Georgia-Texas brings together Stacy Searels, the daughter of both sides

Taylor and Savannah Searels remember the days when, as children, they went from floor to floor in the Butts-Mehre Building in Georgia playing a game called “elevator tag.”

Her father was then, as now, the Bulldogs’ offensive line coach.

“We literally owned these elevators,” Taylor Searels said. “We were definitely a threat in that facility. No one could take the elevator without us, but we gave out candy, so there were discounts.”

Stacy Searels’ coaching career spanned more than a half-dozen stops and his daughters accompanied him along the way, starting at Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina, where they were born, and moving to places like Cincinnati, LSU, Texas and Virginia Tech.

Now the Searels’ daughters are on their own and have found their home in Austin, where the Georgia football team and Stacy Searels have a field day Saturday when the No. 4 Bulldogs take on No. 1 Texas.

It’s also a big day for Taylor Searels.

She is the recruiting director for Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorn program, where she has worked since his freshman season in 2021. She will oversee several official visitors this weekend, along with more than 100 families attending the game on unofficial visits.

“I’m not going to lie, I was stressed about the game because someone’s going to lose and someone’s not going to be happy,” Savannah said. “I don’t want to be in the middle of it, but it’s a really cool experience for our family – they both get to hang out while their teams are both doing really well.”

It will be a busy day for Taylor on Saturday as recruits come through the College GameDay set, visit the recruiting tailgates and introduce them to the right coaches and people on campus.

“It’s a really important day,” she said. “We have a lot of commits ahead of us.”

So she has little time to see her parents or sister this weekend.

“Dad asked if I could come to the hotel, but I don’t think I can visit him,” she said.

As they talked Monday, Stacy Searels told her, “I’ll wave to you on the field.”

“I thought, ‘Perfect,'” Taylor Searels said. “I hope I can sneak away from the recruiting hatch for a second to talk to him on the field before the game, but I have a lot of people who need to do that.” After the game we will recruit a few more of these people. I hope to see the family briefly, but it’s going to be crazy.”

Taylor said her introduction to recruiting came during her father’s first deployment to Georgia from 2007 to 2010, when she was still in middle school. She’d go to recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner’s office or try to help her dad with junior days.

When Searels left for Texas, where he coached the line from 2011 to 2013, Taylor was there again.

“I loved it,” she said.

When Taylor attended college at Auburn — where her father was an All-American offensive lineman who blocked for Bo Jackson and Savannah was there as well — she worked in football recruiting and then got a job at Vanderbilt as an on-campus recruiting coordinator.

She came to Texas in 2021 as Director of Recruiting Operations and was promoted to her current position in February. Savannah moved to Austin six months after Taylor because it was one of her favorite places growing up.

“The coach’s kids either go one way or the other,” said Taylor, now 27. “They either run straight into the football or they run straight away. My sister obviously took the normal route.”

Savannah, 24, is a fifth-grade teacher in Austin.

Taylor said her mother, Patricia, is actually the best recruiter in the family.

“She’s basically my dad’s recruiting director,” Taylor said. “I have now learned everything I need for my job from both of them. It’s definitely a way of life for my family.”

Stacy Searels, 59, is in his third season back at Georgia under Kirby Smart.

Savannah remembers getting stuck in those elevators during his first stint with Mark Richt while playing with Anna Courson, who now works as a recruiter at Georgia.

“We were pretty kid-friendly when I was there,” said Richt, who also employed Searels in Miami from 2016 to 2018. “There was a lot of that — kids running around at practice, running around the building. Bowl games were a lot of fun for these kids.”

Patricia Searels, who met her husband when they both attended Auburn, is a licensed psychiatrist and Taylor said she is able to speak to families of all backgrounds.

“She can find a way to connect with them,” Taylor said. “My father won’t go to a recruiting event without her by his side.”

Taylor said it was an all-hands-on-deck affair for the Searels, as both she and her sister constantly went to practice growing up and her mother previously worked as a counselor at Georgia and LSU.

“She taught how to interact with people, how to be present and how to help with recruiting,” Taylor said.

Savannah helps Taylor with tailgate recruiting and picking out her game day outfit on Thursdays.

“I’m on FaceTime with my mom and my sister,” Taylor said.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Texas currently has the No. 6 recruiting class nationally, one spot behind Georgia. The Longhorns have five offensive line commitments.

“Half of their O-line offered Texas,” Taylor said. “Half of the Texas O-line, Dad offered. We’re really competitive and very close in that regard.”

Negative recruiting has to be ruled out in this case, right? Not quite.

“I always ask the recruits: Who are your favorite Sears? Surely it’s not this old man. “It’s me, right?” she said, laughing.

Taylor knew Georgia-Texas would inevitably end up on the schedule once the Longhorns moved to the SEC.

“I’ve never cheered against my dad in my life, so this is the first time I’ve had this experience where I’m not in the stands with my mom and sister,” Taylor said. “It just feels surreal that it’s finally here. I’m kind of ready for it to be over.”

All the Searels went to Auburn, but Savannah now expressed her divided loyalties, especially for this game: “Go Dawgs and Hook ‘Em!”

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