Texas previously tried to lure Cedar Hill football coach Joey McGuire to its staff.

When Joey McGuire left his respected and lofty perch leading Cedar Hill’s football powerhouse to become an assistant coach under newly hired Matt Rhule at Baylor, the widespread sentiment was that it was a huge step toward buying Rhule instant bona fides in his new home state.

McGuire is a respected head coach by his colleagues and high school athletes, who have seen the Longhorns compete for state titles on an annual basis, often charging up the Super 25 national rankings in the process.

That recognition, in turn, should make it easier for McGuire and the Bears to recruit Texas athletes. Now, according to one report from 247 Sports, McGuire is hoping that success may start very close to home. Ryan Bartow, one of 247’s national recruiting reporters, spoke to Cedar Hill’s three highest-profile prospects about McGuire. All three said he’s been in touch and that it’s clear he would love for them to follow his path to Waco.

For the record, Texas A&M wide receiver commit Camron Buckley, Oklahoma wide receiver pledge Charleston Rambo and future Notre Dame quarterback Avery Davis all reaffirmed that their collegiate decisions were final. Still, that doesn’t mean Davis and Co. don’t respect their high school coach, or that they’ll ever refrain from picking up the phone if he calls, in honor of the relationship they’ve shared with him in the past. They’re also all uniformly happy for McGuire’s big shot at the higher stage.

“I was excited for him,” Davis told Bartow. “It happened to be at Baylor and I knew they were going to come after me. I’m just excited for him. It’s a great opportunity. It’s a respect type of thing. He coached me for four years. Off the bat I have more respect for him than any other coach.

“I feel (McGuire) brings his own little swagger. He brings the juice. He’s already fired up. He brings it 100-percent every day and he loves what he does.”

Some might feel that McGuire is crossing an ethical line by immediately attempting to grab the players he had groomed away from the schools they chose under his watch. Yet that’s only a shade different from a coach like Texas’ Tom Herman grabbing recruits who had committed to him at Houston for his first class with the Longhorns.

After all, all is fair in love, war and recruiting, the latter of which can sometimes feel like a combination of the prior two. Even if McGuire can’t pull in any of his current Cedar Hill seniors, the relationships he has across the state, and particularly in the DFW area, would seem to put Baylor in prime position to make headway there in future classes.

“Relationships,” Buckley said. “He knows all the players at Duncanville, DeSoto and Cedar Hill. All the players know him. You know who he is. If he texts you, you can actually relate to him more than (people at) other places because he’s from your city. He’s from down the road.”