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Let’s start things off with an update on two guys with outstanding offers from Texas, Brenham LB Malcom Brown.
I talked to Cole on Thursday night to get his thoughts and also picked up some notes of interest on Brown in talking to a few different sources.
On Brown, a guy who has long believed that Texas had virtually no chance of landing, some people we talked to this week do think the Horns have a puncher’s chance.
Brown has told several people this week that he really enjoyed the junior day visit to Texas last week, and he’s singled out his relationship with Bo Davis as something that stands out about the Longhorns. Brown has actually been wearing a burnt orange rubber bracelet this week and there’s some thought that UT’s defensive scheme could be giving Brown something to think about.
The state’s top defensive tackle has indicated to people since visiting UT that he likes the idea of playing in UT’s predominantly 4-3 alignment, which allows defensive tackles a type of freedom that Texas A&M’s 3-4 scheme does not.
What does it all mean for Texas? We still feel A&M is the team to beat, but Texas definitely gave Brown some things to think about on his visit to Austin last weekend. And, has been alluded to this week, this is a battle that the Horns really want to win for a number of reasons.
Of note, Brown lives with his uncle, who accompanied the blue-chip DT to Austin last weekend. Brown’s uncle is known to sport UT gear regularly, but we’ve been told he’s open to his nephew playing wherever he can find the best fit.
On Cole, he said on Thursday night that he’s not ready to say where he’ll wind up, but he does have an idea of which way he’s leaning.
Cole has limited his focus to Texas A&M and Texas, and he listed the positives of each …
Texas - “When I go to Texas, I like the facilities, the campus overall and the coaches. We’re really cool with coach Giles. We have a good relationship. At their practice, they’re a bunch of high energy guys. The defense, I loved it how they fly around. It’s kind of like our defense that I play in now.
Texas A&M - “The coaches, they all seem like not they’re acting like coaches, more like role models. I get that feeling when i talk to them. They’re regular working guys, trying to make their players great men.”
I asked Cole about the thought people have that he’ll wind up at Texas A&M largely because several of his Brenham teammates are set to attend college in College Station.
“That doesn't bother me. I feel like I need to be where it's where I feel most comfortable, not just because of other teammates are going there,” Cole said. “It might not be the best school for me. I have to look at each school, make sure I pick what's best for me.”
Cole said he and Brown plan to make a decision by the end of this month or in early April. We mentioned that Brown has been seen sporting a burnt orange rubber bracelet; Cole wears a UT lanyard to hold his school ID. Don’t get too excited …
“Don't take anything out of it. It’s just something that I was given and I like to wear,” Cole said. “People go overboard with that. If I wear anything college related, they think that's where I'm going. I’ve got a lot of college shirts and decide not to wear them. That’s why I just wear a lot of Brenham stuff.”
We’ll keep tabs on this one and while we still think Texas has some work to do, Texas did seem to close make up ground on A&M during the visit last weekend. (Suchomel)
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Some notes on tight end Griffin Gilbert’s situation after talking to Gilbert, his father and Lake Travis offensive coordinator Matt Green.
Gilbert has taken junior day visits to Texas (February 26), Texas Tech and TCU. Texas Tech and TCU extended official scholarships, as did Clemson (former Lake Travis head coach Chad Morris is now offensive coordinator at Clemson). Texas has extended a scholarship, but Gilbert said on Thursday night it could be as part of the 2012 class or as a greyshirt, which would put him as part of the 2013 class.
According to Gilbert, the younger brother of UT quarterback Garrett Gilbert, Texas has told him there’s a possibility it could be a greyshirt offer since UT already has seven scholarships on the roster and the primary focus right now is on recruiting other positions. If the numbers work themselves out via tight end attrition of with a small 2012 UT recruiting class, the scholarship process could be sped up. [Note: As a greyshirt, Griffin would enroll with the rest of the 2012 commitments but he’d pay his way for one semester before going on scholarship in the spring of his freshman year. Griffin said he’s planning to redshirt anyway so the possibility of greyshirting does not affect UT’s chances.]
Everything we’re hearing is that TCU has a really good chance of landing a commitment from the 6-5, 210-pound playmaker.
Griffin’s thoughts on what stands out among his four offers, the only four he’s considering ...
