It’s been an interesting senior year for Texas commitment LaGaryonn Carson. The standout defensive end prospect was suspended for a couple games while at Texarkana Liberty-Eylau and is now enrolled at Premier High School in Texarkana as he works to finish up his high school career.
Premier opened this fall and its website describes it as a school that delivers specialized programs to meet each student’s varying academic needs. When needed, the school focuses on helping students who have fallen behind academically, which was the case for Carson.
In talking to Carson this week, he told me he’s made significant progress in his academic work, so much so that he actually said he may have a chance to graduate early. That would seem to be highly unlikely with the work he needed to do and the fact that there’s only about a month left in the fall semester, but the bigger takeaway is that Carson feels he’ll be able to get into Texas when the time comes for him to apply and enroll.
“I didn’t get to play this year because I went to Premier School to get my grades so i can get to Texas,” Carson said. “Everything's good now. I'll probably get done with all my credits pretty soon.”
Carson has stayed in contact with the Texas coaches and communicated with assistant coach Jeff Traylor earlier this week. The message from Traylor is to just keep working and prove the doubters wrong.
“He says to keep pushing, prove all those doubters wrong when they look back. I hear people talk. … It's not the same as everyone thinks. I'm always going to dominate everything I do. It's just going to make me work harder,” Carson said.
Carson said he does still hear from a couple schools that check in to gauge his interest, but he tells them he’s solid with his Texas commitment.
Everything is still going about the same. They're still trying, but they know where I'm at right now,” Carson said. “A&M still hits me up, Baylor, all of them. But it's all the same. I just tell them I'm straight Texas. Nobody else is on my mind.”
Carson is hoping to make it to Austin for the TCU game and he’s planning to take his official visit to Texas on the weekend of December 2. He’s been working out with a personal trainer a few times a week to stay in shape, and says he is keeping an eye on the Texas coaching situation.
“If (Charlie Strong) leaves, I'm not going to shake off because Texas is the school I really love, but it may make me evaluate some other schools,” Carson said. (Suchomel)
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One recruit Longhorn fans won’t need to worry about is defensive back commitment Montrell Estell. The Hooks standout was in town for the West Virginia game and said he’s locked in with his UT pledge.
“The highlights, it was fun. They should have won,” Estell said. “I hung out with Sam (Ehlinger). I really didn't see any other recruits. We were just talking about the game … He's a cool guy. I know Buechele will have a challenge for that spot.”
Estell spoke with the UT coaches after the game. The coaches were understandably frustrated with the outcome, but said they’ll bounce back and Estell expects the Longhorns to finish the season with a few wins.
Schools like A&M and Baylor continue to send Estell game invitations but he said he tunes out the outside noise and is only focused on his UT pledge. He, like Carson, does hear the chatter of a potential coaching change but said he’s sticking with the Longhorns regardless.
“I hear it, but it doesn't affect me. Texas is always going to be good,” Estell said. “If he's there or not, I'm still going to Texas. They’d find someone else if that doesn't work out.” (Suchomel)
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Along with Ehlinger and Estell, Taquon Graham was another UT commitment who was at the West Virginia game.
“It was a great visit. The stadium was electric. Of course, we came out on the bad end of things, but i think everything will work out,” Graham. “It’s just minor things they need to fix on both sides of the ball and they’ll be all right.
Graham, a defensive end out of Temple, said he likes the progress he’s seen from the Texas defense ever since Charlie Strong took over the playcalling duties on that side of the ball.
“I think it's great how they've improved overall. I believe that they'll continue to get better and better,” Graham said. “I think coach Strong definitely knows what he's doing. He's a great coach.”
Graham got a chance to chat with some of the UT coaches on the field before the game started. It was mostly small talk, including conversation of Graham’s game from Friday night. Like everyone else, Graham said he’s watching to see what happens with the UT coaching situation but he’s trying not to think about it too much at this time.
“It doesn’t weight on me. I barely even think about it, honestly,” Graham said. “I’m just trying to win these playoff games week by week. My thoughts are if it happens, I'll deal with it however it comes. I’ll just discuss things with my family and look at everything.” (Suchomel)
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A few 2018 prospects from Cypress Springs attended last week’s game, including DB Leon O'Neal and QB/ATH Taye Barber.
Some comments from O’Neal, a 6-2, 190-pound safety who holds a few early offers from schools like UCLA, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Tulsa and Toledo.
“I like the city. The city, before we even went to the game, it’s really nice there,” O’Neal said. “Ii like how everybody was into it, the crowd. They had their safeties flying around. There were a couple blown coverages, but that’s always fixable. I felt like they played their hearts out.”
On the early offers …
"They've been coming. That's a blessing. I’m very excited, have to stay humble through the process. This is kind of what I planed for. I’ve always seen myself as a good player. I’ll always have stuff to work on, get my hips better, get faster.”
On Texas ..
"I like the position as far as the safeties. They’re very versatile on the field. I witnessed a really big hit by Jason Hall. I could see myself doing that. That woke everybody up. I’m just waiting for a blessing as far as an offer. But it was a pretty cool atmosphere."
Comments from QB/ATH Barber …
“I really like the pregame, the intensity, the culture. I really like the pregame a lot. That's what stood out to me.”
Barber said he didn’t get a chance to talk to the coaches on the visit, but he did catch up with UT freshman DB Chris Brown, who he has known since he was little.
Barber hold five offers, including Houston and Oklahoma State. Both he and O’Neal attended Houston’s win over Louisville on Thursday night. Houston has made an early impression with him.
