Hey I'm Texan if it's not cooked with Mesquite or hickory wood...I don't want to eat it.
Those woods are strong but the times I've had BBQ cooked with cherry or apple wood
it just didn't seem like BBQ to me. It tasted like roast beef. Maybe it's what I'm used to but I like that taste especially on beef. It's a more rustic authentic flavor..at least to me at least. And I also tend to like to eat my stuff with little sauce so the stronger the flavor of the meat the better to me.
But the wood selection is going to vary by location and by taste so it's just going to be a matter of experimenting to see what he likes best.
The smoke thing I was exagerating on but trying to emphasize the fact that he needs to be seeing a decent amount other wise he's not smoking the meat just cooking it and he'd be better off sticking it in an oven.
And the reason I say use actual wood around here it's cheaper...and I think it's a bit easier to control the heat.