Clemson - “Definitely the success they've had in the program in the past. They’re in the ACC, which is a great conference. They play some really good teams. And with Coach Morris being there, that would be awesome to go play for him again. That would be great experience. On the internet, the campus seems to be really great. It’s a great college town. It would be an awesome place to go to. It seems like a lot of fun.”
Texas - “With Texas, my brother goes there. He’s told me nothing but good things about their program. I’ve always grown up around Austin and the program, I’ve always been a fan. But with all these schools, they're not any ahead of any other team. Their campus, I’ve always looked around it and always liked it. And the team, I’ve always looked around and liked it. I have a good relationship with the coaches. There are a lot of things good for Texas.”
TCU - "Their campus up there was unbelievable. I loved the junior day up there, the coaches were great to me. Ever since they offered me since I went up there, I've loved TCU. Being only three hours away from home, that's not a bad thing at all. Being a small school, I really like that and the success they've had in their program the past years is really good. It would be a good school to go to."
Texas Tech - “Going up there with Michael (Brewer) being up there, that would be awesome to play with him. Their coaches have been great to me. Texas Tech a great school. I love their coaches, coach (Neal Brown). I’ve talked to him a couple times. I really like them up there and it seems like it would be a fun offense to play in.”
Gilbert maintained that he has no leaders among his top four, and he said anyone who assumes he’ll automatically follow his brother’s footsteps to Texas is off the mark. 0 0
“I’m my own person, I have to go on my own path wherever it takes me, whether it’s Texas or any of the other three schools,” Gilbert said.
We’ll keep a close eye on this one in case it happens soon. Griffin continues to weigh his options, but keep an eye on TCU in this one. (Suchomel)
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Few players have drummed up more discussion this recruiting year than Athens athlete Kendall Sanders. One of the state’s top prospects, Sanders listed UT atop his list early but committed to Oklahoma State before he had yet to get a UT junior day invitation. Sanders then contemplated visiting Texas for its second junior day, only to cancel those plans at the last minute.
Don’t bury this one just yet. There’s talk out there that Texas would still welcome Sanders in for a visit if he wanted to check out the Forty Acres, but it may be upon Sanders to initiate the dialogue (Mack Brown does not like to recruit committed prospects).
Sanders told us on Thursday night he’d be very open to visiting UT this spring, but here’s the potential hang-up … he said he’ll wait to see if Texas reaches out to him first. We’ll see where this one moves in the coming weeks, if at all, but it’s worth monitoring. (Suchomel)
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Waco (Texas) La Vega standout Michael Starts is regarded as one of the state’s top prospects in the 2012 class, and already holds offers from the likes of Notre Dame, Michigan, Auburn, Texas Tech, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma.
He has been busy the last few weeks taking trips to college campuses and he has been impressed with what he saw.
“I went to Texas A&M first and it was a pretty nice school and pretty big,” Starts said. “The same day we went there was a track meet going on. We went inside the football practice facility and it was pretty big. It was a nice school and all the coaches were nice. Mike Sherman was a pretty nice guy.
“The second junior day I went to was the University of Texas. It was pretty big. It was a pretty nice school. All the coaches were nice. Coach Searels was a nice coach.
“I went to TCU this past Sunday and it’s a nice school. They’re building their stadium to make it seat more people on the home side and I didn’t know that. It was nice. They’re re-building their weight room from 800 square feet to 2,000 square feet. They’re just making the school like it’s brand new so that’s nice.
“At all the schools the thing that caught my eye was the weight rooms because all of them were big and getting bigger. I met some of the football players at all the schools and they’re all pretty cool, nice guys, and felt like I was part of the team when I went.”
His travels are not over either. Next week he plans to visit Texas Tech and this summer is looking to visit Oklahoma. He is keeping all his options even as he gets to know more about each of the schools who have offered.
When he does take visits, the facilities and everything are nice, but he is paying especially close attention to one thing in particular.
“Education-wise, I want to make sure everything is good because to me education comes first. Without education and not passing your classes you can’t play football. I’m a student-athlete,” he said. “I’m going to talk to my counselor here pretty soon to find out what I want to major in. I like working on computers and stuff so I might do that as a major.”
He considers his biggest strength on the playing field to be his work ethic and prides himself on going full speed all the time. Starts is being recruited by most at offensive tackle but Texas A&M has offered at defensive end. He does admit he likes defense, but “if coach wants me to play offense I’ll play offense. I’m just in it to put my team in the best position to win.”
