2021 Recruiting still has a ways to go but it seems that this class isn't going to knock anyones socks off. Heck, for a small class, 20 or so, it may crack the top 10 team rankings but I fear many fans will be lamenting what could have been. Texas has suffered some big losses in recruiting already with the likes of Landon Jackson, Donovan Jackson, Clayton Smith, Tunmise Adeleye and a whole hosts of WRs choosing to take their talents elsewhere. Texas had some huge commitments as well but these seem to have occurred ages ago. A few high profile recruitments still hang in the balance (Tommy Brockermeyer, Camar Wheaton) and landing these 5 stars would certainly help boost this class but even misses there shouldn't cause an overall meltdown.
Let's look at how Texas could like going into the 2021 season at each position to put this years recruiting class in perspective.
QB:
On campus: Casey Thompson, Hudson Card, JaQuinden Jackson
2021 Commits: Jalen Milroe
2022 Possibilities: Quinn Ewers
Texas has already restocked a QB room that plagued it for much of the 2010s. Jalen Milroe was a top target in 2021 and Texas got their man. Quinn Ewers is also high on Texas early in the 2022 class and could be a game changer down the road
RB:
On Campus:Keontay Ingram, Roschon Johnson, Jordon Whittington, Bijan Robinson
2021 Commits: Jonathon Brooks
2021 Possibilities: Camar Wheaton, LJ Johnson
2022 Possibilities: Jaydon Blue, Jadarian Price
This may be a position that looks less than stellar in 2021 unless Wheaton or Johnson jump on board which is not expected at this point. This is a position where I would recommend taking a deep breath in regards to 2021 recruiting. Remember, Texas has lots of talent on campus already including a 5 star RB who will be entering his sophomore season in 2021. Beyond that, Texas has very strong options in the 2022 class as Jaydon Blue and Jadarian Price promise to be top 10 backs
WR:
On campus: Brennan Eagles, Joshua Moore, Jake Smith, Marcus Washington, Alvonte Woodard, Kennedy Lewis, Kelvontay Dixon, Dajon Harrison, Troy Omiere
2021 Commits: Casey Cain
2021 Possibilities: Ketron Jackson, Jaden Alexis, JJ Henry
2022 Possibilities: Caleb Burton, Armani Winfield, Jordan Hudson
The 2021 WR class will be a disappointment based on all of it's misses so far. Multiple 4 star WRs in the state and Texas is unlikely to land any of them. While I like a commit like Casey Cain, he isn't the elite prospect of the guys available in our own backyard. If Billy Bowman ends up playing WR, that certainly changes the outlook of the position going forward if other guys don't step up.
You always want to stack talent at the WR position, especially in a league were trotting 4 WRs out regularly is commonplace. The plus, Texas has at least 3 seasons left of all the current WRs on the roster except Eagles so there is plenty of time to get new talent on campus in the 2022 class that has multiple WRs from Texas ranked in the top 100 overall.
TE:
On Campus:Malcolm Epps, Jared Wiley, Brayden Liebrock
2021 Commits: Juan Davis
2022 Possibilities
onovan Green
TE is another position that looks to be underwhelming in the 2021 class. The coaches targeted Juan Davis early and I'll trust their eval of the athlete who has spent much of his HS career playing QB. I doubt if they look to add any other players at the position this year. Going into 2021 They will have an experienced trio in Epps (an athletic TE vs an unathletic WR), Wiley (who looks like an absolute beast) and the the flashy Brayden Liebrock - all of whom will be returning in 2022 as well. In 2022, I wouldn't be shocked to see Donovan Green, the current #1 TE in the country in the 2022 class, redshirting in preparation for taking over the TE role in 2023.
OL:
On Campus:Junior Angilau, Rafiti Ghirmia, Christian Jones, Reese Moore, Willie Tyler, Isaiah Hookfin, Tyler Johnson, Jaylon Garth, Andrej Karic, Jake Majors Logan Parr
2021 commits: Hayden Connor
2021 Possibilities: Tommy Brockermeyer, James Brockermeyer, Bryce Foster, Savion Byrd
2022 Possibilities: Kam Dewberry, Jaylen Early
This could have been a lineup of 5 5 stars commits but things have not turned out that way. That said, Texas is still fighting for some big time commits and could land a very solid class. This mostly centers around the Brockermeyer brothers the top OT and C in the country.
Either way, take heart Texas fans. the on campus players listed above will be Juniors at the oldest so Texas has plenty of beef in the OL pipeline.
DL:
On Campus
aniel Carson, T'vondre Sweat, Keondre Coburn, Moro Ojomo, Peter Mpagi, Myron Warren, Alfred Collins, Vernon Broughton, Sawyer Gorham-Welch
2021 Commits:J'tavion Sanders, Jordan Thomas, Derrick Harris Jr,
2021 Possibilities:Shemar Turner, Jonathan Jones, Ike Iwunnah
2022 Possibilities:Ernest Cooper, Malik Sylla, Omari Abor, Bear Alexander
With 5 star J'tavion Sanders likely playing DE at the next level, Texas has a very solid haul there including Sander, Thomas and Harris. They may add a player like Shemar Turner as well. The DT haul will be underwhelming with low 3 star Ike Iwunnah the main possibility at this point. Again though, we see a lot of young talent with no players expected to graduate from the DL after the 2021 season.
LB:
On Campus:Juwan Mitchel, Demarvion Overshown, Joseph Ossai (maybe), Ayodele Adeoye, Tyler Owens, Byron Vaughns, David Gbenda, Marcus Tillman, Prince Dorbah, Jaylon Ford
2021 Commits: Morice Blackwell
2021 Possibilities: Terrance Cooks
2022 Possibilities:No studs identified
LB continues to be the biggest area of concern. After 2021, Mitchel, Overshown and Ossai will all be gone and we have yet to see how the underclassmen will perform. We need a few of those guys to step up and become big time players. Blackwell and Cooks have good skill sets for Big 12 LB play but aren't slam dunks either. Overall, the defensive scheme will likely deemphasize LB play and we will continue to see big safeties converting to LB as this seems to be a good approach to defending the spread., even NFL teams are catching on to this type of LB.
DB:
On Campus:Kobe Boyce, Anthony Cook, Jalen Green, D'shawn Jamison, Josh Thompson, Montrell Estelle, BJ Foster, Chris Adimora, Marques Caldwell, Kenyatta Watson, Kitan Crawford, Xavion Alford, Jerrin Thompson, Jahdae Barron
2021 Commits:None (Billy Bowman*)
2021 Possibilities:Ishmael Ibraheem, JD Coffey, Andrew Mukuba
2022 Possibilities: Denver Harris, Austin Jordan, Bobby Taylor, Jaylon Guilbeau, Chace Biddle, Cristian Driver, Brenen Thompson
Texas is set to lose a lot of talent at the DB position after the 2021 season with the first 7 names listed above set to use up their eligibility by seasons end. That means the younger players listed will be stepping into major roles. There is some solid talent already on campus that will have a chance to develop in starters this next season. The 2021 class is weak in state but Texas is in a good position to add the best that is available. That said, look for the major reload to occur in the 2022 class that has a much more typical wealth of in state DB talent.
Punter: we added another aussie punter in the 2021 class. I've already forgotten his name (as has Tom Herman) but these guys have worked out great so far.