He could play for a top power on either coast and just about anywhere in between.
LOS ANGELES — Dwight McGlothern is one of the best recruits in the class of 2020. And he’s not afraid to let you know it.
I caught up with the 6’2, 180-pound Cedar Hill (Texas) Trinity Christian star cornerback as he was playing with Fast Houston, one of the top 7v7 teams in the Adidas 7v7 West Coast Regional Championship. McGlothern locked down opposing receivers all day.
“It’s competition. I want to compete and get better,” McGlothern said. “But I really haven’t had much competition all season. Well, Chad Johnson Jr., that dude, he was tough. He’s nice like his dad. Going against the best brings the best out of me.”
He also thinks he is better than some other players at the event ranked higher than him.
McGlothern is ranked the No. 120 overall player and the No. 8 cornerback in the 247Sports Composite. He has 20-plus elite offers. But in 247’s own rankings, he is 188th and 14th, which doesn’t sit well with him.
“I don’t know what’s up with the rankings,” he said. “Sixteenth? I have to keep coming out and being me. I was kind of upset [when I saw my rating fall], but at the same time, I can’t let it impact me. I believe I can get back up there.”
McGlothern showed well, locking down many of the best receivers in the event thanks to his length and quickness.
While on the West Coast, McGlothern took the time to visit USC. He came away with an offer from the Trojans.
“I just got USC yesterday. I worked for that for so long,” he said. “The weather out here is too nice. Everything out here fits me. I’m a city boy. I can see myself out here, playing for USC. I know they need DBs bad. I can easily play early.”
But would McGlothern’s parents be OK with him playing 1,500 miles from home?
“They will be. They support me wherever I go,” McGlothern said. “It might be tough if I go to Ohio State or something — they might not be able to go to all of my games, but they’d still be behind me. I don’t get homesick. I love my family, they love me, and we’ll rock with God and he’ll put us in the right place.”
McGlothern didn’t name USC when I asked about two or three schools he knows will have hats on his table come signing day. Georgia was the first name. Then LSU, with a pause.
“It depends with LSU,” he said. “I believe coach [Corey] Raymond is waiting on me to come with Elias [Ricks],” the No. 1 corner in the nation, and a similarly lanky player. “It would be a nice secondary.
“But LSU has recruited a lot of defensive backs last year. Will they give me a chance to compete for a starting spot?”
Other schools are reminding McGlothern about LSU’s stacked depth chart.
“Man, Georgia and all them are straight up telling me,” he said. “But for me, it’s about relationships and how the scheme is. I can easily compete with anyone.”
He’s not so sure about the final hat. In-state schools like Texas and A&M are definitely under consideration. But so is Ohio State, to which Buckeye receiver commitment Gee Scott Jr. was trying to recruit him during the event.
“That last spot is hard” McGlothern said. “I still have to go see Ohio State. I love coach Jeff [Hafley], he coached [Richard] Sherman with the 49ers. Me and Sherman are almost the same height. He has experience with big corners. I texted him and said, ‘Coach, I just want a chance to compete, for you to be real with me, and teach me how to be as good as Sherman, if not better.’”
McGlothern has been tracking how recent players from the state of Texas are doing at Ohio State.
“I’ve been following Jeffrey Okudah, he’s doing very well,” he said. “And I know Garrett Wilson, he’s doing his thing.”
Ohio State’s interest is rather recent, and another Big 12 power’s lack of interest is related, McGlothern believes, due to Ohio State defensive coordinator Alex Grinch moving from Ohio State to Oklahoma.
He does not hear from Oklahoma at all. And he did not hear from Ohio State until Grinch left the Buckeyes. McGlothern and Grinch see his fit differently, he believes.
What’s next for McGlothern?
McGlothern wants to visit Oregon. He might visit Michigan. But he might combine the Michigan trip with Ohio State’s spring game on March 20.
Will McGlothern really leave the state? With both in-state powers having interest, it’ll be tough to say no to staying home, but major power players outside of the state are trying their best.