THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Some FutureCast predictions feel stronger than others
With May/June official visits set to really ramp up next week, I thought it might be a good time to reevaluate the FutureCast picks that I currently have in place. Let’s take a look …
Anthony Williams – Prediction: Texas (entered 1/1/24) – This one obviously needs to be changed. The one-time Texas commitment won’t land in Austin. Best guess would be somewhere like Houston.
Michael Fasusi – Prediction: Texas (entered 3/14/24) – This one’s still up in the air but I still favor Texas so I’ll keep my pick where it is.
Marcus Harris – Prediction: Texas (entered 3/14/24) – This is one of the picks that I’m the least confident in. With Texas surging on other receivers, I’m not sure it’ll work out with Harris. Rivals doesn’t allow us to undo FutureCast picks (you have to change it to another school) or I would probably not have a pick on this one until I gather some more clarity.
Kelshaun Johnson – Prediction: Texas (entered 3/14/24) – Still feeling good here if he doesn’t wait too long.
John Mills – Prediction: Texas (entered 3/14/24) – Schools like Washington or Florida could make this one interesting, but this one still feels like a race Texas will win. I’ll keep my pick where it is.
Riley Pettijohn – Prediction: Texas (entered 3/14/24) – I’m still liking Texas’ position in this one heading into his official visits.
Kade Phillips – Prediction: Texas (entered 3/14/24) – When I first entered this one, it felt like the right pick. Now I’m torn because A&M and LSU are also strong contenders.
Jordon Davison – Prediction: Ohio State (entered 4/29/24) – I’ve thought for a year it would be the Buckeyes or the Longhorns and as soon as Texas was out of this race, my pick was changed to OSU.
James Simon – Prediction: Texas (entered 5/13/24) – We’ll have our answer on this one on May 29 and I still feel very good about UT’s position.
Dakorien Moore – Prediction: Texas (entered 5/16/24) – He decommitted from LSU on Thursday night and my FutureCast was put in for Texas that night. Still feels like the right choice.
2. There’s a good chance UT’s starting punter isn’t even on campus yet
In reading Ketch’s 10 Thoughts column on Sunday night where he discussed Texas’ punting situation from the spring, it reminded me that I should probably check in with 2024 signee Michael Kern for one last update before he heads to Austin.
Kern, out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, will begin his move to Austin on May 30 and officially check in on June 2. He says he’s ready for the change, and he’s ready to compete for the starting punting job.
“I’m excited. I’m not nervous at all,” Kern said. “I’m ready to go in there, compete and be the starting punter. I’m ready.”
It sounds like the coaching staff is ready as well. Kern said in his recent talks with Jeff Banks, he’s been told not to worry about potentially helping in kick-offs, but to instead put all of his focus on his punts.
“He always wanted me to do kickoff and punt. I was on the phone with him a couple weeks ago, he said just focus on the punting, the kickoff stuff will come,” Kern said. “He said keep working on the punting because that’s what we need.”
Kern graduated last week. In the off-season, he’s been working out with trainers and St. Thomas Aquinas teammates to make sure he’s ready when he gets to Austin.
“Physically I’ve been working out with some trainers, working out with some teammates at school, running, lifting. Mentally, I think being at St. Thomas kind of transitions over from playing at a high level in high school,” Kern said. “I’ve talked to former players who played at Aquinas who went on to play college and they gave me some good advice.”
Looking back at his decision to commit to Texas, Kern said it was really a no-brainer once UT offered. The program, the city and the depth chart provided everything he was looking for.
“The opportunity to play as a freshman (was there). I didn’t really want to sit. Also joining the SEC, I always wanted to play big-time football,” Kern said. “I liked the weather there, didn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere. It’s in Austin, the city is there. It was the perfect ideal situation for me, everything I wanted was there.”
Kern will have his chance to impress in off-season workouts and then really make a move when fall camp starts. He’s confident he’ll be able to get the job done.
“I’m 100 percent confident. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that I won’t be the guy. It’s mine to lose,” he said.
3. Santana Wilson is bigger, stronger and faster than he’s ever been
Texas 2024 cornerback signee Santana Wilson will be another June enrollee. The Scottsdale Desert Mountain product actually could have been a December graduate if not for a scheduling error by one of the counselors at his school. Ouch.
At any rate, Wilson is excited to get to Texas and he’s been putting in a lot of work to make sure he can get the ground running once he arrives in Austin.
“I’m ready for it. I’m ready for the change. All it’s really been for me the past couple of months, talking to coaches, just get my body prepared for Austin and football,” Wilson said.
On the training front, Wilson has been working out with Chad Ikei, who actually trained his father, Adrian Wilson. He’s added muscle mass while maintaining his athleticism and speed.
“I’ve basically been training with Chad Ikei. He trained my dad for the (NFL) combine. My dad was his first first-rounder,” Wilson said. “I’ve been training with him since my football season ended. We’ve been working on strength, speed, really touched on everything. I’ve gained weight, probably gained about 15 or 20 straight muscle working out with him. I got faster than I even was in season.”
Wilson has kept in touch with some of the freshmen early enrollees, including Christian Clark. He knows it’ll be a challenge once he gets to Austin but he said he’s ready to get to work.
“I’m ready for it. I’m ready for anything to be honest. I’m ready to get thrown in,” Wilson said. “I’ve been waiting for so long, feels like I have so much stuff built up from last season, just unfinished business. I’m just ready to get out there and play.”
Wilson was one of the rare players who actually commits in the middle of their official visit. He announced his commitment to Texas on a Saturday night during his OV and he never once looked back.
“I just knew Texas was the school for me,” Wilson said. “Everything that I look for in a college is in Texas. It’s paradise. You can’t have anything better than Texas.”
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. What to expect in the month of June?
The month of May is traditionally pretty slow in terms of action-packed recruiting news. Sure, you’ll see an occasional commitment (see Jackson Christian) or a player like Dakorien Moore will make national headlines with a decommitment, but May is mostly reserved for coaches to get out on the road for spring evaluations.
Things change in a big way in June, the month that Texas chooses to host all of its non-fall official visitors. This is the month the staff makes the most hay and the majority of UT’s class will come from players who spend a weekend on campus in June.
Also in June are Texas summer camps, the Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament, and the 2024 Rivals Five-Star at the end of the month. Buckle up.
For those who want to keep up with official visitors, here’s our current list of confirmed OVs for June …
Show unofficial visits | |||||||
NAME | POS | STARS | RR | HT | WT | VISITS TO SCHOOL | COMMIT STATUS |
| Marcus Harris | WR | 5.9 | 5'11" | 183 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Matai Tagoa'i | S | 5.9 | 6'4" | 190 | 6/21/24 | USC 4/1/24 | |
| Damien Shanklin | WDE | 5.8 | 6'5" | 225 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Jaime Ffrench | WR | 6 | 6'2" | 175 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Devin Williams | CB | 5.8 | 5'11" | 168 | 6/21/24 | Auburn 2/26/24 | |
| Madden Faraimo | OLB | 5.9 | 6'3" | 200 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Tyler Thomas | OT | 5.7 | 6'4" | 311 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Jordan Coleman | OG | 5.7 | 6'5" | 340 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Devin Coleman | OG | 5.6 | 6'5" | 330 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Emaree Winston | TE | 5.8 | 6'2" | 239 | 6/21/24 | Texas 12/18/23 | |
| KJ Lacey | PRO | 6 | 6'1" | 180 | 6/21/24 | Texas 6/3/23 | |
| Kiotti Armstrong | TE | 5.9 | 6'5" | 246 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Elijah Barnes | OLB | 5.9 | 6'2" | 230 | 6/21/24 | Texas 4/12/24 | |
| Michael Fasusi | OT | 6.1 | 6'6" | 284 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Kade Phillips | CB | 5.8 | 6'2" | 170 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Marco Jones | OLB | 5.8 | 6'4" | 215 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Jackson Christian | OG | 5.7 | 6'5" | 310 | 6/21/24 | Texas 5/13/24 | |
| Aidan Anding | CB | 5.6 | 6'0" | 165 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Kaliq Lockett | WR | 5.9 | 6'2" | 172 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| James Simon | RB | 5.8 | 6'0" | 200 | 6/21/24 | Undecided | |
| Lance Jackson | SDE | 5.9 | 6'6" | 260 | 6/14/24 | Texas 1/21/24 | |
| Hayden Lowe | WDE | 5.8 | 6'3" | 227 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| Daylan McCutcheon | WR | 5.9 | 6'0" | 175 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| Jonte Newman | OT | 5.8 | 6'6" | 290 | 6/14/24 | Texas A&M 4/19/24 | |
| Riley Pettijohn | ILB | 5.9 | 6'3" | 200 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| Smith Orogbo | WDE | 5.8 | 6'5" | 230 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| Jonathan Cunningham | OLB | 5.8 | 6'2" | 195 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| Andrew Marsh | WR | 6 | 6'0" | 170 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| Rickey Stewart Jr | RB | 5.8 | 5'11" | 180 | 6/14/24 | Texas 4/6/24 | |
| Nicolai Brooks | OT | 5.8 | 6'8" | 385 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| Cobey Sellers | CB | 5.8 | 6'0" | 170 | 6/14/24 | Texas A&M 5/11/24 | |
| Lamont Rogers | OT | 5.9 | 6'8" | 305 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| Brandon Brown | DT | 5.8 | 6'1" | 285 | 6/14/24 | Texas 12/19/23 | |
| Kevin Wynn | DT | 5.7 | 6'4" | 319 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| John Mills | OT | 5.5 | 6'6" | 315 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| Kelshaun Johnson | WR | 5.8 | 5'11" | 160 | 6/14/24 | Undecided | |
| Caleb Chester | CB | 5.7 | 6'2" | 175 | 6/7/24 | Undecided | |
| Michael Terry | WR | 5.9 | 6'3" | 216 | 6/7/24 | Undecided | |
| Kaleb Edwards | TE | 5.7 | 6'6" | 225 | 6/7/24 | Undecided | |
| Josiah Sharma | DT | 5.5 | 6'6" | 300 | 6/7/24 | Undecided |
2. What’s the latest with Texas commitment Bo Barnes?
When linebacker Bo Barnes committed to Texas in mid-April, he told OB he was shutting down his recruitment and not going to listen to other schools. Barnes has been a man of his word, shrugging off any attempts from other schools trying to get their foot in the door.
“Some schools have been coming through during the spring hitting me up, but most of them shut it down with me because they know there’s no way they’re going to flip me from Texas,” Barnes said. “Texas with me just makes sense with everything, with the academics, the linebacker room, with football, with it being not far from home.”
Barnes and his Dallas Skyline teammates finished their spring season on Wednesday. The Rivals250 defender said things went well and he feels he made strides with his reads and the mental aspect of the position.
Barnes is still fairly new to the linebacker position after having played running back for most of his football career. He’s been at his new position for two years but he’s feeling more and more comfortable on the defensive side of the ball.
It’s still a new position to me, but I’m kind of getting used to it, getting comfortable with it,” Barnes said. “It’s really about the IQ, knowing football, knowing the game, knowing what the offense is doing, be at the right place at the right time.”
Barnes’ transition to defense is an interesting story. When Jacody Coleman was hired as head coach at Skyline in 2022, he immediately moved Barnes to defense. Barnes was initially skeptical, but is now thankful for his coach’s guidance.
“When our new head coach came in, I introduced myself to him, I said I play running back. He said you don’t play running back, you play linebacker. I was confused, like you’re just going to switch my position like that? It was more that he saw something in me at linebacker, saw that I was a linebacker kind of dude,” Barnes said. “It was God’s work, just put me in a position to be successful, create ways to get me attention and get me looked at. I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunities I have now.”
Barnes will take his Texas official visit on June 21. In the meantime, he’s actively recruiting on UT’s behalf, working on guys like Zion Williams, Riley Pettijohn and Dakorien Moore.
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ONE PREDICTION – I’m going to feel old on Saturday
Some of you will remember my daughter, Cora, from this column earlier this year. I wrote about her in early April after she and I traveled to New York to watch a couple of Yankees games.
On Saturday, she’ll officially join her older brother Zachary as a high school graduate. She’s grown from a shy toddler who would literally bury her face in the crook of mine or my wife’s neck whenever anyone tried to talk to her, to a teenage social butterfly who has more friends than I can keep up with. She’s ALWAYS on the go and it feels like I hardly even see her around the house anymore other than in passing as she’s walking in or out the front door. She’s talented, she’s intelligent, she’s a genuinely good kid who is liked by her peers, teachers, coaches and employers. She can be sweet when she wants to be, sassy without even trying and I’ve always felt a strong connection to her, probably because she reminds me of myself in a lot of ways. I’d be lying if I said she hadn’t tested my patience a time or two with her feistiness and stubbornness (as I said, she reminds me of myself), but her mother and I are incredibly proud of the young woman she’s becoming and I’m confident she’s destined for great things as she prepares to embark on the next stage of her academic career at Texas State.
Congratulations Cora Kay. I love you more than you’ll ever know.
