Oklahoma native Maurion Horn talks about choosing Texas Tech football over the Sooners and Cowboys
Oklahoma native Maurion Horn talks about choosing Texas Tech football over the Sooners and Cowboys
After graduating from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Maurion Horn had no shortage of college options. Power programs like Texas, Oregon and USC were after the two-way athlete’s services, and that’s without considering in-state schools Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, both of which were close on his track.
Ranked among ESPN’s top 300 recruits for the class of 2022, Horn had his pick and chose Texas Tech football, a selection that was a little easier than some might have thought, even with the Sooners and Cowboys targeting him.
“I got a lot of attention from both schools,” Horn said Friday of OU and OSU, “but since Joey McGuire was my first offer, I just felt like he was the one who always stayed connected with me throughout my high school years. Whenever I met him in person, I was like, ‘Yeah, I want that guy as my head coach.'”
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Roughly two years after that decision, the redshirt sophomore is still waiting for his chance. Playing behind veteran cornerbacks like Malik Dunlap, Rashad Williams and Bralyn Lux, Horn spent his time with the Red Raiders learning and patiently waiting for his chance. Thanks to the departures of Dunlap and Williams and Horn’s individual development, that time has now come.
“I think it’s helped him to be able to sit back and play a bigger role,” secondary coach Marcel Yates said. “Mo is a physical cornerback by nature. Mo isn’t afraid to beat people. I just think that’s what we want from our cornerbacks and what the offense tries to do because every offense wants guys to beat people, so Mo brings the physicality to the edge that we need.”
Horn is currently rated as Tech’s second cornerback opposite Lux. Both players are 6’1″ and weigh between 175 and 185 pounds. Compared to Dunlap (6’3″, 205 pounds) and Williams (6’3″, 215 pounds), the cornerbacks this year have a little less size than their opponents, which they must compensate for with physicality.
“I’ve always been physically strong,” Horn said. “I’m not the biggest, but I know I have heart, and when I go out there, I’m going to make sure someone feels me for sure.”
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McGuire was quick to point out that Horn was outstanding in last week’s scrimmage, and Horn, in turn, credits one of the players he sat behind – Dunlap – for allowing him to learn despite limited playing time on defense last season.
“As soon as I got here, he really took me under his wing,” Horn said of Dunlap. “Meetings and stuff like that, taking on extra work, that’s what made me. There were days I didn’t want to go out and do extra work, but Malik made me go out and do that.”
“I’m really grateful to him for that.”
Despite being a highly touted recruit, Horn said part of the plan was not to spend much time on the field the past two years, and now he has a chance to use the knowledge he’s gained to his own advantage.
“I always knew I had to work for my position,” Horn said. “I knew what I was getting into when I picked this school. When I got here, I just decided to learn the whole game from the older guys, and now I have the opportunity to put it all on tape.”