Now for a little more on Texas. He has been keeping in regular contact with Texas offensive line coach Stacy Searels and the staff made a strong impression on him when he was in Austin.
“One guy I really talked to while I was down there was coach Searels,” Starts said. “He told me if I came down there he was going to treat me like I was his own son. To me when I was down there I felt like I was part of the family already. I met Mack Brown and got to talk to him. It was pretty nice. All the coaches were pretty nice.”
After his junior day visit there was talk of another trip down to Austin, and it may happen very very soon.
“My coaches told me this weekend they were having a practice and they would like me to come down,” he said. “So I’m going to talk to my dad and see if he wants to go or not.” (Howell)
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While in Waco today I also made it a point to stop by and talk to Waco University head coach Matt Carroll. I’ve been putting together a nice little list of 2013s and came across a big DT from University I was really intrigued by. His name is Ben Hughes and he is all of 6-3.5, 310 pounds.
He is a big boy and he played on both sides of the ball but mainly at DT. He is also quite the athlete. He ran the 110m hurdles up until his freshman year and recently squatted 585 pounds. He is also in powerlifting and at their next meet coaches think he could get 615 pounds. Now that’s some heavy lifting.
I’ll be the first to say when watching his tape he liked to stand straight up and he didn’t get his butt down and bend his knees very well, but he came off the ball, ate up space,fought through blocks, was often in the backfield making plays despite his technique. I’m very interested to see what he does in 2011 with a year of seasoning under his belt. I have a feeling we’ll see better form out of the big guy.
He plans to camp at Baylor this summer and he listed Baylor, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M as schools he was interested in right now.
Also the big man is taking care of business in the classroom and Carroll had high praise for him both on and off the field.
On another note I’ve really been impressed with the DT class of 2013. There are going to be some really good ones with Vincent Taylor (San Antonio Madison) already creating a buzz.(Howell)
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Starts is the one receiving the most attention right now at La Vega, but there are a few more coming up coaches believe have big time potential.
Running backs Devon Arnett (2014) and Randy Gober (2013) are names to keep an eye on. Gober is a solid 5-8, 185 and Arnett is a little bigger at 5-10, 160. (Howell)
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On Saturday San Antonio (Texas) East Central cornerback Nick Coleman was the only defensive back at the Texas junior day. It was his second Texas junior day and this time around he was able to watch the Longhorns Saturday practice.
“I watched coach Akina and the defensive backs most of the time and I was really impressed with their hip movement and their foot movement,” Coleman said
The visit also allowed him to sit down and really talk through some things with defensive back coach Duane Akina.
“Well, I was the only DB there so I got to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with him,” he said. He told me I’m among three other people who are being evaluated because they only have one more scholarship left,” Coleman said. “He said they’re taking it slow since it’s the last one. He said it’s going to be a pretty long evaluation process for the four of us. We just talked football and other things like that.”
He enjoyed the visit and is planning to attend the Houston junior day this weekend.
We also caught up with a couple of other prospects Texas has shown interest in.
West Orange-Stark cornerback Justin Thomas was also invited to the Texas junior day but was unable to show up due to a track meet. He already holds offers from Texas Tech and Houston, and when it comes to Texas it appears the two are still feeling each other out.
“They’ve been talking to my coaches and my coaches have been telling me they talked to the defensive back coach,” he said. “I really haven’t had a chance to talk to them.”
He says right now the schools he has the most interest in are the Texas schools in the Big 12 and OU with location, the coaches, and the conference being the main reason. As far as where Texas stands, it sounds pretty good right now.
“I’ve liked them for a long time,” Thomas said. “I’ve been a Longhorn fan since I was little and with Earl. They have a pretty good chance.”
Richardson (Texas) Pearce athlete Corey Coleman is also a target to keep an eye on. Texas has been keeping in touch with Coleman for quite some time with thoughts of him becoming a DB in Austin.
He did not make it to Austin on Saturday and as of Wednesday night had not talked to Texas since the weekend. When it comes to the recruiting process he is keeping an open mind, but…
“Right now it’s pretty much all even,” Coleman said. “I am looking at Baylor. I like Baylor. It’s a good school. I think the head coach is a pretty good guy and I like the coaching staff too.”
