Let's start with some team nuggets: There are some interesting developments on the offensive line, where, right now Desmond Harrison and Kennedy Estelle would be considered the top two tackles.
After Harrison and Estelle, it would be Kent Perkins and Camrhon Hughes.
But the question is if Harrison and Estelle are going to flip on the switch and become the kind of committed players with attention to detail that Joe Wickline demands.
Wickline has already made it clear he doesn't care how much talent a kid has - if that player doesn't commit to the attention to detail this staff demands, talented players (such as Harrison and Estelle) could be watching from the Texas sidelines (or some other school's sidelines).
It's early in spring ball. But these are two names you have to watch. The ability of Wickline and Charlie Strong to get through to Harrison and Estelle will be made or broken by April 19.
Harrison was limping on the first day of practice and didn't take part in much.
If Harrison and Estelle don't reach the coaching staff's level of buy-in, things get really interesting. Then, you're looking at Kent Perkins and Camrhon Hughes, both of whom have barely taken a snap.
At that point, you'd probably see Dom Espinosa start to cross train at tackle. Espinosa is already a key leader for Strong on the offense. Strong bounced the idea of "Putting the T back in Texas - Toughness, Trust, Togetherness, Team" off Espinosa and already relies on him.
(Brown)
****
Could be a big year on offense for some freshmen in key positions if upper classmen don't seize the opportunity now: at quarterback and on the offensive line.
It's early in spring ball for David Ash and Tyrone Swoopes, but it's clear Strong feels like there's still a long way to go in terms of the kind of leadership he wants from the QB position.
Jerrod Heard's arrival (and potentially USC QB Max Wittek's arrival) loom in June.
And on the offensive line, don't be surprised to see Rami Hammad make a strong push for a starting position at guard along with Sed Flowers. And Alex Anderson, the early enrollee freshman recruited by Wickline, will likely be given every chance to get climb into the two-deep.
(Brown)
****
Speaking of Max Wittek, it appears he has shut things down in recruiting, at least for the past few weeks, giving more credence to the likelihood he'll end up at Texas.
After telling me he had a "good" visit to Hawaii, Wittek hasn't taken any other visits and told me this week he's just focused on finishing up his degree at USC this semester before making a decision/announcement about where he plans to transfer with two years of eligibility remaining.
(Brown)
****
Don't be surprised if Charlie Strong handles the recruitment of Mesquite Poteet OLB Malik Jefferson, who is visiting Texas on Saturday.
Strong gets very involved with his top recruits. He led the recruitment of DT Poona Ford, who, along with QB Jerrod Heard, were the most important recruits of the 2014 class, in my opinion. Strong led the recruitment of players such as QB Chris Leak and DE Carlos Dunlap at Florida.
"Every coach is responsible for an area and responsible for a position," Strong said. "But I tell the coaches to have five guys call me a night. When a recruit understands that the head coach is involved, then he knows that he becomes a special recruit."
Strong said Dunlap was one of the most challenging players to coach, because Dunlap was so physically gifted, even as a freshman at 6-7 and 260 pounds, he didn't think he needed coaching.
"But then Carlos was humbled (by some off-the-field issues), and he really started to listen and took off," Strong said.
From what we're told, the Carlos Dunlap of Texas right now is Daje Johnson, a kid who has to decide if he's going to allow himself to be coached and buy in.
Strong, Tommie Robinson and the rest of the coaching staff have invested a lot of time and energy in Johnson to let him know he's wanted if he wants to buy in.
It's make or break time for some players on offense right now - a unit already short on leadership.
(Brown)
******
Strong knows who the problem children are. They know their coach knows, too. Why? Because he has told them. We've reported for a month that 15 to 20 players were told two weeks into off-season workouts their effort and attitude had to change.
We've reported in the past week, players were given questionnaires and asked to provide 5 names of teammates who've shown great effort and attitude and to provide 5 teammates who hadn't.
