THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas continues to surge with wide receiver Dakorien Moore
With Texas expected to host 5-star wide receiver Dakorien Moore twice in a span of two weeks, it didn’t take a brain surgeon to understand that the Longhorns were trending in a positive direction for the Duncanville pass-catcher and LSU commitment. The first of those visits was on Saturday, when Moore was in Austin to watch the Longhorns practice as part of the Longhorn City Limits recruiting event, and Moore said he enjoyed the overall experience.
“It was very competitive today, just how they play football,” Moore said. “I’d already seen it on film, they broke down the plays and what they like to do with each player, but actually seeing it in person, I really liked it.”
One player who caught Moore’s eye at the workout? True freshman wide receiver Ryan Wingo.
“Oh my god. I’ve never seen him play before. I was hearing he’s a really good player. I’ve never seen him in person but he’s big and he can make plays,” Moore said.
Moore, who was also in Austin two weekends ago for Texas Relays, actually stayed in Austin until Sunday so he could get some more personalized time with Steve Sarkisian. Those two, Moore said, talk about much more than football and have built up ”a regular relationship. During his Saturday visit, he got to see Texas wide receivers coach Chris Jackson in action.
“I like his aspect on football. He has the knowledge of an NFL scout or an NFL coach,” Moore said. ”He brings that down to help him with the high school and college level. I really like coach Jackson.”
Like many of the other players who were in Austin on Saturday and took in practice, Moore said one thing that stood out was the physicality and competitive nature of the players. Guys certainly weren’t going easy on each other, he said.
“I’ve never seen how live they are in practice. I’ve never seen how competitive they are,” Moore said. “I’ve heard about it, I’ve seen clips, but seeing it in person, it was way different. They were butting heads, they were all aggressive, everything. Everything was moving fast and I can’t wait for it.”
Moore also got some time to connect with Texas quarterback commitment K.J. Lacey while in Austin. Those two already knew each other before Saturday’s visit and while Lacey wasn’t pressuring Moore to flip his commitment, Moore said they just continued to strengthen their bond.
“He wasn’t trying to get me to flip or anything. He was just vibing,” Moore said. “Me and him are cool outside of all the football stuff. We’re just homeboys.”
Moore is scheduled to return to Austin for the Orange-White game on April 20. He’s in the process of locking in dates for his four official visits, which will go to LSU, Texas, Oregon and Ohio State.
2. Texas made a strong impression on Lufkin defensive tackle Zion Williams on Saturday
Zion Williams is a player who has been on the Texas campus a handful of times over the course of his recruitment, but he got a much deeper look at the UT program during his visit on Saturday. That trip checked a bunch of boxes for the talented d-tackle, including getting his first extended time with new defensive line coach Kenny Baker.
“It was really good. It was mainly just to get to know coach Baker a lot better,” Williams said of the visit. “Our little meeting we had, it really confirmed that he’s somebody I’d love to play for. The Longhorn organization, all those guys, the new coaching staff that I’ve gotten to meet, they’re great people, great dudes.
“I got to chill, ask the football players some new questions that I needed to ask. Everybody that I asked, they all said that coach Baker, he’s transitioned well and not taken the not openmindedness of some of the players at first, he was willing to help mold them, help them grow, help them get used to his coaching style compared to coach Bo’s. Nobody had anything bad to say about him, which was good.”
One of the highlights of the day, of course, was taking in the UT practice. Williams was another who cited the physical nature of the Longhorns’ workout.
“Getting to see them dudes get coached by coach Baker, it was something pretty cool. It was pretty cool,” Williams said. “Especially when they went out there and did teams. In our teams at school, we don’t get to hit each other. But seeing them be super competitive and hit each other like that and not get mad about it, that really did show me how connected those guys were.”
Since arriving in Austin, Baker has let Williams know that he’s a priority, including a stop by Lufkin in the spring. That emphasis is not lost on Williams.
“I know when he got hired, the first thing he did was come down to see me, apparently. I felt honored to hear that because he’s a former NFL coach. That was really cool,” Williams said. “Getting to come back down here and get to genuinely hang out with him and get to meet him was super cool. He’s a great guy. He’s well-mannered. He talks to me like I’m a young adult and not a kid. So I think he would really want me to be better as a person.”
A couple of other highlights of the trip for Williams? The food (he ate a BUNCH of it) and sitting in the defensive line meeting room before practice.
“I know I’m pretty big, but those guys out there were pretty huge. In the meeting, they were all engaged. Not a single person did not speak,” Williams said. “He made sure that everybody got to say their own input. Even if he thought it was wrong, he made sure they got their own opinion out there. I really liked that.”
Williams plans to return for the Orange-White game in a couple of weeks. He’ll also be at LSU’s spring game and said he has official visits locked in for Texas, Texas A&M and TCU, although he couldn’t remember the exact date for those.
3. I love baseball, and I love baseball more because my daughter loves baseball
A flip switched in my daughter at the age of 11. I don't know why, but I'm sure as hell happy it did …
My oldest daughter, Cora, had always been an athlete growing up, but never really had much interest in watching sports like football, baseball or basketball, be it on television or live. Even when her older brother played little league baseball, she and her sisters would spend the night on the playground, not watching (or caring) how their brother’s game was going. Sometimes I wondered if they even knew a baseball game was being played.
In 2017, at the age of 11, something changed. Dramatically. This girl who had never watched an inning of baseball suddenly found the game fascinating, seemingly overnight. In what has become a parenting memory I’ll always cherish, she’d sit with me and watch New York Yankees games on television, peppering me with questions about the intricacies of the game, fascinated by the subtle strategies being employed and absorbing both the written and unwritten rules of the game. Within weeks, she went from a girl who had zero interest in baseball to a girl who would watch a full 9-inning game by herself, even borrowing the MLB.TV password of @DustinMcComas so she could watch afternoon games while at school. That year, I took her to her first baseball game to watch the Yankees and Astros in the ALCS (a hard-fought Yankees loss). She was officially hooked. We’d go again in 2022. Unfortunately, another Yankees loss.
