OB War Room - (From Suchomel)
The big news this weekend will be the upcoming decisions from both
Jordan Whittington and
Calvin Anderson. The Longhorns are obviously major players for both players, and it’s certainly no stretch to say Texas is the leader to land both.
Whittington is slated to announce his decision on Saturday at 2 p.m. via a video he’ll release on Twitter.
The Rivals100 member out of Cuero is down to Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA and Florida but for all intents and purposes, this is an in-state battle between the Longhorns and the Aggies.
Whittington has taken numerous visits to both UT and A&M and has developed strong relationships with both coaching staffs. He plans to enroll early at whatever school he chooses. Whittington has changed his commitment plans a few times, but this one looks like it’ll stick.
If Texas lands Whittington, Cuero head coach Travis Reeve said the Longhorns will be getting a young man that can impact a guy in several ways, but also is a standout in the locker room and the classroom.
“He’s just one of those kids that can do so many different things on the field. He just makes an impact no matter what he’s doing,” Reeve said. “He can take over a game on offense as wide receiver or wildcat quarterback. Defensively, you can match him up on a team’s best player, free up other guys to double cover other good wide receivers. On special teams, he’s made such a difference in field position for us. Either he’s going to have a big return, or people are going to kick it short and away from him. He has an impact on the game that most kids don’t have from an individual standpoint.”
One thing worth noting on Whittington ... he did tell me this week that he’ll likely still take visits despite his commitment, so if Texas lands him, the coaches will have to continue to make him a priority over the course of the spring and fall.
There’s no set time yet for Calvin Anderson’s announcement, but he too is scheduled to make his decision on Saturday. Anderson, the grad transfer o-lineman out of Rice, will pick either Texas, OU, Auburn or Michigan.
We’ll have our answers to both decisions by the end of Saturday, but it’s looking like there’s a strong chance that it could be a very productive recruiting weekend for the Longhorns.
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Independence (KS) Community College defensive end
Jermaine Johnson picked up a Texas offer last week, and he told me this week he has a very strong interest in the Longhorns. In fact, Johnson told me Texas is the only school he knows for sure to which he’ll be taking an official visit.
“I definitely plan on taking an official visit to Texas. I plan on saving one for them,” Johnson said. “Aside from them, I haven’t set any up.”
Johnson holds offers from Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisville and Utah. The UT interest is fairly new, but Johnson has stayed in close contact with Oscar Giles of late.
“Coach (Todd) Orlando called me. He was just saying how impressed him and the defensive staff were with my film. Then coach Giles took over the contact with me, again saying how good I was at rushing the quarterback,” Johnson said. “Then the offer came, he said I’m the best at my position, the best pass rusher in the nation. I was very excited and flattered by the comments.”
Johnson will graduate in December and will have two years to play two seasons of Division I ball. He says he’s not in a huge rush to make a decision and wants to weigh his options into the fall. Expect Texas to be a major factor.
“It’s just the great program they’ve built. The Fan base they have, the overall energy they bring,” Johnson said. “The Longhorns, everybody knows they’re an elite program. That brings a lot of excitement for me. When an elite program comes for me, a guy who didn’t get any offers out of high school, it means a lot for me that a school like Texas is coming after me.”
Johnson is originally from Minnesota and is currently living in Kansas. He says he wants to get out of the Midwest, which could weigh in UT’s favor.
"I kind of want to get out of the Midwest. My mom is moving up to Arizona. My sister and aunt already live in California. My youngest sister is planning to attend college in Arizona. So somewhere south, southwest. Anywhere but the Midwest," Johnson said.
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Top national DB
Kenyatta Watson has taken recent unofficial visits to his two finalists, Notre Dame and Texas. Per his father, he’ll return to Notre Dame for a practice on March 24 and will be back in Austin on April 5, during his spring break, to take in a UT practice. Watson also has September official visits scheduled to both schools.
Watson did say this week that he’s still undecided between his two finalists, but one person with knowledge of his recruitment told me this week that the signs are pointing to Texas. I’d agree after my communication with Watson and his father.
“I’d say Texas right now based on what I’ve heard,” the source said.
If the Longhorns can land the Rivals250 member out of Loganville (GA) Grayson, it would be yet another huge pick-up for the Texas staff on the heels of landing the nation’s top DB class in 2018. Impressive stuff.
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There’s been a pretty dramatic turn for top cornerback prospect
Marcus Banks.
A few weeks ago, Banks was all set to announce his decision, and it looked like the Longhorns would win out. Last weekend, the Spring Dekaney product took a visit to LSU, and things have suddenly been turned upside down.
“I would say right now LSU would be my top school, but I am still very open to all schools,” Banks said this week.
Up next, Banks will take a visit to Alabama in April. He did say he’ll be back in Austin for a return visit this spring (he also attended UT junior day), so Texas will have its shot to make another impression, but this one looks like it’ll be much tougher than it originally appeared.
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2020 defensive end
Alec Bryant took an unofficial visit to Texas last weekend, and said he liked everything he saw. Bryant spent time with Oscar Giles and was shown some of the formations Texas uses and how Bryant would be utilized.
“He was saying I would be the B backer, like outside linebacker and defensive end. I’d pass rush sometimes, sometimes be back in the flats to cover,” Bryant said.
So far, Bryant has visited UT and Houston. He holds two early offers (Oregon State, Tulsa) and described Texas as a dream school growing up. Others that he’s always liked are Florida, LSU and Indiana (his brother plays for Indiana).
No offer for Bryant yet, but he’ll be a player worth monitoring moving forward.