When Strong asks a player about things he's heard and that player says there's been a wrong impression or that things have changed, Strong has gone about checking for himself.
We're told a surprise drug test a couple weeks ago was part of that.
If you tell Charlie Strong something, it better be so, because that's how he operates. And he wants to know who he can trust - whether it's players, his player personnel department or his on-field coaching staff.
Strong doesn't mind investing his time, sweat and heart in a kid whose on the fence. He loves that challenge. His assistants call that Strong's "fathering" nature. Strong has taken the locks and key-card access devices off of all the doors leading to the coaches' offices in Moncrief-Neuhaus to encourage players to come hang out around the coaches.
"Charlie raises these guys," said QB coach Shawn Watson. "We want the players around us. They're starting to be up around our offices now, which is really good. We're going to be in a foxhole together. The more you get to know each other, the closer you are, the faster you get through issues."
According to Strong's former players, he loves to push kids to rethink bad choices. He'll tease them, trash talk them, hug them, make time for them, listen to them and start the process all over again.
But only for so long. Only to a point. At some point, Strong needs to see buy-in. And if he feels like he's getting played, he'll try to find out.
And that's where Strong is different from some other coaches.
Other coaches want plausible deniability. They might want the bad-cop assistant coach or in-your-face leaders on the team to try to reach a player who they think is cutting corners or not living up to his word.
The kid might be too talented for that coach to lose. So the kid will get numerous talks from the bad-cop assistant or the leaders on the team, but the scholarship is never really threatened because the kid produces on Saturdays.
Strong won't tolerate a player like that. He'll root him out eventually - but only after addressing that player at least once directly about any potential problem.
"At the end of the day, most guys worth their salt want a coach to discipline them and tell them what direction to go and how to do it. They respect you more than one who doesn't," said Texas offensive coordinator Joe Wickline of Strong. "He's going to do it."
CB/S Leroy Scott and LB Chet Moss were dismissed for "a violation of team rules" on Sunday. Those two knew the expectations because Strong himself had told them. I'm told those players feel like they let Strong and their teammates down. But they had been warned, I'm told. Now, they and everyone else in the Texas locker room knows their coach means business.
Those player dismissals had been known by the team for more than a week. But now everyone else knows, too.
Two days before spring football.
Were Scott and Moss sacrificed before spring practice to send a clear message to others down to their last strikes that they could be next? It's possible.
The problem children have been warned. Scholarships have been pulled.
For most, these 15 spring practices will be just about football and how to execute as a remade team under a new coach. For others, it will be about so much more, such as if they will be Longhorns in the fall.
(Brown)
****
As we've said from the jump, Texas athletic director Steve Patterson and football coach Charlie Strong are doing things their way. Come what may.
It's been made clear to boosters of all wallet sizes and even to players' parents - no one will be allowed to watch practice under Strong. Whether that's just for now or forever is unclear.
It's yet another culture-changing jolt to the old-guard Texas establishment, and - spoiler alert - it's not being universally accepted. But in more and more circles Strong is at least getting a nod of respect for doing everything he can to establish his own program.
The person taking most of bullets from the disgruntled is Patterson. And Texas' long, tall AD with the rock star hair remains as much an enigma today as when he was hired in November.
As I've reported previously, a key group of big-money movers and shakers, a couple of whom would not be considered Patterson fans, is still inclined to make sure Patterson is given everything he needs to help Strong succeed.
Why?
Because if results don't return to a steady stream of 10-win seasons and conference championship runs under Strong, no one wants a lack of financial support to ever be used as an issue. Everyone I've talked to walks away from meetings with Strong impressed with him as an intense, passionate leader committed to winning with tough-as-nails kids who will graduate.
One big-money booster told me after finding out he wouldn't be welcomed at practice, "If Charlie wins, it will mitigate people like me having their access cut off.
"If Charlie doesn't win, there won't be goodwill to fall back on. But, hell, I respect that he's betting on himself to win by going against some long-standing grain."