Athens, Texas athlete Kendall Sanders is another who could still be an option. He committed to Oklahoma St. and after contemplating whether or not to attend the Texas junior day decided against it. In fact he told one source he was done and going to Oklahoma St. There continues to be a little smoke here so we’ll continue to keep an eye on it, but at this point it’s looking like it’s not going to happen. (Howell)
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This evening Rivals.com Florida Recruiting Analyst Chris Nee reported Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep athlete Nelson Agholor received a Texas offer today.
The 6-2, 180-pound Agholar is thought to be one of the top prospects in Florida, maybe as high as No. 2 behind John Theus, and already has offers from many of the nation’s elite.
He is most likely headed for the receiver position on the college but could also end up at running back or defensive back.
Does Texas have a legit shot?
Right now USC appears to be the leader with Florida also having a good shot. He really like Urban Meyer and his staff when they were there. He does appear to be open at this point and willing to give everyone a look.
I would say he’s a longshot until Texas is able to get him on campus for a visit. (Howell)
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Plano West defender Bryce Cottrell has expressed an interest in Texas and reached out to the Longhorns. Texas viewed his film and liked what they saw and are planning to evaluate him during spring ball. They have also talked to him about attending a Texas spring practice. He is a 3-4 linebacker and it looks like Texas is looking at him as a 4-3 defensive end. This weekend he will be visiting Mississippi St. with Georgia and Tennessee showing interest. (Howell)
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Texas is now sitting at 13 commitments for the 2012 class and spots are filling up quickly. There are a few in-state prospects who hold offers from the Longhorns who have yet to commit a
Jonathan Gray, RB, Aledo
After a family meeting last night Gray named Texas, TCU, and Texas A&M as his top three. There is a lot of talk that Texas and TCU are his leaders, and depending on who you ask he is all but committed to one of the two. He is the Longhorns top priority at running back and they have made that clear and are not targeting another running back at this point. Gray has said he could make a summer decision, but it could be coming sooner than that. I like the Longhorn’s chances right now.
Chances of a commitment: Very good
Dominique Wheeler, WR, Crockett
Wheeler and Texas appear to have parted ways…at least for now. Barring some unforeseen change this one appears to be done.
Chances of a commitment: Very very very doubtful
Kennedy Estelle, OL, Pearland Dawson
The offers continue to roll in for the huge, athletic offensive tackle. There seems to be a lot of smoke around this one though with Texas thought to be the leader in the clubhouse. This one could come down the pipe soon and is one to watch.
Chances of a commitment: Likely
Michael Starts, OL, Waco La Vega
Starts is another prospect who is seeing offers roll in. He did not name any favorites and would like to get to know more about the schools recruiting him. That said, I got the feeling a couple times that Texas may have a slight edge in this one. That’s nothing more than my gut feeling, but there was thought he could commit at the first Texas junior day. He wants to take some visits this summer but if Estelle commits and Starts wants to be a Longhorn he may have to make a decision sooner.
Chances of a commitment: Good
Malcom Brown, DT, Brenham
Texas A&M has made their presence felt around Brenham and Brown has been an Aggie priority for a long, long time. He did make it to the Texas junior day last weekend, but this one still feels like Texas has some ground to cover.
Chances of a commitment: Doubtful
Javonte Magee, DL, San Antonio Sam Houston
Magee has not named a leader recently but Baylor, Texas A&M, and Texas appear to be the teams to watch. A&M has made a strong impression along with Baylor, and Texas has Quincy Russell in his ear. It sounds like Texas may need to make up a little bit of ground, but they are in the mix.
Chances of a commitment: All right
Mario Edwards, DE, Denton Ryan
Edwards is a top priority and he says he plans to take his official visits. The ties to Florida St. may be too tough for Texas to overcome but Edwards did make it down the day before the Texas junior day. There is a lot of smoke behind Florida St and I’m inclined to believe they have the inside track on this one. However, Texas is going to fight this one out and see if they can come out on top.
Chances of a commitment: a little less than all right, but not quite doubtful
Timothy Cole, LB, Brenham
As mentioned above Texas A&M has made their presence felt in Brenham, but if there is one the Longhorns have a good shot at grabbing it’s Cole. I’m thinking there is a fighting chance for the Longhorns on this one, but nothing out of Brenham will come easy in the 2012 class.
Chances of a commitment: Good
(Howell)
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In case you missed it, we had some pretty interesting football team notes earlier this week. A couple highlights …
Redshirt freshman John Harris has been getting first-team run at wide receiver and DeMarco Cobbs has spun down from safety to linebacker. For more news and notes,
click here.
