Daily Short #139, February 8th, 2018: Late Signing Day Breakdown (Offense)
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Here we'll break down the offensive side of the football from the late signing class for 2018. Defense will be tomorrow.
OFFENSE
WR Joshua Moore - Yoakum
6'1", 171 pounds
Herman on Moore:
"That's where I see him fitting in, kind of doing a little bit of everything. Per our last conversation, probably slot receiver would be where he starts off in this program. Could he play outside receiver? Absolutely. Is he going to be a dynamic returner? Yup. Could he play corner? Yup. I think the necessity right now is probably at slot receiver. If we find some other guys that can do the job as good, if not better, we'll find another home for him. But probably the most versatile guy in this class that can do so many things."
. . .
What stands out to you seeing Moore in one-on-one sessions is his ability to stem at the line of scrimmage and erase pressing corners with footwork, change-of-direction and suddenness. He may only be 6'1" (I personally think he might be a little taller) but he has the wingspan of a guy who is 6'3" at the least. His legs are long and so are his strides which contribute to sneaky long-speed. He's fast off the cuff and he's every bit as fast once he gets galloping. As a receiver, he can go up and get it; it's one of the reasons I've said (since long before Herman affirmed it Wednesday) that Moore is most fit to play the slot WR position at Texas in a perfect world, but could legitimately line up anywhere.
His hands are like Hamburger Helper oven mitts when you see him out there in white gloves. Moore makes consistent efforts to catch the ball away from his body and frame it in ways that naturally allow for easier transition upfield as a ball-carrier. He's a skinny guy with a frame I'm not sure is suited to fill out to anything too beastly, but all of these traits together can remind you of a shorter AJ Green or maybe a skinnier Marqise Lee out of high school. When I saw both players in a camp setting, I made a note that Joshua Moore looked to have a little higher projectable upside than his brother Jordan (committed to A&M) due to Joshua having more of a prototypical wide receiver's body, but make no mistake that both are good players and they clearly come from very athletic genes.
With Reggie Hemphill-Mapps now a goner and Armanti Foreman graduated, the slot WR position at Texas is looking a little more bare. Between Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Davion Curtis, there is certainly room for competition at the position. Fellow 2018 signee Al'Vonte Woodard is a player, who (like Moore), I see as suited to possibly play slot as well as compete at the Z wideout, we'll see how things shake out in camp depth-chart wise this summer. In all, if forced to choose a side, I'd bet on Moore seeing real-game action as a Longhorn as early as his true freshman season.
RB Keaontay Ingram - Carthage
6'1", 187 pounds
Herman on Ingram:
"But to your point, there is definitely a need at that position to get better. Whether that's the development of Danny Young, Kyle Porter, Toneil Carter, Tristian Houston, great, great, we're getting better. If that's the infusion of a Keaontay Ingram, great, we're going to get better. But, yeah, that fact is not lost on any of us in this program that we got to get better at that position."
. . .
I wrote, at the time of his commitment:
Texas' 9th commitment of the 2018 class is a game-breaker with a skillset and physical profile that is not really that similar to any RB the team has on the roster. The closest might be Toneil Carter. However, Ingram's mix of suddenness, size, power, wiggle and full-field, game-breaking vision remind me most of class of 2016 stud Devwah Whaley who averaged 5.5 yards a carry as a freshman in the SEC playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
I spoke with members of a two recruiting staffs in the state of Texas, both of whom had offered Ingram, and the consensus among them is that Ingram is the best RB in the state for the 2018 class. He's also ranked as the No. 1 RB in the class in Ketchum's most recent LSR Top 100 - and by virtually every other outlet.
Ingram is a big-bodied, upright-style runner who has just enough substance to him to be a powerful back when he lowers his pads without necessarily being a full-time bruiser. He's got some shake and suddenness to him that are more clear positives on the attribute-scale than anything having to do with power or physicality. He's listed by Texas at 187 pounds, but I would be shocked if he's not weighing in at 200 to 205 by the time fall camp starts. He has lots of room to fill out and add substance without getting waterlogged or maxed out to sap his speed. The fact that his game and style reminded me of a player like Devwah Whaley (a prospect who I was exceptionally high on) is promising to say the least.
Can he come in and make an immediate impact? Well, of course he feasibly could. It's not like the position is locked down by any one player and Herman himself said at his NSD press conference (as transcribed above) that it's not lost on anyone in the program that they need to get better at the RB position. (Which is somewhat disappointing considering that Stan Drayton was basically supposed to be the all-star position coach on staff as far as getting his group to operate at a high level). And maybe the reason none of the backs operated at a high level in 2017 had to do with the talent available on campus, maybe it had to do with the fact that Drayton is committed to a committee in his RB corps that doesn't allow one guy to get warmed up and develop a hot hand with the flow of the game, maybe it had to do with a subpar offensive line, maybe it had to do with middle-school-level play calling at times through the season or maybe it's some combination of all.
