Owen McCown addresses involvement in Memphis playbook leak, denies wrongdoing

UTSA quarterback Owen McCown found himself caught up in a real college football scandal after screenshots of a direct message exchange with former Memphis defensive back Tahj Ra-El detailing the Tigers’ defensive playbook ahead of last year’s game were revealed by Tiger Sports Report‘s Sam Shoemaker earlier this week. Ra-El has since transferred to Purdue, but the scandal isn’t going anywhere, even taking center stage at Friday’s American Conference Media Days in Charlotte.

After UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor addressed his complete lack of knowledge of about McCown’s DMs with Ra-El earlier Friday, McCown himself addressed the scandal, confirming receipt of the Instagram messages much to his own surprise.

“Obviously, first and foremost, I didn’t ask for any of that information. Based on my little emoji reaction, it kind of caught me by surprise that it happened,” McCown said Friday in Charlotte, per UTSAInsiders’ JJ Perez. “Like Coach (Traylor) said, the information was completely irrelevant and it doesn’t really fit how we prepare week-in and week-out, and, like I said, was completely irrelevant. That’s all it was.”

UTSA QB Owen McCown addresses the report that he was shared the Memphis playbook. pic.twitter.com/O0gZVbcObA

— JJ Perez (@theJJPerez) July 25, 2025

McCown also dismissed any outside criticism directed his way for simply receiving the DMs from Ra-El.

“Yeah, I just think they don’t know how we process (our gameplan) week-in and week-out,” McCown added. “Like I said, the information made zero sense and was completely irrelevant to what we do week-in and week-out.”

This came after Traylor said he was completely unware of the DMs that included pictures of Memphis‘ playbook ahead of last season’s game, during which McCown threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions as UTSA outlasted Memphis, 44-36, on Nov. 2.

“I think it had no bearing on the game whatsoever,” Traylor said, according to Memphis Commerical Appeal’s Jonah Dylan. “I didn’t know anything about it. (McCown) didn’t tell me anything about it.”

A screenshot of the Instagram DM between Ra-El and McCown was discovered by Tiger Sports Report and depicted Ra-El appearing to send several photos of information related to Memphis’ defensive schemes, plays and formations. During the game, UTSA’s offense had “a check for every single one of our defense’s checks,” a player from Memphis’ 2024 squad told TSR.

Purdue releases statement on transfer Tahj Ra-El amid playbook leaking controversy

Ra-El reportedly left the team in October, per Tiger Sports Report. However, sources close to the report allege that he was dismissed from the team rather than voluntarily leaving. There’s no indication that this was the cause for Ra-El’s motive, as the game was played the following month. Ra-El went on to commit to Purdue out of the NCAA Transfer Portal one day before Christmas last year.

Purdue has released a statement on the controversy surrounding Ra-El‘s alleged direct messages.

“Our coaching staff sees the scenario as being mischaracterized and does not have any concerns moving forward,” the team said in a statement, via On3’s Tom Dienhart.

Based on the Boilermakers’ statement, it appears the DB transfer is poised to begin the season without facing any discipline. According to TSR, they reached out to Ra-El but he declined to comment.

— On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report.