THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Florida is charging hard after a couple of Texas commitments
In case you missed it over the weekend, Texas commitments Jerrick Gibson and D'antre Robinson were both in Gainesville on Saturday to watch Florida play. It was the second consecutive week that Gibson visited.
In talking to Gibson, he was pretty direct that Texas has no reason for concern. He said he’s just enjoying the recruiting experience and taking advantage of an opportunity to see some college football near where he lives. We’ll continue to monitor this one, but a Florida source indicated on Sunday that he didn’t think the Gators were much of a factor with regard to a potential flip.
Gibson and his family have built up a really strong bond with Tashard Choice and the Texas staff, and the Longhorns were longtime leaders before he committed on his official visit in June. He did communicate his intentions of visiting to the Texas staff, which is usually a positive sign. I don’t expect Gibson to change his mind, but in the new world of NIL recruiting, you can’t ever completely rule out some late movement.
Robinson’s case is a bit more intriguing. On one hand, the big defensive tackle did tell Orangebloods earlier this month that he’d take some other game visits and Florida was the first school he mentioned. Unlike Gibson, Robinson needs to be a bit more transparent with his plans if he is going to show up on any other campuses besides Texas. Do it once, the coaches will give him a free pass. Make a habit out of it and things could get a little shaky.
Robinson was just in Austin for the Wyoming game and when we spoke to him a couple of weeks ago, he mentioned that he was 100 percent solid with his Texas commitment despite wanting to go see some other games. Maybe his visit to Gainesville was simply a chance to have some fun, watch some football and get shown some attention from the Florida staff. Robinson told OB on Tuesday morning that Texas has nothing to worry about.
"I'm still locked in with UT," he said.
We’ll continue to keep an eye on this one moving forward.
2. Texas A&M commitment Myles Davis maintains that he’s solid to the Aggies, but …
Converse Judson safety Myles Davis’s recruitment has been an interesting one to follow.
Davis took an official visit to USC back in May and there was talk following that visit that he could be close to committing to the Trojans. He would then take a Texas A&M unofficial visit and basically become a silent commitment to the Aggies. Next, Davis took a Texas official visit and word was going around that he was about to commit to Texas, only to have him take a Texas A&M official visit one week later and eventually commit to the Aggies a couple weeks after that last trip.
Davis, of course, remains committed to Texas A&M but is still in talks with Texas. He tells OB he’ll “probably” be in Austin for the Tech game in November. For the record, Davis does maintain that he’s happy with his A&M commitment.
“I’m locked in. Coaches have backed off. I’m feeling pretty good, just focusing on my season now,” Davis said.
The 6-2, 195-pound Davis said Texas isn’t really putting any pressure on him to flip his commitment. Instead, they just touch base and Gideon has told Davis when he’s ready to visit to let him know.
“I just want to go check out a game, see everything,” Davis said of the possible UT visit. “I don’t really know where it would go from there. I’m just checking it out since I’ve never been to a game.”
Davis will be in College Station when the Aggies host Alabama in two weeks. He says the only way he can see himself changing his commitment is if there are major changes in College Station.
“Really just A&M would have to do self-damage to themselves,” Davis said. “I know they say Jimbo (Fisher) is on the hot seat. I know if my whole coaching staff was gone that might be different.”
If Texas does decide to push, the Longhorns would have one key player on their side. Davis said his mother loves UT, to the point Texas was her preferred choice before Davis committed to A&M.
3. Texas continues to trend up with 2025 OL Michael Fasusi
When I first talked to elite 2025 offensive lineman Michael Fasusi, he had yet to visit Texas and though he didn’t have a list, it was clear that the Longhorns were trailing Oklahoma by a significant margin. Fasusi has since visited UT multiple times, including for the Wyoming game, and Texas has surged in this recruitment. In fact, I’m not sure that the Longhorns aren’t the current team to beat.
“It was amazing. I went and saw my home boys. It was just a great time in general,” Fasusi said.
The Lewisville standout said he spent some time talking to other recruits like Daniel Cruz and Taz Williams and said the UT visit topped what he experienced at Oklahoma when he saw the Sooners the week prior.