“Houston, I really like the coaching staff and the culture that the players have. No matter what happens, they always give it 100 percent. The coaching staff, they show a lot of love,” Barber said. “They could use me all over the place. That was my first offer. They were the first ones to believe in me.” (Suchomel)
Premier opened this fall and its website describes it as a school that delivers specialized programs to meet each student’s varying academic needs. When needed, the school focuses on helping students who have fallen behind academically, which was the case for Carson.
In talking to Carson this week, he told me he’s made significant progress in his academic work, so much so that he actually said he may have a chance to graduate early. That would seem to be highly unlikely with the work he needed to do and the fact that there’s only about a month left in the fall semester, but the bigger takeaway is that Carson feels he’ll be able to get into Texas when the time comes for him to apply and enroll.
“I didn’t get to play this year because I went to Premier School to get my grades so i can get to Texas,” Carson said. “Everything's good now. I'll probably get done with all my credits pretty soon.”
Carson has stayed in contact with the Texas coaches and communicated with assistant coach Jeff Traylor earlier this week. The message from Traylor is to just keep working and prove the doubters wrong.
“He says to keep pushing, prove all those doubters wrong when they look back. I hear people talk. … It's not the same as everyone thinks. I'm always going to dominate everything I do. It's just going to make me work harder,” Carson said.
Carson said he does still hear from a couple schools that check in to gauge his interest, but he tells them he’s solid with his Texas commitment.
Everything is still going about the same. They're still trying, but they know where I'm at right now,” Carson said. “A&M still hits me up, Baylor, all of them. But it's all the same. I just tell them I'm straight Texas. Nobody else is on my mind.”
Carson is hoping to make it to Austin for the TCU game and he’s planning to take his official visit to Texas on the weekend of December 2. He’s been working out with a personal trainer a few times a week to stay in shape, and says he is keeping an eye on the Texas coaching situation.
“If (Charlie Strong) leaves, I'm not going to shake off because Texas is the school I really love, but it may make me evaluate some other schools,” Carson said. (Suchomel)
******
One recruit Longhorn fans won’t need to worry about is defensive back commitment Montrell Estell. The Hooks standout was in town for the West Virginia game and said he’s locked in with his UT pledge.
“The highlights, it was fun. They should have won,” Estell said. “I hung out with Sam (Ehlinger). I really didn't see any other recruits. We were just talking about the game … He's a cool guy. I know Buechele will have a challenge for that spot.”
Estell spoke with the UT coaches after the game. The coaches were understandably frustrated with the outcome, but said they’ll bounce back and Estell expects the Longhorns to finish the season with a few wins.
Schools like A&M and Baylor continue to send Estell game invitations but he said he tunes out the outside noise and is only focused on his UT pledge. He, like Carson, does hear the chatter of a potential coaching change but said he’s sticking with the Longhorns regardless.
“I hear it, but it doesn't affect me. Texas is always going to be good,” Estell said. “If he's there or not, I'm still going to Texas. They’d find someone else if that doesn't work out.” (Suchomel)
******
Along with Ehlinger and Estell, Taquon Graham was another UT commitment who was at the West Virginia game.
“It was a great visit. The stadium was electric. Of course, we came out on the bad end of things, but i think everything will work out,” Graham. “It’s just minor things they need to fix on both sides of the ball and they’ll be all right.
Graham, a defensive end out of Temple, said he likes the progress he’s seen from the Texas defense ever since Charlie Strong took over the playcalling duties on that side of the ball.
“I think it's great how they've improved overall. I believe that they'll continue to get better and better,” Graham said. “I think coach Strong definitely knows what he's doing. He's a great coach.”
Graham got a chance to chat with some of the UT coaches on the field before the game started. It was mostly small talk, including conversation of Graham’s game from Friday night. Like everyone else, Graham said he’s watching to see what happens with the UT coaching situation but he’s trying not to think about it too much at this time.
“It doesn’t weight on me. I barely even think about it, honestly,” Graham said. “I’m just trying to win these playoff games week by week. My thoughts are if it happens, I'll deal with it however it comes. I’ll just discuss things with my family and look at everything.” (Suchomel)
******
A few 2018 prospects from Cypress Springs attended last week’s game, including DB Leon O'Neal and QB/ATH Taye Barber.
Some comments from O’Neal, a 6-2, 190-pound safety who holds a few early offers from schools like UCLA, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Tulsa and Toledo.
“I like the city. The city, before we even went to the game, it’s really nice there,” O’Neal said. “Ii like how everybody was into it, the crowd. They had their safeties flying around. There were a couple blown coverages, but that’s always fixable. I felt like they played their hearts out.”
On the early offers …
"They've been coming. That's a blessing. I’m very excited, have to stay humble through the process. This is kind of what I planed for. I’ve always seen myself as a good player. I’ll always have stuff to work on, get my hips better, get faster.”
On Texas ..
"I like the position as far as the safeties. They’re very versatile on the field. I witnessed a really big hit by Jason Hall. I could see myself doing that. That woke everybody up. I’m just waiting for a blessing as far as an offer. But it was a pretty cool atmosphere."
Comments from QB/ATH Barber …
“I really like the pregame, the intensity, the culture. I really like the pregame a lot. That's what stood out to me.”
Barber said he didn’t get a chance to talk to the coaches on the visit, but he did catch up with UT freshman DB Chris Brown, who he has known since he was little.
Barber hold five offers, including Houston and Oklahoma State. Both he and O’Neal attended Houston’s win over Louisville on Thursday night. Houston has made an early impression with him.
“Houston, I really like the coaching staff and the culture that the players have. No matter what happens, they always give it 100 percent. The coaching staff, they show a lot of love,” Barber said. “They could use me all over the place. That was my first offer. They were the first ones to believe in me.” (Suchomel)