No one inside Strong's program is uttering anything about honeymoons or seeking other ways to placate boosters or playing politics about what talent is or isn't on the roster at QB. The universal message from inside the program is, "We just need to win games. Period."
(Brown)
****
I reported this previously, but it bears repeating - (hell, with so much culture change going on a lot of stuff bears repeating, such as players not having been allowed to throw their Horns up until it's earned, respected and appreciated as a team).
But Charlie Strong meets with the entire academic support staff about every single player on every single Thursday.
I'm told, "That happened maybe a handful of times in the previous 16 years. It's already happened more than that in the last two months. Everyone has noticed, namely the players. And guys like Brian Davis (UT football's academic support chief) really appreciate it and feel supported."
The players now know Strong isn't messing around when it comes to delivering in the classroom. A lot of players have run, position groups have run and even position group coaches have run.
(Brown)
****
Texas football games in Mexico City and ultimately Europe? A basketball game against Washington in China to start the 2015-16 season?
What's next on the agenda of Steve Patterson's globe-trotting quest for UT athletics? A trip to Dubai?
Well, actually, maybe, yeah, it could be.
I'm told former Longhorns' Olympic gold medalist swimmer Ricky Berens, who is now working in the Longhorn Foundation, spent time in Dubai last week scouting opportunities to bring UT athletics to one of the richest countries in the world.
As Berens was in Dubai Saturday, the Pac-12 announced Texas and Washington would play a regular-season basketball game in China in November 2015. It would be the first regular-season game of a major U.S. sport ever played in China.
"This will be a great educational experience for our student-athletes and another opportunity to strengthen the university's brand in the world's most populous country," said Patterson, who sent Arizona State's men's hoops team to China for an exhibition in 2013.
The Pac-12 made the announcement in Las Vegas, during its second U.S.-China Symposium on Collegiate Sports Development. The Pac-12 has been a regular in China for exhibitions since launching a "Globalization Initiative" in 2011.
Jet lag? The Texas-Washington hoops game in 2015 will be played on 2 different calendar days depending on your time zone.
The game is scheduled to tip at 11 am local time on Nov. 14, which would be 9 pm CT on Nov. 13 back in the U.S.
(Brown)
******
The Longhorns will practice on Saturday morning and a good group of recruits will be on hand for unofficial visits. A rundown ...
Jordan Davis - TE - Houston Clear Lake - Currently committed to Texas A&M. As of Thursday night, Davis' mother told us it's still "up in the air" on whether or not Davis will be in Austin this weekend.
Cameron Townsend - LB - Missouri City Ridge Point - One of the state's top LBs, Townsend holds a UT offer and the Horns are the leaders.
P.J. Mbanasor - CB - Pflugerville Hendrickson - Former TCU commitment. Has been in touch with UT lately. Is keeping an open mind and said he's in no hurry to make a decision. Several big-time offers.
Chris Warren - RB - Rockwall - One of the state's best, coming off a knee injury. Texas likes him a lot and the Horns are in pretty good shape at this early stage.
Malik Jefferson - LB - Mesquite Poteet - Top player in the state. Isn't expected to make a decision any time soon, but getting him on campus to meet the new coaches is huge for UT.
Charles Omenihu - DE - Rowlett - Committed to Texas in late February. Omenihu is all about UT.
DeShon Elliott - DB - Rockwall - UT's newest commitment. Getting him on campus should only solidify things.
Roney Elam - CB - Newton - One of the state's top DBs, Elam is a guy we'll be watching closely this weekend. His coach told us on Thursday he didn't expect a commitment during the UT visit, but others close to Elam think it's possible.
Toby Weathersby - OL - Houston Weathersby - This one looks like a UT, OU, A&M battle. The good news for Texas ... Weathersby told us he's not ruling out the possibility of a weekend commitment. We're not expecting one, but it won't be a complete shock either.
Ryan Newsome - WR - Aledo - Newsome told us on Thursday he's a "maybe" to get to Austin this weekend. If he doesn't come in, he said he'll stop by and visit next week during the Texas Relays.