Of course it is a combination of all, but the aspect that will affect Ingram's usage as a freshman most will be Drayton's utilization of so many runners through games. I don't anticipate a workhorse role being handed to any runner in the program, including guys who've been there and done that like Daniel Young, Toneil Carter and Kyle Porter. I expect the fall will start with Young and Carter basically being a 1a and 1b duo as starters with Porter mixing in at times when his lead-blocking on QB power runs and pass-protection skills are necessary. So, with around 65% of snaps eaten up in this scenario by the Young/Carter duo, 15 to 20% eaten up by Porter, that would only leave 15-20% of snaps available for Ingram with the possibility always existing that Tristian Houston and/or (less likely) possibly Kirk Johnson vying for those scraps.
If Ingram is going to be a player that fans will see as a major contributor in the run game for 2018, it will have to be because either a) he comes in and absolutely blows things up to start and instantly is playing up to his eventual potential or b) because injuries occur to Young and/or Carter and he's able to step up and take on one of those lead roles. Since neither of those scenarios is too far out of left field, Ingram is clearly a major asset to have on board for the 2018 campaign. It's a lock that he'll play as a freshman barring injury.
OL Christian Jones - Cypress Cypress Woods
6'6", 281 pounds
Tom Herman didn't mention a peep about Christian Jones in his introductory press conference for the second wave of 2018 signees and he wasn't a player who was really on my radar much coming into the last few weeks when Jason started talking about him as a possible option. Given the state of the current roster, any news of an offensive lineman of interest is enough to make the old ears perk up.
Jones' offer list isn't necessarily the most impressive you've ever seen but he's a three-star and certainly has more colleges volunteering to pay for his education in exchange for playing ball than 99.9% of the folks reading this column had and certainly 100% of those writing it.
Jones surged late in the recruiting cycle after committing to SMU in the summer of 2017 just prior to his senior season. He received December offers from Cal, Colorado State and Virginia with Texas swooping in last of all in late January, just a day after Jones decommitted from the ponies.
As for my initial evaluation on Jones: Let me preface it by saying that he played both offense and defense in high school, but I'm evaluating him as an offensive lineman as that's how Texas has recruited him and what he'll play. With that out of the way, he's raw no matter how you slice it. And it's OK that he's raw because most every future stud tackle you recruit is going to come in raw, plus he has only been playing tackle football for two seasons after being a basketball player before.
I wasn't able to find any full games of Jones' senior season, so we'll just have to rely solely on the "show me what he CAN do" side of the coin as opposed to the "what can't he do?" side. It's the more important side to rely on in high school OL evaluations anyway, as you always have to factor in so much physical development as they become grown men during their time in college.
Jones has exceptional feet first and foremost. He plays the tackle position in the run game with outstanding quick, choppy steps. We'll have to see how his pass sets are, but until proven otherwise, we have to assume they'll need work. His balance and form will generally need massive work at the next level as, even in his highlights, I can see the potential for him getting extended out over the balls of his feet and Big 12 edge players will ole' him like a matador if he attacks them in this way on run downs. He needs to get his head up and keep the crown of his helmet pointed at the opposition's chin guard. He needs to place his punch further inside and bring his hips through engagement. In his highlights, he shows a much better-than-expected ability to get to the second level and engage linebackers in free space, which takes some agility and quickness. As far as these traits go, Jones is brimming with potential. Add on the fact that he has more natural strength than you sometimes expect out of developmental tackle prospects (he's not a Denzel Okafor in this department, but certainly somewhere along the lines of a Samuel Cosmi or J.P. Urquidez in regard to observable, functional strength at the point-of-attack at the high school level), and you have one hell of an addition to the OL room.
Herb Hand took over the recruitment of Jones upon arriving at Texas and it stands to reason that Jones was a guy who Hand may have been keeping tabs on while still at Auburn. It sort of reminds you of how, in similar situations -- needing depth and arriving on UT campus late to the recruiting party -- Joe Wickline reeled in an underrated Connor Williams and how Derek Warehime swept in on Derek Kerstetter who were both major additions that didn't come with much initial fanfare. And to be clear, I'm not saying Christian Jones is the next Connor Williams, but I am saying that his highlights, and some of the traits you can easily observe in viewing them, have grown on me over the last 24 hours. As with all these guys, I reserve the right to change opinions drastically once I get to see them on the football field against other college players in practice, but for now, I believe that Jones has the requisite traits to push for a spot on the two-deep by his second college season -- hopefully following a redshirt year.
presented by the Dental Offices of Wendy Swantkowski, DDS
The Absolute BEST in family and cosmetic dentistry for the Houston-Memorial Area
Now Accepting New Patients --- 281-293-9140
Support the Short by supporting our sponsors! Give Wendy a call today!
