With the news of David Ash having suffered yet another head injury and Ash's long-term future in doubt, you have to assume the Texas coaches will be scouring the country for quarterback options who could help fill out the depth chart in 2015 and beyond.
Ash's situation is far from settled, but if he is forced to walk away from football, Texas will enter next year with three relatively inexperienced scholarship players on campus (current true sophomore Tyrone Swoopes, current true freshman Jerrod Heard and 2015 incoming freshman Zach Gentry). Texas does also have preferred walk-on Logan Vinklarek, a Blinn College transfer, on the roster.
The numbers would seem to put Texas in a tricky spot, especially since every single player at the position is a complete wildcard at this point. Obviously, if Tyrone Swoopes goes out beginning this week and plays at a high level for an extended stretch while Ash is likely out, that eases concerns and gives Texas an established player around which the coaches can build for the future. If Swoopes struggles, it'll be Heard getting thrown into the mix before he's ready and the accelerated career path then likely spills over to Gentry.
It's a slippery slope, and not one any college coaching staff wants to navigate if it doesn't have to. But that's the hand that has been dealt to the Texas program yet again, with the first-year coaching staff having to find ways to piece together some stability at the quarterback position.
So, what potential solutions are out there? Unfortunately for UT, not many.
One would think that adding another scholarship quarterback to the 2015 roster took on an added importance after this week's developments with Ash, but the options appear to be extremely limited.
There are 19 quarterbacks ranked in the 2015 Rivals250. Every one of them is committed. Every. Single. One.
The JUCO or graduate transfer route may be more realistic, but for now, it's a down year for those groups as well. The Texas coaches kicked the tires on some JUCO prospects in the spring but were unable to find anyone that they thought could come in and help right away. That could change over the next month or two as guys rise from obscurity, but overall its' a very weak JUCO QB class.
"Somebody will pop up. They always do," said Rivals.com recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy. "But there are going to be a lot of schools in the market for JUC quarterbacks this year. It's going to be a weird year. There's not a lot of them out there and it seems like a lot of schools need them."
JUCO QBs
A few names to keep an eye on, although the most likely scenario right now seems to be a graduate transfer popping up in a few months or an under-the-radar recruit catching the coaches' eyes with a strong 2014 season ...
Daniel Fitzwater - Copiah-Lincoln C.C. - Fitzwater holds a few scholarship offers but he already visited Texas once in the summer and the staff didn't offer him then.
AJ Thigpen - Phoenix Community College - Thigpen has been in touch with Texas previously and the staff told him they'd monitor both his status and Ash's health. He'd probably kick down the door to get to Texas.
Todd Mays - East Mississippi Community College - I haven't heard that Texas has been in touch, but it's probably worth putting him on the radar at this point.
Tavarius Bender - Iowa Western Community College - I don't know much about him, but he's on the Rivals JUCO 100 and Iowa Western has a history of putting out QBs, so there's that.
High school QBs
Bringing in another 2015 QB will help with depth if we're forecasting two, three or four years down the road, but it's not going to provide immediate help. And most of the names on this list would be classified as longshots since they're either committed elsewhere or they're guys who really haven't been on UT's radar much up to this point.
It's possible that a prospect who's more of an unknown could break out with a tremendous senior year, but that seems a bit unlikely and the UT coaches have to be careful to not take a player just to pad the numbers.
Quinten Dormady - Boerne - Dormady has been committed to Tennessee for a few months but he had a strong interest in Texas before giving that pledge. It's hard to say how much interest he'd have but he's a terrific talent and proximity could help UT's cause.
Jarrett Stidham - Stephenville - I don't see any way Stidham would flip from his Texas Tech commitment (he's already signed his financial aid agreement) but it can't hurt to gauge his interest.
Ross Trail - Wynne (Ark.) Trail is committed to Cincinnati but he had a Louisville offer from when Charlie Strong and staff were there.
Kai Locksley - Baltimore Gilman School - He committed to Florida State, but Texas could certainly sell the possibility of an easier path to playing time.
Ryan Agnew - Southlake Carroll - He was on UT's radar last spring but was down the list. Perhaps a big senior season could move him up the board.
Nathan Elliott - Celina - Elliott is committed to North Carolina but he's always been high on Texas. My guess is that he'd at least take the call.
Koy Detmer - Somerset - A coach at his school told Rivals a while back that Texas had been in touch, but Detmer's an undersized guy that most schools will want to watch for a while before making a decision on a possible offer.
Bo Scneider - Dallas Jesuit - He's committed to Central Florida but may be worth keeping tabs on.
Jason Pellerin - New Iberia (La.) Catholic - Committed to Ole Miss but could be worth watching.
Dion Ray - Harvey (La.) Helen Cox - Undersized but throws a good ball. Has several offers but is committed to Louisiana Lafayette.
Bottom line ... If Ash is out for a while, or possibly done for good, Texas may just have to play with the hand that it has been dealt and hope that either Swoopes or Heard are able to take control of the job and give Texas a solid foundation for the future, something it hasn't had in years.
The Horns' best bet would still seem to be in the form of a graduate transfer, but those names haven't surfaced just yet. Last year, Texas was in the mix for Michael Brewer, who is now starting at Virginia Tech, but Brewer's appeal to transfer within the conference was denied by Texas Tech (Brewer was 23-of-30 for 251 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT in Va Tech's season-opening win).
Here's another that's pretty much unknown ... there were rumblings late last year that Utah State standout Chuckie Keeton had an interest in joining the Texas program for the 2014 season. I'm told there was actually contact between Keeton's high school coaches and people at UT, but Texas didn't think the interest was strong enough so the old staff decided to shut that one down. If a similar situation pops up this year, UT should probably do everything possible to make it happen.