This post was edited on 3/4 11:34 AM by Suchomel
This post was edited on 3/4 1:23 PM by Jason Howell
Let’s start things off with an update on two guys with outstanding offers from Texas, Brenham LB Malcom Brown.
I talked to Cole on Thursday night to get his thoughts and also picked up some notes of interest on Brown in talking to a few different sources.
On Brown, a guy who has long believed that Texas had virtually no chance of landing, some people we talked to this week do think the Horns have a puncher’s chance.
Brown has told several people this week that he really enjoyed the junior day visit to Texas last week, and he’s singled out his relationship with Bo Davis as something that stands out about the Longhorns. Brown has actually been wearing a burnt orange rubber bracelet this week and there’s some thought that UT’s defensive scheme could be giving Brown something to think about.
The state’s top defensive tackle has indicated to people since visiting UT that he likes the idea of playing in UT’s predominantly 4-3 alignment, which allows defensive tackles a type of freedom that Texas A&M’s 3-4 scheme does not.
What does it all mean for Texas? We still feel A&M is the team to beat, but Texas definitely gave Brown some things to think about on his visit to Austin last weekend. And, has been alluded to this week, this is a battle that the Horns really want to win for a number of reasons.
Of note, Brown lives with his uncle, who accompanied the blue-chip DT to Austin last weekend. Brown’s uncle is known to sport UT gear regularly, but we’ve been told he’s open to his nephew playing wherever he can find the best fit.
On Cole, he said on Thursday night that he’s not ready to say where he’ll wind up, but he does have an idea of which way he’s leaning.
Cole has limited his focus to Texas A&M and Texas, and he listed the positives of each …
Texas - “When I go to Texas, I like the facilities, the campus overall and the coaches. We’re really cool with coach Giles. We have a good relationship. At their practice, they’re a bunch of high energy guys. The defense, I loved it how they fly around. It’s kind of like our defense that I play in now.
Texas A&M - “The coaches, they all seem like not they’re acting like coaches, more like role models. I get that feeling when i talk to them. They’re regular working guys, trying to make their players great men.”
I asked Cole about the thought people have that he’ll wind up at Texas A&M largely because several of his Brenham teammates are set to attend college in College Station.
“That doesn't bother me. I feel like I need to be where it's where I feel most comfortable, not just because of other teammates are going there,” Cole said. “It might not be the best school for me. I have to look at each school, make sure I pick what's best for me.”
Cole said he and Brown plan to make a decision by the end of this month or in early April. We mentioned that Brown has been seen sporting a burnt orange rubber bracelet; Cole wears a UT lanyard to hold his school ID. Don’t get too excited …
“Don't take anything out of it. It’s just something that I was given and I like to wear,” Cole said. “People go overboard with that. If I wear anything college related, they think that's where I'm going. I’ve got a lot of college shirts and decide not to wear them. That’s why I just wear a lot of Brenham stuff.”
We’ll keep tabs on this one and while we still think Texas has some work to do, Texas did seem to close make up ground on A&M during the visit last weekend. (Suchomel)
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Some notes on tight end Griffin Gilbert’s situation after talking to Gilbert, his father and Lake Travis offensive coordinator Matt Green.
Gilbert has taken junior day visits to Texas (February 26), Texas Tech and TCU. Texas Tech and TCU extended official scholarships, as did Clemson (former Lake Travis head coach Chad Morris is now offensive coordinator at Clemson). Texas has extended a scholarship, but Gilbert said on Thursday night it could be as part of the 2012 class or as a greyshirt, which would put him as part of the 2013 class.
According to Gilbert, the younger brother of UT quarterback Garrett Gilbert, Texas has told him there’s a possibility it could be a greyshirt offer since UT already has seven scholarships on the roster and the primary focus right now is on recruiting other positions. If the numbers work themselves out via tight end attrition of with a small 2012 UT recruiting class, the scholarship process could be sped up. [Note: As a greyshirt, Griffin would enroll with the rest of the 2012 commitments but he’d pay his way for one semester before going on scholarship in the spring of his freshman year. Griffin said he’s planning to redshirt anyway so the possibility of greyshirting does not affect UT’s chances.]
Everything we’re hearing is that TCU has a really good chance of landing a commitment from the 6-5, 210-pound playmaker.
