Had a chance to talk with several sources this week about the recruitment of West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West linebacker Jordan Hicks.
Those connected to the Longhorns still feel very confident about landing Hicks and there’s probably been a sense of confidence that I haven’t seen with the program and an out of state prospect.
“We feel like everything has been… I wouldn’t say perfect, but we’ve been very fortunate. We needed to hit a home run on the visit and we feel like that happened. We needed the in-home visit with Mack to go great and we feel like it did.”
I followed that up by asking this particular source if anything bad should be read into the fact that Mack Brown has used his in-home visit, he hasn’t committed to the Longhorns and the other two finalists for Hicks (Ohio State and Florida) still have in-home visits with the head coach waiting to happen.
“Would we rather that he already committed? Of course, but I think that’s pie in the sky stuff,” the source said. “There’s an unbelievable amount of pressure on Hicks in Ohio, just like there is for guys like Jackson Jeffcoat inside the state of Texas. If he committed to us today, his life might be pretty miserable for the next month as he deals with the increased pressure that would come.”
So what makes the source so confident?
“We’ve talked about this in the past, but we feel like we just fit together and Will (Muschamp) is key.”
For the last couple of weeks, the projected order of finish for most had Texas in first, Ohio State in second and Florida in third, but after talking with some people that were with Hicks this week in Florida for the Under-Armor game, that might not be the case.
“There was some chatter that he really likes Florida, but doesn’t know what to think about the defensive coordinator leaving and the Urban Meyer stuff,” the source said. “I think Florida’s a player if they can sell him that Meyer isn’t going to go anywhere and the new defensive coordinator will be just as good or better than (Charlie Strong). That’s easier said than done. I think Texas is going to finish with Hicks and Jeffcoat, but I’m telling you that some of the kids down there thought he liked Florida, too.”
Up next?
Don’t be surprised if an in-home visit with Meyer takes place as soon as the dead period ends. If the Gators are going to have a chance, Meyer will have to be on his A-game to be sure.”
“It probably needs to be the greatest official visit of all-time,” a source close to the Florida program said. “We’re expecting that Meyer is going to be very busy putting out fires this month and with so many questions to be answered that are unanswered, it might make that really tough.” (Ketchum)
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Kerrville Tivy quarterback Johnny Manziel has been to several Texas games this fall and he made no secret of how much he likes the Longhorns.
“I love Texas. Texas has always been the school that stuck out to me,” Manziel said. “I have more Texas gear than you can probably buy. I wear a Texas shirt almost every day. I pretty much bleed burnt orange. It’s just a great University now that I’ve gotten a chance to see it closer throughout the year. It’s really something that’s quite awesome. I really like it quite a bit.” (Howell)
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Killeen Ellison standout Devon Hocutt has long had the Horns at the top of his list, and
“Texas is still high on my list. It’s always going to be my No. 1,” Hocutt said.
“Mostly I just look for how close it is to home and what my mom thinks about it. My mom is in love with the University of Oklahoma. It’s so country down there I couldn’t see myself down there. My mom loves it because there’s nothing out there to do and she thinks there’s no party there but she knows there’s parties at every school. She’s been trying to get me to think a little more about Oklahoma.
“It’s always going to be Texas for me because the first time I ever went down there the first thing they said was we’re not only recruiting you, we’re recruiting your whole family. So, that made me feel good. It makes it feel like more of a family atmosphere.”(Howell)
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Pretty quiet past few days on the recruiting front with the Texas coaches focused on the BCS title game, but we were able to round up a bit of information on top linebacker target Jordan Hicks …
The Rivals100 defender has kept things quiet this week and has not indicated which way he’s leaning, but the prevailing thought is that Hicks is UT’s to lose. Hicks himself has not tipped his hand towards any of his finalists but the people that have talked to him this week have indicated that there’s one factor weighing heavily in UT’s favor … climate.
Hicks has said throughout his recruiting process that he prefers to play in a warm weather climate and Rivals.com reporters that talked to Hicks and his family this week said it was pretty apparent that playing somewhere in the south was a priority for the blue-chip linebacker.
Factor in UT’s climate advantage over Ohio State with Hicks and his mom’s relationship with UT coaches, including strength and conditioning coach Mad Dog Madden and Will Muschamp, and things continue to look very good for Texas.
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There’s been some talk from junior prospects that Texas might hold a junior day prior to signing day, but our sources indicated this week that the first junior day (and public commitment) will not happen until after the 2010 group signs its letter of intent.
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There have been a lot of questions about UT’s position with Skyline linebacker Corey Nelson …
In a nuthshell, Nelson’s interest in Texas is more than genuine, but it’s unlikely right now that this one will play out in regards to Nelson and Texas. The Rivals100 linebacker is still committed to Texas A&M, and Texas is unlikely to take a chance on a player that is still unsure of his situation this close to signing day. The situation with Nelson is far from dead, but he’s going to have to do a lot to convince UT that he’s serious about his intentions before the Horns open their arms for a possible commitment.
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We talked to Tulsa Central coach Corey Russell to get his thoughts on Demarco Cobbs …
We’re expecting to get senior film on Cobbs this week and coach Russell said Longhorn fans will like what they see. In fact, he said Cobbs’ running ability ? his strength, his size, his quickness and his athleticism ? have Texas coaches talking about him starting on offense. He’ll also get a look at receiver, defensive back and linebacker, but he could very well start at running back.
“I could see him playing some wild cat for them,” coach Russell said. “He’d be great at that.”
Cobbs missed the Under Armour Game on Saturday do to a calf injury that he suffered do to Tulsa Central’s final regular season game.