Here we'll break down the offensive side of the football from the late signing class for 2018. Defense will be tomorrow.
OFFENSE
WR Joshua Moore - Yoakum
6'1", 171 pounds
Herman on Moore:
"That's where I see him fitting in, kind of doing a little bit of everything. Per our last conversation, probably slot receiver would be where he starts off in this program. Could he play outside receiver? Absolutely. Is he going to be a dynamic returner? Yup. Could he play corner? Yup. I think the necessity right now is probably at slot receiver. If we find some other guys that can do the job as good, if not better, we'll find another home for him. But probably the most versatile guy in this class that can do so many things."
. . .
What stands out to you seeing Moore in one-on-one sessions is his ability to stem at the line of scrimmage and erase pressing corners with footwork, change-of-direction and suddenness. He may only be 6'1" (I personally think he might be a little taller) but he has the wingspan of a guy who is 6'3" at the least. His legs are long and so are his strides which contribute to sneaky long-speed. He's fast off the cuff and he's every bit as fast once he gets galloping. As a receiver, he can go up and get it; it's one of the reasons I've said (since long before Herman affirmed it Wednesday) that Moore is most fit to play the slot WR position at Texas in a perfect world, but could legitimately line up anywhere.
His hands are like Hamburger Helper oven mitts when you see him out there in white gloves. Moore makes consistent efforts to catch the ball away from his body and frame it in ways that naturally allow for easier transition upfield as a ball-carrier. He's a skinny guy with a frame I'm not sure is suited to fill out to anything too beastly, but all of these traits together can remind you of a shorter AJ Green or maybe a skinnier Marqise Lee out of high school. When I saw both players in a camp setting, I made a note that Joshua Moore looked to have a little higher projectable upside than his brother Jordan (committed to A&M) due to Joshua having more of a prototypical wide receiver's body, but make no mistake that both are good players and they clearly come from very athletic genes.
With Reggie Hemphill-Mapps now a goner and Armanti Foreman graduated, the slot WR position at Texas is looking a little more bare. Between Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Davion Curtis, there is certainly room for competition at the position. Fellow 2018 signee Al'Vonte Woodard is a player, who (like Moore), I see as suited to possibly play slot as well as compete at the Z wideout, we'll see how things shake out in camp depth-chart wise this summer. In all, if forced to choose a side, I'd bet on Moore seeing real-game action as a Longhorn as early as his true freshman season.
RB Keaontay Ingram - Carthage
6'1", 187 pounds
Herman on Ingram:
"But to your point, there is definitely a need at that position to get better. Whether that's the development of Danny Young, Kyle Porter, Toneil Carter, Tristian Houston, great, great, we're getting better. If that's the infusion of a Keaontay Ingram, great, we're going to get better. But, yeah, that fact is not lost on any of us in this program that we got to get better at that position."
. . .
I wrote, at the time of his commitment:
Texas' 9th commitment of the 2018 class is a game-breaker with a skillset and physical profile that is not really that similar to any RB the team has on the roster. The closest might be Toneil Carter. However, Ingram's mix of suddenness, size, power, wiggle and full-field, game-breaking vision remind me most of class of 2016 stud Devwah Whaley who averaged 5.5 yards a carry as a freshman in the SEC playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
I spoke with members of a two recruiting staffs in the state of Texas, both of whom had offered Ingram, and the consensus among them is that Ingram is the best RB in the state for the 2018 class. He's also ranked as the No. 1 RB in the class in Ketchum's most recent LSR Top 100 - and by virtually every other outlet.
Ingram is a big-bodied, upright-style runner who has just enough substance to him to be a powerful back when he lowers his pads without necessarily being a full-time bruiser. He's got some shake and suddenness to him that are more clear positives on the attribute-scale than anything having to do with power or physicality. He's listed by Texas at 187 pounds, but I would be shocked if he's not weighing in at 200 to 205 by the time fall camp starts. He has lots of room to fill out and add substance without getting waterlogged or maxed out to sap his speed. The fact that his game and style reminded me of a player like Devwah Whaley (a prospect who I was exceptionally high on) is promising to say the least.
Can he come in and make an immediate impact? Well, of course he feasibly could. It's not like the position is locked down by any one player and Herman himself said at his NSD press conference (as transcribed above) that it's not lost on anyone in the program that they need to get better at the RB position. (Which is somewhat disappointing considering that Stan Drayton was basically supposed to be the all-star position coach on staff as far as getting his group to operate at a high level). And maybe the reason none of the backs operated at a high level in 2017 had to do with the talent available on campus, maybe it had to do with the fact that Drayton is committed to a committee in his RB corps that doesn't allow one guy to get warmed up and develop a hot hand with the flow of the game, maybe it had to do with a subpar offensive line, maybe it had to do with middle-school-level play calling at times through the season or maybe it's some combination of all.
