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20/20 Vision With my Buffs On
@mozichrome
“It was kind of a cool touch,” said former Kansas coach David Beaty, then the A&M receivers coach. “You really never knew A&M as a place where you could have swag.”
Said Stewart: “Going back to Sherman’s staff, the way they conducted business, it was very traditional, old school. (The new staff) comes in and it’s a totally different vibe. You have the music going at practice.
“I remember going to practice as a recruit and thinking to myself, ‘This is going to be a blast.’”
The Swagcopter’s travels helped A&M land consecutive top-10 recruiting classes in 2013 and 2014. Among the recruits Sumlin visited in the helicopter whom A&M landed were Seals-Jones (Texas’ top recruit in 2013), Garrett (the nation’s No. 2 prospect in 2014), Kyler Murray (the No. 1 quarterback recruit in 2015) and Daylon Mack (a 2015 five-star defensive tackle recruit).
“The recruits loved it,” said Gabe Brooks, director of football scouting for 247Sports. “It was more than just the players. It was media, it was fans, talking on Thursdays and Fridays during high school football season, ‘Where’s the Swagcopter gonna be?’ or ‘Swagcopter sighting.’
“It created the buzz that I’m sure they intended to create.”
With top recruits, A&M used it however they could. Beaty recalls telling Justin Manning, the top defensive tackle recruit in the 2013 class, that he would circle the stadium five times during his game for the last digit in Manning’s jersey. For Seals-Jones, whose hometown has a population of just over 6,000, the mere idea that a college coach would take a helicopter to his game was special.
“For someone from a small town to have that happen to them, it meant a lot,” he said. “It let people in our community know that, coming from a small place, you can make big things happen.”
The Aggies wasted no time pursuing recruits who once seemed unattainable.
“It was ‘We’re gonna swing for the fences here.’” Stewart said. “‘If we miss, we miss, but we’re gonna go after the best.’”
The helicopter’s debut at St. Pius and the logistics that made it possible provided a template for future flights. Sumlin ensured that the chopper always landed at a baseball or softball field, because there was always lighting and no danger of nearby power lines when landing at second base. The golf cart escort became standard issue, too. Eventually, as the Swagcopter’s reputation grew, fans approached it to meet Sumlin, shake hands and solicit photos and autographs. The crowds became large enough that Sumlin asked Taylor to accompany him on all future flights.
“He was just a rock star after 2012,” Taylor said of Sumlin.
“It was kind of a cool touch,” said former Kansas coach David Beaty, then the A&M receivers coach. “You really never knew A&M as a place where you could have swag.”
Said Stewart: “Going back to Sherman’s staff, the way they conducted business, it was very traditional, old school. (The new staff) comes in and it’s a totally different vibe. You have the music going at practice.
“I remember going to practice as a recruit and thinking to myself, ‘This is going to be a blast.’”
The Swagcopter’s travels helped A&M land consecutive top-10 recruiting classes in 2013 and 2014. Among the recruits Sumlin visited in the helicopter whom A&M landed were Seals-Jones (Texas’ top recruit in 2013), Garrett (the nation’s No. 2 prospect in 2014), Kyler Murray (the No. 1 quarterback recruit in 2015) and Daylon Mack (a 2015 five-star defensive tackle recruit).
“The recruits loved it,” said Gabe Brooks, director of football scouting for 247Sports. “It was more than just the players. It was media, it was fans, talking on Thursdays and Fridays during high school football season, ‘Where’s the Swagcopter gonna be?’ or ‘Swagcopter sighting.’
“It created the buzz that I’m sure they intended to create.”
With top recruits, A&M used it however they could. Beaty recalls telling Justin Manning, the top defensive tackle recruit in the 2013 class, that he would circle the stadium five times during his game for the last digit in Manning’s jersey. For Seals-Jones, whose hometown has a population of just over 6,000, the mere idea that a college coach would take a helicopter to his game was special.
“For someone from a small town to have that happen to them, it meant a lot,” he said. “It let people in our community know that, coming from a small place, you can make big things happen.”
The Aggies wasted no time pursuing recruits who once seemed unattainable.
“It was ‘We’re gonna swing for the fences here.’” Stewart said. “‘If we miss, we miss, but we’re gonna go after the best.’”
The helicopter’s debut at St. Pius and the logistics that made it possible provided a template for future flights. Sumlin ensured that the chopper always landed at a baseball or softball field, because there was always lighting and no danger of nearby power lines when landing at second base. The golf cart escort became standard issue, too. Eventually, as the Swagcopter’s reputation grew, fans approached it to meet Sumlin, shake hands and solicit photos and autographs. The crowds became large enough that Sumlin asked Taylor to accompany him on all future flights.
“He was just a rock star after 2012,” Taylor said of Sumlin.