Those connected to the Longhorns still feel very confident about landing Hicks and there’s probably been a sense of confidence that I haven’t seen with the program and an out of state prospect.
“We feel like everything has been… I wouldn’t say perfect, but we’ve been very fortunate. We needed to hit a home run on the visit and we feel like that happened. We needed the in-home visit with Mack to go great and we feel like it did.”
I followed that up by asking this particular source if anything bad should be read into the fact that Mack Brown has used his in-home visit, he hasn’t committed to the Longhorns and the other two finalists for Hicks (Ohio State and Florida) still have in-home visits with the head coach waiting to happen.
“Would we rather that he already committed? Of course, but I think that’s pie in the sky stuff,” the source said. “There’s an unbelievable amount of pressure on Hicks in Ohio, just like there is for guys like Jackson Jeffcoat inside the state of Texas. If he committed to us today, his life might be pretty miserable for the next month as he deals with the increased pressure that would come.”
So what makes the source so confident?
“We’ve talked about this in the past, but we feel like we just fit together and Will (Muschamp) is key.”
For the last couple of weeks, the projected order of finish for most had Texas in first, Ohio State in second and Florida in third, but after talking with some people that were with Hicks this week in Florida for the Under-Armor game, that might not be the case.
“There was some chatter that he really likes Florida, but doesn’t know what to think about the defensive coordinator leaving and the Urban Meyer stuff,” the source said. “I think Florida’s a player if they can sell him that Meyer isn’t going to go anywhere and the new defensive coordinator will be just as good or better than (Charlie Strong). That’s easier said than done. I think Texas is going to finish with Hicks and Jeffcoat, but I’m telling you that some of the kids down there thought he liked Florida, too.”
Up next?
Don’t be surprised if an in-home visit with Meyer takes place as soon as the dead period ends. If the Gators are going to have a chance, Meyer will have to be on his A-game to be sure.”
“It probably needs to be the greatest official visit of all-time,” a source close to the Florida program said. “We’re expecting that Meyer is going to be very busy putting out fires this month and with so many questions to be answered that are unanswered, it might make that really tough.” (Ketchum)
*************************
Kerrville Tivy quarterback Johnny Manziel has been to several Texas games this fall and he made no secret of how much he likes the Longhorns.
“I love Texas. Texas has always been the school that stuck out to me,” Manziel said. “I have more Texas gear than you can probably buy. I wear a Texas shirt almost every day. I pretty much bleed burnt orange. It’s just a great University now that I’ve gotten a chance to see it closer throughout the year. It’s really something that’s quite awesome. I really like it quite a bit.” (Howell)
**********************************
Killeen Ellison standout Devon Hocutt has long had the Horns at the top of his list, and
“Texas is still high on my list. It’s always going to be my No. 1,” Hocutt said.
“Mostly I just look for how close it is to home and what my mom thinks about it. My mom is in love with the University of Oklahoma. It’s so country down there I couldn’t see myself down there. My mom loves it because there’s nothing out there to do and she thinks there’s no party there but she knows there’s parties at every school. She’s been trying to get me to think a little more about Oklahoma.
“It’s always going to be Texas for me because the first time I ever went down there the first thing they said was we’re not only recruiting you, we’re recruiting your whole family. So, that made me feel good. It makes it feel like more of a family atmosphere.”(Howell)
******
Pretty quiet past few days on the recruiting front with the Texas coaches focused on the BCS title game, but we were able to round up a bit of information on top linebacker target Jordan Hicks …
The Rivals100 defender has kept things quiet this week and has not indicated which way he’s leaning, but the prevailing thought is that Hicks is UT’s to lose. Hicks himself has not tipped his hand towards any of his finalists but the people that have talked to him this week have indicated that there’s one factor weighing heavily in UT’s favor … climate.
Hicks has said throughout his recruiting process that he prefers to play in a warm weather climate and Rivals.com reporters that talked to Hicks and his family this week said it was pretty apparent that playing somewhere in the south was a priority for the blue-chip linebacker.
Factor in UT’s climate advantage over Ohio State with Hicks and his mom’s relationship with UT coaches, including strength and conditioning coach Mad Dog Madden and Will Muschamp, and things continue to look very good for Texas.
*******
There’s been some talk from junior prospects that Texas might hold a junior day prior to signing day, but our sources indicated this week that the first junior day (and public commitment) will not happen until after the 2010 group signs its letter of intent.
******
There have been a lot of questions about UT’s position with Skyline linebacker Corey Nelson …
In a nuthshell, Nelson’s interest in Texas is more than genuine, but it’s unlikely right now that this one will play out in regards to Nelson and Texas. The Rivals100 linebacker is still committed to Texas A&M, and Texas is unlikely to take a chance on a player that is still unsure of his situation this close to signing day. The situation with Nelson is far from dead, but he’s going to have to do a lot to convince UT that he’s serious about his intentions before the Horns open their arms for a possible commitment.
******
We talked to Tulsa Central coach Corey Russell to get his thoughts on Demarco Cobbs …
We’re expecting to get senior film on Cobbs this week and coach Russell said Longhorn fans will like what they see. In fact, he said Cobbs’ running ability ? his strength, his size, his quickness and his athleticism ? have Texas coaches talking about him starting on offense. He’ll also get a look at receiver, defensive back and linebacker, but he could very well start at running back.
“I could see him playing some wild cat for them,” coach Russell said. “He’d be great at that.”
Cobbs missed the Under Armour Game on Saturday do to a calf injury that he suffered do to Tulsa Central’s final regular season game.
