and a LDS coach on staff. I remember talking to the current Hemuli kid at Stanford when his mission days were drawing down. I asked him why Stanford and he cited the education, the nucleus of fellow LDS players and his great relationship with their LDS assistant coach.

It is really hard to pass up a Stanford education.