Jaylon Lane - CB - Nacogdoches - Lane, who had been committed to Ole Miss but is now exploring his options, will be at Texas on Saturday, per his father. Lane was the defensive MVP of the Rivals Camp Series Houston event.
(Suchomel)
******
Next weekend also figures to be big for Texas, with several guys expected to be on campus for Texas Relays.
A few players who told us they will be in Austin and will likely be stopping by the football offices at some point ...
RB Ryan Agnew.
DT Ronnie Major told us he'll be visiting on April 5. Of note, Anderson sent us the following quote via text about his visit next week ... ""Can't wait for it too I LOVE Texas so much"
(Suchomel)
******
Port Arthur Memorial 2016 RB Kameron Martin seems to pick up new scholarship offers daily. This week, Martin talked to the Texas coaches and he's thinking a Longhorn scholarship offer could be on its way soon. If that happens, a quick commitment isn't out of the question.
"I talked to coach Vaughn last week, told him I had been offered by FSU an other schools. He said I should have an offer from Texas Monday or Tuesday. I called on Monday and he didn't get a chance to answer the phone so he sent one of my coaches a message and I called him. He said coach Strong wants to offer me on the phone pretty soon so we'll just go from there," Martin said. "He said he can't offer me, it has to come from coach Strong. He doesn't know when though. I talked to coach strong on Sunday too.
"When I called coach Strong, he was asking how I was doing, why I haven't been calling him. He said 'We really want you, you would be a money player for us.' When I was on the phone (Monnday) with coach Vaughn, the running backs coach, coach Robinson, got on. He said he can't wait to get me, start recruiting me."
Martin didn't say he would commit right away if Texas offered but said "it could happen."
"It's like I sad the other day at the Rivals camp, anything can happen. I'm collecting a lot of offers but Texas is always going to my childhood favorite."
Florida State, Notre Dame and Tennessee were among the schools that offered Martin last week. Auburn reached out to him this week and told him an offer should be coming soon.
(Suchomel)
******
We mentioned last week that Fort Bend Marshall CB Kendall Sheffield, one of the nation's top overall prospects, got in touch with Charlie Strong for a conversation. We caught up with Sheffield's father, who also talked to Strong, to see how the conversation went.
"It went fine. It was more of a trying to get us on campus, he wants us to come up there and see how he runs his practice, see how he runs things," Mr. Sheffield said. "He basically just wants to get us up there for a visit."
Sheffield is busy with track but his father said they'll try to get up to Austin during UT's spring football season for a practice and they'll likely come back for the spring game on April 19.
More on the conversation with coach Strong ...
"It was more getting to know him. He was giving us some background about himself, his plans for UT, getting to know us and getting us up there," Mr. Sheffield said.
One of the highlights for both Mr. Sheffield and for Kendall is that Strong is a defensive-oriented coach.
"It was a good conversation, mostly because he's defensive minded. I think at Louisville, they were second in nation in defense. That's Kendall's side of the ball, so that's intriguing," Mr. Sheffield said.
(Suchomel)
******
2016 Marble Falls QB Brennen Wooten took in UT's practice on Thursday afternoon and we were able to catch up with him for an update.
"They contacted my coach, wanted me to come up and see practice, watch them go through practice, see how it went," Wooten said. "I decided to go up there and it went well.
"I talked to coach (Shawn) Watson a little bit before practice started. I got to talk to coach Strong a little bit. it was a good deal. It's a cool experience for sure. They're great guys."
Wooten said he didn't spend a ton of time talking to the coaches since they were in the middle of practice, instead he mostly just took in the workout to get a feel for how the new coaches were running things.
The 6-1, 175-pounder holds early offers from Akron and Clemson. He's been told by his coaches at Marble Falls that college coaches from all around the country will be stopping by to see him this spring. Wooten said he keeps in touch with the staffs from a few schools, including Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and UCLA, among others.
As for Texas ...