Of course it is a combination of all, but the aspect that will affect Ingram's usage as a freshman most will be Drayton's utilization of so many runners through games. I don't anticipate a workhorse role being handed to any runner in the program, including guys who've been there and done that like Daniel Young, Toneil Carter and Kyle Porter. I expect the fall will start with Young and Carter basically being a 1a and 1b duo as starters with Porter mixing in at times when his lead-blocking on QB power runs and pass-protection skills are necessary. So, with around 65% of snaps eaten up in this scenario by the Young/Carter duo, 15 to 20% eaten up by Porter, that would only leave 15-20% of snaps available for Ingram with the possibility always existing that Tristian Houston and/or (less likely) possibly Kirk Johnson vying for those scraps.
If Ingram is going to be a player that fans will see as a major contributor in the run game for 2018, it will have to be because either a) he comes in and absolutely blows things up to start and instantly is playing up to his eventual potential or b) because injuries occur to Young and/or Carter and he's able to step up and take on one of those lead roles. Since neither of those scenarios is too far out of left field, Ingram is clearly a major asset to have on board for the 2018 campaign. It's a lock that he'll play as a freshman barring injury.
OL Christian Jones - Cypress Cypress Woods
6'6", 281 pounds
Tom Herman didn't mention a peep about Christian Jones in his introductory press conference for the second wave of 2018 signees and he wasn't a player who was really on my radar much coming into the last few weeks when Jason started talking about him as a possible option. Given the state of the current roster, any news of an offensive lineman of interest is enough to make the old ears perk up.
Jones' offer list isn't necessarily the most impressive you've ever seen but he's a three-star and certainly has more colleges volunteering to pay for his education in exchange for playing ball than 99.9% of the folks reading this column had and certainly 100% of those writing it.
Jones surged late in the recruiting cycle after committing to SMU in the summer of 2017 just prior to his senior season. He received December offers from Cal, Colorado State and Virginia with Texas swooping in last of all in late January, just a day after Jones decommitted from the ponies.
As for my initial evaluation on Jones: Let me preface it by saying that he played both offense and defense in high school, but I'm evaluating him as an offensive lineman as that's how Texas has recruited him and what he'll play. With that out of the way, he's raw no matter how you slice it. And it's OK that he's raw because most every future stud tackle you recruit is going to come in raw, plus he has only been playing tackle football for two seasons after being a basketball player before.
I wasn't able to find any full games of Jones' senior season, so we'll just have to rely solely on the "show me what he CAN do" side of the coin as opposed to the "what can't he do?" side. It's the more important side to rely on in high school OL evaluations anyway, as you always have to factor in so much physical development as they become grown men during their time in college.
Jones has exceptional feet first and foremost. He plays the tackle position in the run game with outstanding quick, choppy steps. We'll have to see how his pass sets are, but until proven otherwise, we have to assume they'll need work. His balance and form will generally need massive work at the next level as, even in his highlights, I can see the potential for him getting extended out over the balls of his feet and Big 12 edge players will ole' him like a matador if he attacks them in this way on run downs. He needs to get his head up and keep the crown of his helmet pointed at the opposition's chin guard. He needs to place his punch further inside and bring his hips through engagement. In his highlights, he shows a much better-than-expected ability to get to the second level and engage linebackers in free space, which takes some agility and quickness. As far as these traits go, Jones is brimming with potential. Add on the fact that he has more natural strength than you sometimes expect out of developmental tackle prospects (he's not a Denzel Okafor in this department, but certainly somewhere along the lines of a Samuel Cosmi or J.P. Urquidez in regard to observable, functional strength at the point-of-attack at the high school level), and you have one hell of an addition to the OL room.
Herb Hand took over the recruitment of Jones upon arriving at Texas and it stands to reason that Jones was a guy who Hand may have been keeping tabs on while still at Auburn. It sort of reminds you of how, in similar situations -- needing depth and arriving on UT campus late to the recruiting party -- Joe Wickline reeled in an underrated Connor Williams and how Derek Warehime swept in on Derek Kerstetter who were both major additions that didn't come with much initial fanfare. And to be clear, I'm not saying Christian Jones is the next Connor Williams, but I am saying that his highlights, and some of the traits you can easily observe in viewing them, have grown on me over the last 24 hours. As with all these guys, I reserve the right to change opinions drastically once I get to see them on the football field against other college players in practice, but for now, I believe that Jones has the requisite traits to push for a spot on the two-deep by his second college season -- hopefully following a redshirt year.