Griffin’s thoughts on what stands out among his four offers, the only four he’s considering ...
Clemson - “Definitely the success they've had in the program in the past. They’re in the ACC, which is a great conference. They play some really good teams. And with Coach Morris being there, that would be awesome to go play for him again. That would be great experience. On the internet, the campus seems to be really great. It’s a great college town. It would be an awesome place to go to. It seems like a lot of fun.”
Texas - “With Texas, my brother goes there. He’s told me nothing but good things about their program. I’ve always grown up around Austin and the program, I’ve always been a fan. But with all these schools, they're not any ahead of any other team. Their campus, I’ve always looked around it and always liked it. And the team, I’ve always looked around and liked it. I have a good relationship with the coaches. There are a lot of things good for Texas.”
TCU - "Their campus up there was unbelievable. I loved the junior day up there, the coaches were great to me. Ever since they offered me since I went up there, I've loved TCU. Being only three hours away from home, that's not a bad thing at all. Being a small school, I really like that and the success they've had in their program the past years is really good. It would be a good school to go to."
Texas Tech - “Going up there with Michael (Brewer) being up there, that would be awesome to play with him. Their coaches have been great to me. Texas Tech a great school. I love their coaches, coach (Neal Brown). I’ve talked to him a couple times. I really like them up there and it seems like it would be a fun offense to play in.”
Gilbert maintained that he has no leaders among his top four, and he said anyone who assumes he’ll automatically follow his brother’s footsteps to Texas is off the mark. 0 0
“I’m my own person, I have to go on my own path wherever it takes me, whether it’s Texas or any of the other three schools,” Gilbert said.
We’ll keep a close eye on this one in case it happens soon. Griffin continues to weigh his options, but keep an eye on TCU in this one. (Suchomel)
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Few players have drummed up more discussion this recruiting year than Athens athlete Kendall Sanders. One of the state’s top prospects, Sanders listed UT atop his list early but committed to Oklahoma State before he had yet to get a UT junior day invitation. Sanders then contemplated visiting Texas for its second junior day, only to cancel those plans at the last minute.
Don’t bury this one just yet. There’s talk out there that Texas would still welcome Sanders in for a visit if he wanted to check out the Forty Acres, but it may be upon Sanders to initiate the dialogue (Mack Brown does not like to recruit committed prospects).
Sanders told us on Thursday night he’d be very open to visiting UT this spring, but here’s the potential hang-up … he said he’ll wait to see if Texas reaches out to him first. We’ll see where this one moves in the coming weeks, if at all, but it’s worth monitoring. (Suchomel)
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Waco (Texas) La Vega standout Michael Starts is regarded as one of the state’s top prospects in the 2012 class, and already holds offers from the likes of Notre Dame, Michigan, Auburn, Texas Tech, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma.
He has been busy the last few weeks taking trips to college campuses and he has been impressed with what he saw.
“I went to Texas A&M first and it was a pretty nice school and pretty big,” Starts said. “The same day we went there was a track meet going on. We went inside the football practice facility and it was pretty big. It was a nice school and all the coaches were nice. Mike Sherman was a pretty nice guy.
“The second junior day I went to was the University of Texas. It was pretty big. It was a pretty nice school. All the coaches were nice. Coach Searels was a nice coach.
“I went to TCU this past Sunday and it’s a nice school. They’re building their stadium to make it seat more people on the home side and I didn’t know that. It was nice. They’re re-building their weight room from 800 square feet to 2,000 square feet. They’re just making the school like it’s brand new so that’s nice.
“At all the schools the thing that caught my eye was the weight rooms because all of them were big and getting bigger. I met some of the football players at all the schools and they’re all pretty cool, nice guys, and felt like I was part of the team when I went.”
His travels are not over either. Next week he plans to visit Texas Tech and this summer is looking to visit Oklahoma. He is keeping all his options even as he gets to know more about each of the schools who have offered.
When he does take visits, the facilities and everything are nice, but he is paying especially close attention to one thing in particular.
“Education-wise, I want to make sure everything is good because to me education comes first. Without education and not passing your classes you can’t play football. I’m a student-athlete,” he said. “I’m going to talk to my counselor here pretty soon to find out what I want to major in. I like working on computers and stuff so I might do that as a major.”
