RECRUITING: St. Thomas' Kopp releases Top 5, includes University of Houston

HOUSTON - The Elite 11 changed everything for Maddox Kopp.

The day Kopp got the invite, he received offers from Tulane and Texas State. Then Wyoming offered. Then it was Ole Miss. Then Colorado.

The recruiting buzz around the St. Thomas senior quarterback was definitely going and it hasn't slowed, despite him being unable to do camps as he originally planned this summer prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I was planning on going on the camp circuit and getting my name out there, because I felt like I was under-recruited and I had worked my tail off during the offseason just to prepare for that," Kopp said. "The Elite 11 gave me a platform and an opportunity to show that I do belong in that group of quarterbacks.

"It happened real fast and I just took it all in as much as I could, while staying focused on the season."

On Wednesday, Kopp narrowed his list to a Top 5 - Houston, Tulane, Wyoming, Colorado and Ole Miss.

"It was important for me to do that list and make it public just so I can focus on the schools I want to go into detail on," Kopp said. "It was a tough decision but it needed to happen."

The Top 5 is a mix.

The University of Houston is the hometown choice, now led by former West Virginia coach Dana Holgerson. Ole Miss gives the SEC option, Colorado is in the Pac-12, while Wyoming and Tulane reside in the Mountain West and American Athletic Conferences, respectively.

When asked what he's examining the most in his ultimate decision, Kopp said it all comes down to fit.

"There's a lot of things but the biggest is my fit in the program and my ability to play and contribute early on in my career," he said. "But there's so many things that go into a decision like this."

Having a Division I prospect in the Kopp household is nothing new.

Oldest brother Braden (2016 Houston Christian graduate) just graduated from Vanderbilt, where he played football. Miller (2018 Houston Christian graduate) is currently at Northwestern and Anderson (2019 St. Thomas graduate) is at Lamar University, both of whom play basketball.

So, now it's Maddox's turn.

"I've talked to them, bouncing ideas off of them, seeing what they think," Maddox said. "It's really helpful for me. My parents [Will and Deborah] play a big role in this too, so having all of them to talk to and run my thoughts through is really good for me. [Their biggest advice] has been to take it all in, you only get to go through this process once and making the decision is really big but you have to have fun with it.

"You're recruited to play college football but you also have to go to school there. So, they've said make sure you look at every aspect and that's what I've done."