"They're right in my backyard here at Marble Falls. I can go check them out any time I want to
After Harrison and Estelle, it would be Kent Perkins and Camrhon Hughes.
But the question is if Harrison and Estelle are going to flip on the switch and become the kind of committed players with attention to detail that Joe Wickline demands.
Wickline has already made it clear he doesn't care how much talent a kid has - if that player doesn't commit to the attention to detail this staff demands, talented players (such as Harrison and Estelle) could be watching from the Texas sidelines (or some other school's sidelines).
It's early in spring ball. But these are two names you have to watch. The ability of Wickline and Charlie Strong to get through to Harrison and Estelle will be made or broken by April 19.
Harrison was limping on the first day of practice and didn't take part in much.
If Harrison and Estelle don't reach the coaching staff's level of buy-in, things get really interesting. Then, you're looking at Kent Perkins and Camrhon Hughes, both of whom have barely taken a snap.
At that point, you'd probably see Dom Espinosa start to cross train at tackle. Espinosa is already a key leader for Strong on the offense. Strong bounced the idea of "Putting the T back in Texas - Toughness, Trust, Togetherness, Team" off Espinosa and already relies on him.
(Brown)
****
Could be a big year on offense for some freshmen in key positions if upper classmen don't seize the opportunity now: at quarterback and on the offensive line.
It's early in spring ball for David Ash and Tyrone Swoopes, but it's clear Strong feels like there's still a long way to go in terms of the kind of leadership he wants from the QB position.
Jerrod Heard's arrival (and potentially USC QB Max Wittek's arrival) loom in June.
And on the offensive line, don't be surprised to see Rami Hammad make a strong push for a starting position at guard along with Sed Flowers. And Alex Anderson, the early enrollee freshman recruited by Wickline, will likely be given every chance to get climb into the two-deep.
(Brown)
****
Speaking of Max Wittek, it appears he has shut things down in recruiting, at least for the past few weeks, giving more credence to the likelihood he'll end up at Texas.
After telling me he had a "good" visit to Hawaii, Wittek hasn't taken any other visits and told me this week he's just focused on finishing up his degree at USC this semester before making a decision/announcement about where he plans to transfer with two years of eligibility remaining.
(Brown)
****
Don't be surprised if Charlie Strong handles the recruitment of Mesquite Poteet OLB Malik Jefferson, who is visiting Texas on Saturday.
Strong gets very involved with his top recruits. He led the recruitment of DT Poona Ford, who, along with QB Jerrod Heard, were the most important recruits of the 2014 class, in my opinion. Strong led the recruitment of players such as QB Chris Leak and DE Carlos Dunlap at Florida.
"Every coach is responsible for an area and responsible for a position," Strong said. "But I tell the coaches to have five guys call me a night. When a recruit understands that the head coach is involved, then he knows that he becomes a special recruit."
Strong said Dunlap was one of the most challenging players to coach, because Dunlap was so physically gifted, even as a freshman at 6-7 and 260 pounds, he didn't think he needed coaching.
"But then Carlos was humbled (by some off-the-field issues), and he really started to listen and took off," Strong said.
From what we're told, the Carlos Dunlap of Texas right now is Daje Johnson, a kid who has to decide if he's going to allow himself to be coached and buy in.
Strong, Tommie Robinson and the rest of the coaching staff have invested a lot of time and energy in Johnson to let him know he's wanted if he wants to buy in.
It's make or break time for some players on offense right now - a unit already short on leadership.
(Brown)
******
Strong knows who the problem children are. They know their coach knows, too. Why? Because he has told them. We've reported for a month that 15 to 20 players were told two weeks into off-season workouts their effort and attitude had to change.
We've reported in the past week, players were given questionnaires and asked to provide 5 names of teammates who've shown great effort and attitude and to provide 5 teammates who hadn't.
When Strong asks a player about things he's heard and that player says there's been a wrong impression or that things have changed, Strong has gone about checking for himself.