This post was edited on 9/2 4:56 PM by Suchomel
Ash's situation is far from settled, but if he is forced to walk away from football, Texas will enter next year with three relatively inexperienced scholarship players on campus (current true sophomore Tyrone Swoopes, current true freshman Jerrod Heard and 2015 incoming freshman Zach Gentry). Texas does also have preferred walk-on Logan Vinklarek, a Blinn College transfer, on the roster.
The numbers would seem to put Texas in a tricky spot, especially since every single player at the position is a complete wildcard at this point. Obviously, if Tyrone Swoopes goes out beginning this week and plays at a high level for an extended stretch while Ash is likely out, that eases concerns and gives Texas an established player around which the coaches can build for the future. If Swoopes struggles, it'll be Heard getting thrown into the mix before he's ready and the accelerated career path then likely spills over to Gentry.
It's a slippery slope, and not one any college coaching staff wants to navigate if it doesn't have to. But that's the hand that has been dealt to the Texas program yet again, with the first-year coaching staff having to find ways to piece together some stability at the quarterback position.
So, what potential solutions are out there? Unfortunately for UT, not many.
One would think that adding another scholarship quarterback to the 2015 roster took on an added importance after this week's developments with Ash, but the options appear to be extremely limited.
There are 19 quarterbacks ranked in the 2015 Rivals250. Every one of them is committed. Every. Single. One.
The JUCO or graduate transfer route may be more realistic, but for now, it's a down year for those groups as well. The Texas coaches kicked the tires on some JUCO prospects in the spring but were unable to find anyone that they thought could come in and help right away. That could change over the next month or two as guys rise from obscurity, but overall its' a very weak JUCO QB class.
"Somebody will pop up. They always do," said Rivals.com recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy. "But there are going to be a lot of schools in the market for JUC quarterbacks this year. It's going to be a weird year. There's not a lot of them out there and it seems like a lot of schools need them."
JUCO QBs
A few names to keep an eye on, although the most likely scenario right now seems to be a graduate transfer popping up in a few months or an under-the-radar recruit catching the coaches' eyes with a strong 2014 season ...
Daniel Fitzwater - Copiah-Lincoln C.C. - Fitzwater holds a few scholarship offers but he already visited Texas once in the summer and the staff didn't offer him then.
AJ Thigpen - Phoenix Community College - Thigpen has been in touch with Texas previously and the staff told him they'd monitor both his status and Ash's health. He'd probably kick down the door to get to Texas.
Todd Mays - East Mississippi Community College - I haven't heard that Texas has been in touch, but it's probably worth putting him on the radar at this point.
Tavarius Bender - Iowa Western Community College - I don't know much about him, but he's on the Rivals JUCO 100 and Iowa Western has a history of putting out QBs, so there's that.
High school QBs
Bringing in another 2015 QB will help with depth if we're forecasting two, three or four years down the road, but it's not going to provide immediate help. And most of the names on this list would be classified as longshots since they're either committed elsewhere or they're guys who really haven't been on UT's radar much up to this point.
It's possible that a prospect who's more of an unknown could break out with a tremendous senior year, but that seems a bit unlikely and the UT coaches have to be careful to not take a player just to pad the numbers.
Quinten Dormady - Boerne - Dormady has been committed to Tennessee for a few months but he had a strong interest in Texas before giving that pledge. It's hard to say how much interest he'd have but he's a terrific talent and proximity could help UT's cause.
Jarrett Stidham - Stephenville - I don't see any way Stidham would flip from his Texas Tech commitment (he's already signed his financial aid agreement) but it can't hurt to gauge his interest.
Ross Trail - Wynne (Ark.) Trail is committed to Cincinnati but he had a Louisville offer from when Charlie Strong and staff were there.
Kai Locksley - Baltimore Gilman School - He committed to Florida State, but Texas could certainly sell the possibility of an easier path to playing time.
Ryan Agnew - Southlake Carroll - He was on UT's radar last spring but was down the list. Perhaps a big senior season could move him up the board.
Nathan Elliott - Celina - Elliott is committed to North Carolina but he's always been high on Texas. My guess is that he'd at least take the call.
Koy Detmer - Somerset - A coach at his school told Rivals a while back that Texas had been in touch, but Detmer's an undersized guy that most schools will want to watch for a while before making a decision on a possible offer.
Bo Scneider - Dallas Jesuit - He's committed to Central Florida but may be worth keeping tabs on.
Jason Pellerin - New Iberia (La.) Catholic - Committed to Ole Miss but could be worth watching.
Dion Ray - Harvey (La.) Helen Cox - Undersized but throws a good ball. Has several offers but is committed to Louisiana Lafayette.
Bottom line ... If Ash is out for a while, or possibly done for good, Texas may just have to play with the hand that it has been dealt and hope that either Swoopes or Heard are able to take control of the job and give Texas a solid foundation for the future, something it hasn't had in years.
The Horns' best bet would still seem to be in the form of a graduate transfer, but those names haven't surfaced just yet. Last year, Texas was in the mix for Michael Brewer, who is now starting at Virginia Tech, but Brewer's appeal to transfer within the conference was denied by Texas Tech (Brewer was 23-of-30 for 251 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT in Va Tech's season-opening win).
Here's another that's pretty much unknown ... there were rumblings late last year that Utah State standout Chuckie Keeton had an interest in joining the Texas program for the 2014 season. I'm told there was actually contact between Keeton's high school coaches and people at UT, but Texas didn't think the interest was strong enough so the old staff decided to shut that one down. If a similar situation pops up this year, UT should probably do everything possible to make it happen.
This post was edited on 9/2 4:56 PM by Suchomel
