Corey Rau
	Height	6-4
	Weight	250
	40-yard Dash	4.73
	Bench Press	325
	Squat	405
	Vertical Leap	28 inches

First-team All-District 19-6A
ESPN: ***
247sports: ***
Rivals: **
Scout: **
ESPN: No. 24 tight end in nation
247sports: No. 74 tight end in country
ESPN: No. 148 player in Midlands Region
ESPN: No. 122 player in Texas
247sports: No. 198 player in Texas
Greater Houston Top 100 (Houston Chronicle)

Last Year Statistics

26 catches
458 receiving yards
3 receiving touchdowns

Strengths as a Player

Corey Rau is a big, powerful tight end who is a solid receiver and a dominant blocker, usually leading the way on his team’s running plays. He can stay in like an extra offensive lineman and block, but he also runs solid routes and has good hands, enough so that opponents have made comparisons to New England star Rob Gronkowski. His only significant injury during high school came on the baseball diamond when he collided with his team’s center fielder and ended up getting a few stitches over his eyebrow. The center fielder, who was “maybe 5-10, 160 pounds” didn’t fare as well — he was knocked out cold when he collided with Rau.

Interviews

Cinco Ranch head coach Don Clayton on Corey Rau:

We lined up Corey at tight end a lot to give us that advantage when we needed it, but he’s a great athlete who can play a lot of places. We moved him around — to H-back, in the slot — and he was able to create mismatches for us.

Corey was very valuable for us. A lot of what we do, we borrowed from Clemson, where of course Coach Morris was. Then we visited SMU last spring, so the way we tried to use him is exactly how they’ll use him at SMU.

When he and his parents asked me about Coach Morris and what type of program it is, I was very honest with him. I think real highly of Coach Morris and his staff. They do a great job at SMU, and they’re going to start winning games — a lot of games.

Corey is a really athletic guy — he’s kind of like Tony Gonzalez, who played for so long with the (Kansas City) Chiefs and (Atlanta) Falcons. Not saying he’s the same player, but there are similarities. He’s very athletic, and for a big kid, he moves really well. I don’t think he’s don’t think he’s done growing, either — he’ll get bigger up there. I would bet he’s 255 or 260 (pounds) before he’s done.

I guess playing baseball has helped him a little. He was an outfielder, and tracking a fly ball in the outfield is not a lot different than tracking a football when it’s in the air.

I’m a big believer in guys playing multiple sports. Our track coach is trying to get him to throw the discus — he’s that kind of athlete. I don’t know if he’s going to or not. I haven’t heard the end of those conversations.

A lot of schools that recruited him told him early on that he was their second guy, their third guy. But during his senior year — after he had committed to SMU — a lot of them came back in on him. Texas and Texas A&M both have come back in on him — they’d both take him. To his credit, he said “the guys at SMU believed in me from the beginning.” He made a commitment to SMU, and he stayed strong to it all the way through.

It’s not really the number of passes a guy catches that’s important. If you watch the ones he caught, you can see his ability as a receiver. You can throw someone 60 flat routes, which looks good on paper, but that doesn’t mean he’s a great receiver. With Corey, we threw all kinds of passes to him, even when he was double-covered, and he made a lot of plays.

Corey Rau on why he chose SMU:

SMU was my first offer, and I really do like the coaching staff a whole lot. They’re easy to get along with, crack jokes with. They make it a really relaxed place — it felt like home.

I really like (offensive coordinator) Coach (Joe) Craddock — he’s full of energy. He just has that look on his face that’s indescribable. He always looks like he’s up to something. He’s really funny, really easy to get along with.

He came down to my school and surprised me when he showed up at the end of my workout in the weight room. Turns out he has the same kind of scar under his eye … but he said his story isn’t as cool as mine.

Minnesota was my third offer — I don’t know how they found me. They were looking for a tight end with a similar build as Maxx Williams (the former Golden Gopher tight end who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens). They said they wanted another guy like him, basically the same size as him. I guess that’s me — I have been projected to grow to 6-6, but I don’t know when. My knees have been hurting a little, so who knows? Maybe I have a growth spurt coming.

Mitchell Kaufman was a lot of fun, and he really shared a lot. We talked about everyday things, but things that matter in college. We talked about a typical day at SMU, and it sounds like you have really busy days.

At SMU, the tight end is utilized a whole lot more. For example, in the national championship game, Clemson targeted the tight end a lot, and they have the same offense SMU runs. In high school, I’m used mostly as a blocker, but they (Clemson) use the tight end a lot more than I’m used to, and I’m looking forward to it.

They told me I’ll have a chance to play next year. I know they have a few guys coming back — Jeremiah Gaines, Mitchell Kaufman — but they’ll switch guys in and out, too. So I don’t know. But if I come in and perform, I’ve got a chance.

They want me to come in at 245 pounds, and I’m a few pounds over that. I’ve got my diet, and I’m trying to stick with it. I put on those few pounds, but it’s muscle, and losing a few between now and next season won’t be hard — you start running in the August heat, and it’s not hard at all. I lost 10-12 pounds on the first day of school last year, because I hadn’t had enough water during the day. I went to the doctor, and had a lot of cramps. But that’s one of the good things about going to SMU: in high school, I was running non-stop, doing route work, then blocking. But at SMU, they have a tracking device in the shoulder pads that track how far you have run. When I heard about that, that’s one things I was in love with.