“The atmosphere was crazy. The vibe was just something, just crazy man,” Fasusi said. “It was amazing. It was probably the best game experience I’ve been to.”
Fasusi talked to Kyle Flood on the field during warm-ups and spoke to Flood again after the game in the locker room. Flood let him know that Texas is going to be aggressive in its pursuit and not let up.
Up next, Fasusi said he’d like to get to some out-of-state schools like Tennessee, Ohio State and maybe Florida. Look for him to try to get back to Austin for another game if his schedule allows it.
“Texas is at the top. They’re up there. That game was just a great experience,” Fasusi said.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. Did UT’s offer to Boobie Feaster move the needle?
It’s not often that I write about freshmen in high school, but Boobie Feaster is worth breaking the routine. The 2027 wide receiver already holds about 30 offers from most of the college football’s power programs and he picked up a UT offer while in Austin to watch the Wyoming game.
The Texas coaches wanted to see Feaster play in his first varsity game, which happened earlier this year, and wanted to offer him in person.
“Coach (Chris) Jackson and coach (Jeff) Banks came up to me. They came up to me at different times. First it was coach Banks. He said ‘I know you’ve been waiting on this offer’ and said we’re going to offer you. I was just thankful. My parents were right there. I was really appreciative. The Texas offer is really a big offer.
“Coach Jackson just said he’s been watching me, watching my film. He has seen I’m doing well, said that the hype about me is real. He said he likes that I’m a hard-working young man, not only on the field but in the class room.”
It’s obviously way too early to start talking favorites with Feaster, but the Longhorns should stay in this race until the end. UT is close to home and Feaster is big on academics, two factors that could weigh in UT’s favor.
“Texas will definitely be up there at the top, I’ll be honest,” Feaster said. “First off, it’s Texas. Everybody that goes there, the get a good education, have a good record. If you have a degree from Texas, that’s really big.”
2. How do the Big 12 teams rank after last week’s slate of games?
1. Texas (last ranking: 1) – Still an easy choice for the top spot, although the next couple of weeks could be tricky.
2. Oklahoma (last ranking: 2) – The Sooners have been a bit up and down but when they’re playing well, they’re a dangerous team.
3. Kansas (last ranking: 4) – When Jalon Daniels is healthy, as he is now, the Jayhawks are a dangerous team.
4. Kansas State (last ranking: 3) – Their loss to Missouri actually doesn’t look too bad with Mizzou remaining undefeated.
5. TCU (last ranking: 6) – The CU loss wasn’t horrible and the Horned Frogs have played pretty well since then.
6. West Virginia (last ranking: 14) – We’ll see if the Mountaineers can hold this position but their only loss was to Penn State.
7. BYU (last ranking: 9) – They weren’t able to take down Kansas last week but this is still a solid ball club.
8. UCF (last ranking: 10) – They came up short at Kansas State but actually led that game in the third quarter.
9. Iowa State (last ranking: 12) – I hope Matt Campbell doesn’t try to fight me for putting them this low.
10. Cincinnati (last ranking: 8) – They’re now on a two-game skid that’ll likely extend to three games on Friday.
11. Houston (last ranking: 13) – The Cougars have two wins against patsies.
12. Texas Tech (last ranking: 7) – Gonna be a long year for Joey McGuire.
13. Baylor (last ranking: 11) – Baylor will be better when Shapen is back but that’s a bad team Texas played.
14. Oklahoma State (last ranking: 5) – I know they beat Arizona State but that South Alabama whipping was not good, nor was losing to Iowa State.
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas lands at least two from Mater Dei in the 2025 cycle
If I was putting in FutureCasts for 2025 Mater Dei standouts Jordon Davison and Marcus Harris, I’d put them both in for Texas as things stand right now. The Longhorns are also in on a couple other Mater Dei players in that class, but they don’t seem quite as bought in as Davison and Harris. Not yet anyway.
Of course, all this gets blown up if Davison reclassifies to the 2024 class.
