Texas Longhorns Target JD Coffey Eying a Commitment Date in the Not-Too-Distant Future
At some point, regular football activities will resume for high school juniors that couldn’t showcase their skills during the coronavirus pandemic. And when they do, expect Kennedale High School safety J.D. Coffey to be ready.
After all, the four-star recruit and Texas target has met every challenge so far during a decorated high-school career.
The first such challenge came in the summer before Coffey’s freshman season, when the youngster stepped onto the field for summer workouts. According to longtime Kennedale coach Richard Barrett, it took “about four or five plays” in the first football scrimmage to see that Coffey belonged on the Wildcats’ varsity team.
And in his first game under the Friday night lights? Coffey shrugged off any pressure while making 12 tackles and returning an interception for a touchdown in a 55-6 romp over Terrell High School.
“I did think it was kind of easy, but I had put in the work coming into my freshman year,” Coffey said. “I was confident, and my coach gave me a chance. I was a young kid on varsity, only 14 years old. But I was ready.”
Coffey has been just as prepared ever since. In three years of varsity action, the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder has amassed 198 solo tackles and 14 interceptions for one of the strongest smaller-school programs in the recruiting hotbed of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. He’s helped the Wildcats go 28-9 in his three years on varsity, which included a run to the Class 4A Division I state-championship his freshman season.
“He just has an innate ability to understand the game,” Barrett said. “He’s a true student of the game; he enjoys watching video, he listens intently, and he applies what he learns. He’s not a big talker in the weight room or in the locker room, but everything changes when he steps onto the field. He makes all the checks and all our calls. He’s the traffic cop back there.”
Coffey, the first underclassman to serve as a team captain under Barrett, embraces the mental aspect of the game. He says his biggest improvement as a player is “covering more ground” because of his film study.
“My knowledge of the game has improved, I can read offenses better, and I can anticipate what’s going to happen,” he said. “I like watching film. It’s fun.”
Texas football fans may have some fun soon, since Coffey says he’ll likely make his collegiate choice within the next month or so. Coffey squeezed in a pair of official visits to Washington and Oregon before the coronavirus pandemic halted most travel in mid-March,and he’s also expressed interest in Michigan and LSU.
But the Longhorns remain a leading contender, he said.
“Austin is a great town with a lot of opportunities,” he said.
Regardless of his choice, Coffey will be ready to meet the challenge.
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