Cliff-notes: Texas picked up its 10th commitment for the 2019 recruiting class, as Richmond (Texas) George Ranch defensive end Peter Mpagi announced his decision on Saturday.
Rankings: The 6-5, 220-pound Mpagi is currently rated a high three-star prospect the No.76 prospect in the state of Texas by Rivals.com.
Key Offers: Washington, Baylor, Arkansas, Arizona State, TCU, Texas Tech and Virginia.
Evaluation: It's not unfair to call Mpagi a bit of a diamond in the rough. At a listed 6-5, 220-pounds, Mpagi offers a wonderful mold of clay to work with because of his projectable frame and more quick-twitch athleticism than you typically find available at the position. On the field, he's what you'd probably expect to see from a kid with his physical make-up, which is to say that he's a handful off the edge as a pass rusher and down the line attacker, but he has work to do at the point of attack. Plays a little too high at times and doesn't always get off the ball in a way that's befitting of a kid with his athleticism, but that's just a long way of saying that he's probably going to get a lot better once he receives college-level coaching. I think the thing I like the most about him once you get beyond what I think he can be with further development is the fact that he plays with a non-stop motor that often leads to him making plays that he wouldn't otherwise make. He reminds me of a young Charles Omenihu
Via Rivals analyst Nick Krueger: "There is a lot to like about Peter Mpagi and I think the big reason his recruitment has gone the way it has is because he's correct in his self assessment of how versatile he is. When we saw him earlier in the spring at the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas, he showed a lot of natural instincts when it came to his pass-rushing, and I was really impressed with his length in person. He's a bit spidery in his approach to attacking the line of scrimmage, and if he can start to get snappier off the line, I think that he'll grow into a very effective edge-rusher. While he doesn't look like he quite has the same physical potential as Joseph Ossai, I think the two are kind of a natural comparison in terms of the type of players they are. I know Mpagi had said following his appearance at a recent camp at Texas that many schools were looking to use him off the line and in space, but the main expectation should be to get him lined up wide, let him run upfield at the passer or work in some stunts because I think that he can play with the kind of leverage and wiggle to get around many blocks if he is in control of when and where they're coming from."
Why it matters: The Longhorns need as many weapons on the defensive line in this class as possible and Mpagi gives them a high-upside, multi-year project that has the kind of ceiling that could see him end up playing on Sundays if he can maximize his potential as an athlete/player. This is exactly the kind if kid that Gary Patterson takes at TCU and turns into a monster after three years in the weight room. Ironically, this kid might have ended up at TCU, but his stock took off a little too much this spring and rendered the offer from Patterson as a bit of a moot point in his recruitment.
Last edited:
