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THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Our son had a fantastic experience in Japan
It was a little more than three months ago that I wrote about my son, Zachary, in this column and posted it hours after my wife and I had dropped him off at Intercontinental Airport in Houston, sending him off on his own for a three-month stay in Japan. I’m thrilled to report that on Saturday, we were able to pick him up at the Austin airport, concluding what was a successful venture for our son.
The entire trip really went off without a hitch, with him spending a good chunk of his time either at school learning the Japanese language (20 hours per week), or commuting to and from school (2 hours round trip). When he did have free time, he spent it with friends he’d met over there – both locals from Kyoto and other American students at his school – and traveling to different parts of the country on weekends.
The only element of his trip that went a bit “off schedule” was that he was supposed to return a week earlier than he did. But during a recent phone conversation with me and my wife, he informed us that his short-term Visa didn’t expire until early May, so he wanted to stay an extra week, even though his school session had ended and he’d no longer be able to stay with his host family. We figured he’d earned our trust at this point, so I quickly went to work in trying to change his flight plans, giving him an extra week to explore Japan. He’d truly be traveling solo for that last week, staying in hotels and hostels, traveling from city to city via Japan’s transit system. That made for a nervous mom, but we figured he’d already put in the work to make this trip happen, he might as well maximize the experience. So, after an extra week spent exploring Japan, he finally made his way home over the weekend. Up next, he’ll return to his old job and try to stockpile as much cash as he can over the next three-and-a-half months before attending the University of Houston, where he plans to study Global Hospitality Leadership while possibly minoring in English (with hopes of either working in the hospitality field or living abroad and teaching English).
Welcome home to Zachary and thanks to all of you OB members who were so supportive of him in my previous column!
2. Texas is a legitimate threat for out-of-state OL Nyier Daniels
In talking with offensive lineman Nyier Daniels this week, he doesn’t have a specific leader but he told OB he has what can be described as a “soft” top five that consists of Miami, Florida State, Rutgers, Texas and Georgia.
The Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic product has only one official visit on the books, a trip to Texas that he said will either take place the last weekend of June or the last weekend of July (expect it to happen in June).
The 6-7, 348-pound Daniels has developed a strong relationship with the UT staff, which is one of the reasons the Longhorns are in a solid position.
“I like coach Flood, like the way he coaches,” Daniels said. “I’ve built great relationships with him and coach Sark. I just really like Texas. Also, I like the fact that they’re moving out to the SEC.”
Daniels is a former high school teammate of current Texas freshman Sydir Mitchell, which should help UT’s cause as Daniels works through the process. So far, Mitchell has given Daniels only positive reviews of his time on campus.
“He loves it. He says the workouts are hard, but the workouts are getting better,” Daniels said. “He’s seen his body totally transform.”
The plan is for Daniels to commit before his senior season begins, so I’d look for him to start locking in other official visits soon. He says location won’t be a factor in his decision and he’s looking for a program that will develop him for a potential career in the NFL.
“All the coaches say they see great potential. They see I can go far, and they want to be a part of that in coaching me,” Daniels said.
3. Melvin Hills is another out-of-stater we should be paying more attention to
Like Nyier Daniels, defensive lineman Melvin Hills has only one official visit on the books … a June 16 stop in Austin. Hills, out of Lafayette (LA) Christian Academy, says he’s in the middle of setting up the rest of his trips but the Texas visit is the only one actually on the calendar (he actually set it up in March). As for other visits, Hills says he’d like to visit Georgia, Florida State and South Carolina.
“Texas stands in a very great place for me. So does Georgia,” Hills said. “I’m very close with the Georgia coach, coach (Tray) Scott. Florida State has been coming and talking to me a lot, coach Odell (Haggins). He’s been coming to me, teaching me new things to help my game. South Carolina, they were talking to me pretty early. I talk to them frequently.”
Hills has already visited Texas twice this year, once in January and again in March. He and Bo Davis stay in regular contact.
“Me and coach Bo are good. Our relationship is very good,” Hills said. “We were just on the phone the other day. It was nice to talk to him again. It’s always good to talk to coach Bo.
“It’s just us being us, just talking and playing around. I had a (senior) ring ceremony. He wanted to see how I was dressed. It’s just how close people talk to each other, just regular conversations.”
Like Daniels, Hills plans to have a commitment made before the start of his senior season. If he wants to stick to that timeline, I’d assume that he’ll start setting up his other official visits very soon. This one feels like it will come down to Georgia and Texas and whichever school pushes the hardest will likely win out for Hills’ commitment.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. Will Texas take a punter in the 2024 class (part 1)?
It didn’t generate a lot of conversation last week, but one of the more interesting developments was the fact that Jeff Banks actually put scholarship offers on the table for two punters. Clearly, Texas feels there’s a hole at that position which makes sense when you consider that incoming transfer Ryan Sanborn will have only one year in Austin. Texas did land a preferred walk-on punter in the 2023 class in Ian Ratliff, but the staff clearly feels they need more competition at the position.
Drew Miller, out of Mediapolis (IA), was one of two punter offers that were extended last Monday.
“They first reached out a few weeks ago. That’s when I had first contact with them. Coach (Jeff) Crosby texted me. I talked to him and he said coach (Jeff) Banks was going to come by my school, watch me work out and things will go from there,” Miller said. “I talked to coach Banks on the phone that night. He came up and watched me work out on Friday. I had a pretty good workout and he told me to call him on Monday. I called him on Monday morning and he said ‘We’d like to offer you a scholarship.’”
Miller is being recruited as a punter and kickoff specialist. Along with Texas, he holds offers from Iowa State, Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina State. He set up June official visits to UGA and NC State on Monday, and told OB last week that Texas will likely get an OV as well.
“Right now, I’d say there’s a good chance I’ll go down there for a visit,” Miller said. “I haven’t been down there before so it would definitely be worth my time to go down there. I haven’t had a chance to see what it’s all about.”
Miller plans to take his official visits in June and then hopes to decide in July. He’s familiar with Texas’s recent success with punters as a selling point for the Longhorns.
“Definitely the history of their program and a long list of programs they’ve sent to the NFL. Michael Dickson with the Seahawks is a Ray Guy winner, I think it was in 2017. with Texas,” Miller said. “That background, on top of coach Banks’s background, it’s definitely a place to go for special teams and that’s something I’m interested in.”
2. Will Texas take a punter in the 2024 class (part 2)?
The second punter offer to go out last week was to Michael Kern, out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale. Like Miller, Kern had been talking to Texas for about a month and Jeff Banks went and watched him work out. A scholarship offer was extended shortly after that in-person visit.
“I think it’s my upside. I think I have huge upside. I still have a lot to develop,” Kern said. “They can develop me there at Texas. That’s what he sees, I believe. He was a punter too, so he sees what my potential is. With my height, I get a lot of leverage on the ball. I only punt directionally, that’s what my high school does, so I think my film is pretty consistent. Plus I’m able to kick off. I think he’s looking for someone who can also kick off.”
Prior to the Texas offer, Army was the only program that had made a move on Kern. Needless to say, the UT offer moved the needle.
“It’s my first offer besides Army. I think it’s a huge offer. It’s a school I can see myself fitting at for sure,” Kern said. “I’m originally from New Mexico so I’m originally from that area. I liked it over there and I know what it’s like. I just think it could be a good fit.”
A visit to Austin should hit the books soon. Kern said a late June official visit has been discussed but he may come in for an unofficial visit in early June and then take his official visit later. If things go well on his first visit, he didn’t rule out the possibility of an early commitment.
“I think for punters it’s different. The recruiting process is longer. You’ll see top kids (non-punters) start to commit in the next two months but I think it’s different for punters and specialists. They get their offers and commit more towards the end of the season. But if I go and I like this unofficial, I don’t see why I would waste the opportunity,” Kern said.
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ONE PREDICTION – Warriors over the Lakers in 7 games
If you haven’t been following the NBA playoffs this year, you’ve missed what has been some of the most interesting action that league has featured in years. You’ve got two play-in teams still alive. You’ve got one of those teams taking down the top overall seed in the Milwaukee Bucks in just five games. We’ve seen historic performances from guys like Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler. Hell, even the Knicks have played good basketball.
Starting tonight, the Lakers and Warriors will square off in what should be must-watch television. LeBron versus Steph in a matchup we saw for four consecutive years starting in 2015 (when LeBron was with Cleveland) … the Lakers surging of late and the Warriors trying to defend their crown. Personally, I’m as excited for this series as any non-Finals series I can remember in a long, long time.
The Lakers have played well of late and when they’re healthy, they’re very dangerous but Golden State has home-court advantage and a championship pedigree. Give me the Warriors in seven games with some epic performances by the stars along the way.
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