In November of last year, Cora turned 18. My wife and I repeatedly asked her for gift ideas leading up to that big day. She really couldn’t come up with much other than a few small things she’d like. The ONLY thing she really wanted, she would tell us repeatedly, was to watch a Yankees game in New York. When I say she mentioned it repeatedly, it was borderline obsessive. Ultimately, we decided to give her that birthday wish, cashing in some frequent flyer miles and scheduling a trip for her and me to NYC.
Those of you who read this column obviously follow recruiting, so you know that it’s hard for me to make plans weeks in advance, much less months in advance, because recruiting never seems to take a day off. I settled on the weekend of April 6 to take her to New York … the Yankees were home, May was out due to her senior obligations and high school graduation, and June couldn’t even be considered with Texas loading up on official visitors that month. As luck would have it, Texas would wind up deciding to host a huge recruiting event last Saturday while we were gone, which sent me scrambling a bit to find some help, but we managed to power through with what I feel was some very solid coverage.
On Saturday morning, Cora and I flew to New York. In a span of about 48 hours, we managed to take in two Yankees home games (both wins, one highlighted by an Aaron Judge home run, another by a Giancarlo Stanton grand slam), did some souvenir shopping in Times Square and in Yankee Stadium, did a nighttime bus sightseeing tour, toured the 9/11 Museum and enjoyed a boat cruise to see the Statue of Liberty.
It was exhausting. It was expensive. I had to lean on others like @Ketchum to bail me out while I soaked up the experience. But most importantly, it was all worth it. As my kids get older, it’s getting harder and harder to find time to create these one-on-one types of memories and this is one I’ll cherish forever. The only problem … I may have opened a can of worms. Cora is already trying to finagle a way we can make it back to the Bronx this summer when the hated Red Sox are in town.
Happy (belated) 18th birthday Cora Kay. I love you very much and I love creating memories with you.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. Who has a decoder ring for D.J. Sanders?
Bellville defensive tackle D.J. Sanders is known to be a guy who rarely does interviews. On Saturday, Sanders visited Texas and while OB was able to track him down for some comments, we now know that he doesn’t much even when he does talk.
The Rivals250 defender did say he enjoyed the overall experience of the trip, including taking in a UT scrimmage on Saturday.
“It was a great visit. It had a great atmosphere, great reviews about Texas,” Sanders said. “The visit went well. I liked the atmosphere of the practice, how they were hitting.”
Sanders would go on to say he feels he would fit in with UT’s defensive scheme “very well,” and the Texas coaches stressed to him that they’d love to have his size and athleticism in their program.
“Their pitch to me is how explosive I am when I get off the ball, and how I can rip the ball out,” Sanders said.
At 6-3 and 315 pounds, Sanders is keeping an open mind among the schools that are recruiting him. He recently visited Texas A&M and will be at Michigan this coming weekend. He said the Longhorns “stand pretty high” on his list due to the connection he has with the Texas coaching staff and players.
“Coach (Kenny) Baker is telling me that he really wants me, that I’m a great asset for the team,” Sanders said. “(He talks about) how I fit (in their defense).”
While he doesn’t have a timeline for a decision, Sanders does have a handful of official visits locked in. He’s set to see A&M, Texas (June 21), USC and Baylor official visits. When it comes time to ultimately decide, Sanders said a couple of factors will tip the scales in one school’s favor.
“The communication, how close I can be with the coaches and the players,” he said.
2. How solid is Rickey Stewart with his Texas commitment?
One of the big stories coming out of Saturday’s recruiting visits, of course, was the commitment from Tyler Chapel Hill running back Rickey Stewart. The Rivals250 member had been a Longhorn lean for some time and coming out of the weekend, Stewart said he has no doubts about his decision to give UT a pledge.
“I’m very confident. 100 percent,” Stewart said of his commitment.
The decision to be a Longhorn had been in the works ever since UT offered in January. Getting around the program last weekend for the first time since that January visit was enough to seal the deal.
“Really, what made me want to do it is the way I see how coach (Tashard) Choice is coaching. That’s someone I want to have a bond with. Texas is a special place. It felt like home,” Stewart said. “Texas has been my dream school for a little while now, so it was like, why wait? So I just committed (on Saturday).”
Stewart mentioned that his relationship with Choice goes beyond just football. He likes how Choice operates on the field, but also appreciates the connection that Choice has with his players outside of football. It also doesn’t hurt that Choice has a proven record of getting backs to the NFL.
“He’s just a good coach, a good man. It’s just that bond with him, it’s special,” Stewart said.
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ONE PREDICTION – Why not? Texas flips Dakorien Moore
It was nearly one month ago, following the Under Armour Next Camp in Dallas, that I reported that people who regularly communicated with Dakorien Moore felt the Longhorns would eventually flip the 5-star receiver out of Duncanville. A bit premature? Maybe, but I’m going to go ahead and jump on board.
LSU is not going to be easy to topple here, especially as long as Cortez Hankton is in Baton Rouge, but Texas getting Moore on campus three times in the span of one month is certainly notable. The fact that Moore found the time to stick around in Austin until Sunday to get some one-on-one time with the Texas coaches likely moves the needle even more.
Texas has so much to offer in this one … proximity, relationship with current players, playing for Steve Sarkisian, the re-hiring of Chris Gilbert. This one just makes a lot of sense. Other variables like NIL will continue to tug and pull this one in varying directions, but I like Texas’ chances with an ongoing April surge.
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