We're told a surprise drug test a couple weeks ago was part of that.
If you tell Charlie Strong something, it better be so, because that's how he operates. And he wants to know who he can trust - whether it's players, his player personnel department or his on-field coaching staff.
Strong doesn't mind investing his time, sweat and heart in a kid whose on the fence. He loves that challenge. His assistants call that Strong's "fathering" nature. Strong has taken the locks and key-card access devices off of all the doors leading to the coaches' offices in Moncrief-Neuhaus to encourage players to come hang out around the coaches.
"Charlie raises these guys," said QB coach Shawn Watson. "We want the players around us. They're starting to be up around our offices now, which is really good. We're going to be in a foxhole together. The more you get to know each other, the closer you are, the faster you get through issues."
According to Strong's former players, he loves to push kids to rethink bad choices. He'll tease them, trash talk them, hug them, make time for them, listen to them and start the process all over again.
But only for so long. Only to a point. At some point, Strong needs to see buy-in. And if he feels like he's getting played, he'll try to find out.
And that's where Strong is different from some other coaches.
Other coaches want plausible deniability. They might want the bad-cop assistant coach or in-your-face leaders on the team to try to reach a player who they think is cutting corners or not living up to his word.
The kid might be too talented for that coach to lose. So the kid will get numerous talks from the bad-cop assistant or the leaders on the team, but the scholarship is never really threatened because the kid produces on Saturdays.
Strong won't tolerate a player like that. He'll root him out eventually - but only after addressing that player at least once directly about any potential problem.
"At the end of the day, most guys worth their salt want a coach to discipline them and tell them what direction to go and how to do it. They respect you more than one who doesn't," said Texas offensive coordinator Joe Wickline of Strong. "He's going to do it."
CB/S Leroy Scott and LB Chet Moss were dismissed for "a violation of team rules" on Sunday. Those two knew the expectations because Strong himself had told them. I'm told those players feel like they let Strong and their teammates down. But they had been warned, I'm told. Now, they and everyone else in the Texas locker room knows their coach means business.
Those player dismissals had been known by the team for more than a week. But now everyone else knows, too.
Two days before spring football.
Were Scott and Moss sacrificed before spring practice to send a clear message to others down to their last strikes that they could be next? It's possible.
The problem children have been warned. Scholarships have been pulled.
For most, these 15 spring practices will be just about football and how to execute as a remade team under a new coach. For others, it will be about so much more, such as if they will be Longhorns in the fall.
(Brown)
****
As we've said from the jump, Texas athletic director Steve Patterson and football coach Charlie Strong are doing things their way. Come what may.
It's been made clear to boosters of all wallet sizes and even to players' parents - no one will be allowed to watch practice under Strong. Whether that's just for now or forever is unclear.
It's yet another culture-changing jolt to the old-guard Texas establishment, and - spoiler alert - it's not being universally accepted. But in more and more circles Strong is at least getting a nod of respect for doing everything he can to establish his own program.
The person taking most of bullets from the disgruntled is Patterson. And Texas' long, tall AD with the rock star hair remains as much an enigma today as when he was hired in November.
As I've reported previously, a key group of big-money movers and shakers, a couple of whom would not be considered Patterson fans, is still inclined to make sure Patterson is given everything he needs to help Strong succeed.
Why?
Because if results don't return to a steady stream of 10-win seasons and conference championship runs under Strong, no one wants a lack of financial support to ever be used as an issue. Everyone I've talked to walks away from meetings with Strong impressed with him as an intense, passionate leader committed to winning with tough-as-nails kids who will graduate.
One big-money booster told me after finding out he wouldn't be welcomed at practice, "If Charlie wins, it will mitigate people like me having their access cut off.
"If Charlie doesn't win, there won't be goodwill to fall back on. But, hell, I respect that he's betting on himself to win by going against some long-standing grain."
No one inside Strong's program is uttering anything about honeymoons or seeking other ways to placate boosters or playing politics about what talent is or isn't on the roster at QB. The universal message from inside the program is, "We just need to win games. Period."
(Brown)
****
I reported this previously, but it bears repeating - (hell, with so much culture change going on a lot of stuff bears repeating, such as players not having been allowed to throw their Horns up until it's earned, respected and appreciated as a team).
But Charlie Strong meets with the entire academic support staff about every single player on every single Thursday.
I'm told, "That happened maybe a handful of times in the previous 16 years. It's already happened more than that in the last two months. Everyone has noticed, namely the players. And guys like Brian Davis (UT football's academic support chief) really appreciate it and feel supported."
The players now know Strong isn't messing around when it comes to delivering in the classroom. A lot of players have run, position groups have run and even position group coaches have run.
(Brown)
****
Texas football games in Mexico City and ultimately Europe? A basketball game against Washington in China to start the 2015-16 season?
What's next on the agenda of Steve Patterson's globe-trotting quest for UT athletics? A trip to Dubai?
Well, actually, maybe, yeah, it could be.
I'm told former Longhorns' Olympic gold medalist swimmer Ricky Berens, who is now working in the Longhorn Foundation, spent time in Dubai last week scouting opportunities to bring UT athletics to one of the richest countries in the world.
As Berens was in Dubai Saturday, the Pac-12 announced Texas and Washington would play a regular-season basketball game in China in November 2015. It would be the first regular-season game of a major U.S. sport ever played in China.
"This will be a great educational experience for our student-athletes and another opportunity to strengthen the university's brand in the world's most populous country," said Patterson, who sent Arizona State's men's hoops team to China for an exhibition in 2013.
The Pac-12 made the announcement in Las Vegas, during its second U.S.-China Symposium on Collegiate Sports Development. The Pac-12 has been a regular in China for exhibitions since launching a "Globalization Initiative" in 2011.
Jet lag? The Texas-Washington hoops game in 2015 will be played on 2 different calendar days depending on your time zone.
The game is scheduled to tip at 11 am local time on Nov. 14, which would be 9 pm CT on Nov. 13 back in the U.S.
(Brown)
******
The Longhorns will practice on Saturday morning and a good group of recruits will be on hand for unofficial visits. A rundown ...
Jordan Davis - TE - Houston Clear Lake - Currently committed to Texas A&M. As of Thursday night, Davis' mother told us it's still "up in the air" on whether or not Davis will be in Austin this weekend.
Cameron Townsend - LB - Missouri City Ridge Point - One of the state's top LBs, Townsend holds a UT offer and the Horns are the leaders.
P.J. Mbanasor - CB - Pflugerville Hendrickson - Former TCU commitment. Has been in touch with UT lately. Is keeping an open mind and said he's in no hurry to make a decision. Several big-time offers.
Chris Warren - RB - Rockwall - One of the state's best, coming off a knee injury. Texas likes him a lot and the Horns are in pretty good shape at this early stage.
Malik Jefferson - LB - Mesquite Poteet - Top player in the state. Isn't expected to make a decision any time soon, but getting him on campus to meet the new coaches is huge for UT.
Charles Omenihu - DE - Rowlett - Committed to Texas in late February. Omenihu is all about UT.
DeShon Elliott - DB - Rockwall - UT's newest commitment. Getting him on campus should only solidify things.
Roney Elam - CB - Newton - One of the state's top DBs, Elam is a guy we'll be watching closely this weekend. His coach told us on Thursday he didn't expect a commitment during the UT visit, but others close to Elam think it's possible.
Toby Weathersby - OL - Houston Weathersby - This one looks like a UT, OU, A&M battle. The good news for Texas ... Weathersby told us he's not ruling out the possibility of a weekend commitment. We're not expecting one, but it won't be a complete shock either.
Ryan Newsome - WR - Aledo - Newsome told us on Thursday he's a "maybe" to get to Austin this weekend. If he doesn't come in, he said he'll stop by and visit next week during the Texas Relays.
