The retirement of Texas' offensive line coach Mac McWhorter could cost the Longhorns a big-time recruit.
Westerman will make more trips.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Chris Westerman, the father of five-star offensive tackle
Christian Westerman, said his son visited Auburn last weekend and will likely visit Oregon and USC in January in addition to taking his official recruiting trip to Texas.
While stressing that Christian Westerman has not decommitted from Texas, Chris Westerman admitted the turmoil from a 5-7 season -- Texas' first losing season since 1997 -- and the subsequent coaching shake-up (offensive coordinator Greg Davis also resigned) swayed his son to welcome more suitors.
Westerman committed last spring to Texas but it was McWhorter with whom he developed a strong relationship. When McWhorter made the decision to retire, he flew to Arizona to inform Christian in person.
"That meant a lot to us and we still have great faith in the Texas family," Chris Westerman said. "But when Mac retired that kind of ruffled Christian and we said, ‘we can't bury our hands in the sand. If they don't make the right hire we need to have a Plan B and a Plan C.' "
Westerman plans to visit USC the third weekend in January, Texas on the fourth weekend and Oregon in the final weekend of the month.
His Auburn visit was memorable. He spent time with quarterback Cam Newton and attended the team's banquet.
There are lures for Westerman at all three of the schools he will visit in January. His grandparents and uncle live in Alabama and the other offensive tackle on Hamilton's state championship team, 6-6, 260-pound Tyler Johnstone, will play at Oregon next season.
USC was in serious contention for Westerman before coach Pete Carroll left to coach the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and the Trojans were sanctioned by the NCAA following the Reggie Bush investigation.
Westerman, a 6-foot-5, 295-pound All-American just completed his senior season at
Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) with a third straight Class 5A Division I Arizona state championship. In four years at Hamilton, Westerman lost just one game and was the anchor and leader on an offensive line that many observers feel was the best the state has ever produced.
While USC, Oregon and Auburn appear to be at the top of the list should Westerman opt out at Texas, there are other suitors as well. Arizona State assistant coach Grady Stretz met with Westerman last week to try to convince him to stay in-state, and Oregon State is also in the mix.
While ASU was an afterthought in previous conversations, Chris Westerman wouldn't rule out the Sun Devils among the possibilities. ASU lost games to BCS top five teams Oregon, Wisconsin and Stanford by a combined 16 points this season and has virtually every starter returning on both sides of the ball.
Westerman said his son won't make a final decision until just before signing day in February, but he'll likely face some added pressure at the Under Armour All-American Game Jan. 5 in Orlando, Fla. Fellow Texas commitments Desmond Jackson (Spring, Texas/Westfield) and Quandre Diggs (Angleton, Texas/Angelton), the younger brother of San Diego Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer, have also accepted invitations to play in that game.