Jaylon Lane - CB - Nacogdoches - Lane, who had been committed to Ole Miss but is now exploring his options, will be at Texas on Saturday, per his father. Lane was the defensive MVP of the Rivals Camp Series Houston event.
(Suchomel)
******
Next weekend also figures to be big for Texas, with several guys expected to be on campus for Texas Relays.
A few players who told us they will be in Austin and will likely be stopping by the football offices at some point ...
RB Ryan Agnew.
DT Ronnie Major told us he'll be visiting on April 5. Of note, Anderson sent us the following quote via text about his visit next week ... ""Can't wait for it too I LOVE Texas so much"
(Suchomel)
******
Port Arthur Memorial 2016 RB Kameron Martin seems to pick up new scholarship offers daily. This week, Martin talked to the Texas coaches and he's thinking a Longhorn scholarship offer could be on its way soon. If that happens, a quick commitment isn't out of the question.
"I talked to coach Vaughn last week, told him I had been offered by FSU an other schools. He said I should have an offer from Texas Monday or Tuesday. I called on Monday and he didn't get a chance to answer the phone so he sent one of my coaches a message and I called him. He said coach Strong wants to offer me on the phone pretty soon so we'll just go from there," Martin said. "He said he can't offer me, it has to come from coach Strong. He doesn't know when though. I talked to coach strong on Sunday too.
"When I called coach Strong, he was asking how I was doing, why I haven't been calling him. He said 'We really want you, you would be a money player for us.' When I was on the phone (Monnday) with coach Vaughn, the running backs coach, coach Robinson, got on. He said he can't wait to get me, start recruiting me."
Martin didn't say he would commit right away if Texas offered but said "it could happen."
"It's like I sad the other day at the Rivals camp, anything can happen. I'm collecting a lot of offers but Texas is always going to my childhood favorite."
Florida State, Notre Dame and Tennessee were among the schools that offered Martin last week. Auburn reached out to him this week and told him an offer should be coming soon.
(Suchomel)
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We mentioned last week that Fort Bend Marshall CB Kendall Sheffield, one of the nation's top overall prospects, got in touch with Charlie Strong for a conversation. We caught up with Sheffield's father, who also talked to Strong, to see how the conversation went.
"It went fine. It was more of a trying to get us on campus, he wants us to come up there and see how he runs his practice, see how he runs things," Mr. Sheffield said. "He basically just wants to get us up there for a visit."
Sheffield is busy with track but his father said they'll try to get up to Austin during UT's spring football season for a practice and they'll likely come back for the spring game on April 19.
More on the conversation with coach Strong ...
"It was more getting to know him. He was giving us some background about himself, his plans for UT, getting to know us and getting us up there," Mr. Sheffield said.
One of the highlights for both Mr. Sheffield and for Kendall is that Strong is a defensive-oriented coach.
"It was a good conversation, mostly because he's defensive minded. I think at Louisville, they were second in nation in defense. That's Kendall's side of the ball, so that's intriguing," Mr. Sheffield said.
(Suchomel)
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2016 Marble Falls QB Brennen Wooten took in UT's practice on Thursday afternoon and we were able to catch up with him for an update.
"They contacted my coach, wanted me to come up and see practice, watch them go through practice, see how it went," Wooten said. "I decided to go up there and it went well.
"I talked to coach (Shawn) Watson a little bit before practice started. I got to talk to coach Strong a little bit. it was a good deal. It's a cool experience for sure. They're great guys."
Wooten said he didn't spend a ton of time talking to the coaches since they were in the middle of practice, instead he mostly just took in the workout to get a feel for how the new coaches were running things.
The 6-1, 175-pounder holds early offers from Akron and Clemson. He's been told by his coaches at Marble Falls that college coaches from all around the country will be stopping by to see him this spring. Wooten said he keeps in touch with the staffs from a few schools, including Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and UCLA, among others.
As for Texas ...
"They're right in my backyard here at Marble Falls. I can go check them out any time I want to