He considers his biggest strength on the playing field to be his work ethic and prides himself on going full speed all the time. Starts is being recruited by most at offensive tackle but Texas A&M has offered at defensive end. He does admit he likes defense, but “if coach wants me to play offense I’ll play offense. I’m just in it to put my team in the best position to win.”
Now for a little more on Texas. He has been keeping in regular contact with Texas offensive line coach Stacy Searels and the staff made a strong impression on him when he was in Austin.
“One guy I really talked to while I was down there was coach Searels,” Starts said. “He told me if I came down there he was going to treat me like I was his own son. To me when I was down there I felt like I was part of the family already. I met Mack Brown and got to talk to him. It was pretty nice. All the coaches were pretty nice.”
After his junior day visit there was talk of another trip down to Austin, and it may happen very very soon.
“My coaches told me this weekend they were having a practice and they would like me to come down,” he said. “So I’m going to talk to my dad and see if he wants to go or not.” (Howell)
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While in Waco today I also made it a point to stop by and talk to Waco University head coach Matt Carroll. I’ve been putting together a nice little list of 2013s and came across a big DT from University I was really intrigued by. His name is Ben Hughes and he is all of 6-3.5, 310 pounds.
He is a big boy and he played on both sides of the ball but mainly at DT. He is also quite the athlete. He ran the 110m hurdles up until his freshman year and recently squatted 585 pounds. He is also in powerlifting and at their next meet coaches think he could get 615 pounds. Now that’s some heavy lifting.
I’ll be the first to say when watching his tape he liked to stand straight up and he didn’t get his butt down and bend his knees very well, but he came off the ball, ate up space,fought through blocks, was often in the backfield making plays despite his technique. I’m very interested to see what he does in 2011 with a year of seasoning under his belt. I have a feeling we’ll see better form out of the big guy.
He plans to camp at Baylor this summer and he listed Baylor, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M as schools he was interested in right now.
Also the big man is taking care of business in the classroom and Carroll had high praise for him both on and off the field.
On another note I’ve really been impressed with the DT class of 2013. There are going to be some really good ones with Vincent Taylor (San Antonio Madison) already creating a buzz.(Howell)
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Starts is the one receiving the most attention right now at La Vega, but there are a few more coming up coaches believe have big time potential.
Running backs Devon Arnett (2014) and Randy Gober (2013) are names to keep an eye on. Gober is a solid 5-8, 185 and Arnett is a little bigger at 5-10, 160. (Howell)
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On Saturday San Antonio (Texas) East Central cornerback Nick Coleman was the only defensive back at the Texas junior day. It was his second Texas junior day and this time around he was able to watch the Longhorns Saturday practice.
“I watched coach Akina and the defensive backs most of the time and I was really impressed with their hip movement and their foot movement,” Coleman said
The visit also allowed him to sit down and really talk through some things with defensive back coach Duane Akina.
“Well, I was the only DB there so I got to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with him,” he said. He told me I’m among three other people who are being evaluated because they only have one more scholarship left,” Coleman said. “He said they’re taking it slow since it’s the last one. He said it’s going to be a pretty long evaluation process for the four of us. We just talked football and other things like that.”
He enjoyed the visit and is planning to attend the Houston junior day this weekend.
We also caught up with a couple of other prospects Texas has shown interest in.
West Orange-Stark cornerback Justin Thomas was also invited to the Texas junior day but was unable to show up due to a track meet. He already holds offers from Texas Tech and Houston, and when it comes to Texas it appears the two are still feeling each other out.
“They’ve been talking to my coaches and my coaches have been telling me they talked to the defensive back coach,” he said. “I really haven’t had a chance to talk to them.”
He says right now the schools he has the most interest in are the Texas schools in the Big 12 and OU with location, the coaches, and the conference being the main reason. As far as where Texas stands, it sounds pretty good right now.
“I’ve liked them for a long time,” Thomas said. “I’ve been a Longhorn fan since I was little and with Earl. They have a pretty good chance.”
Richardson (Texas) Pearce athlete Corey Coleman is also a target to keep an eye on. Texas has been keeping in touch with Coleman for quite some time with thoughts of him becoming a DB in Austin.
He did not make it to Austin on Saturday and as of Wednesday night had not talked to Texas since the weekend. When it comes to the recruiting process he is keeping an open mind, but…
“Right now it’s pretty much all even,” Coleman said. “I am looking at Baylor. I like Baylor. It’s a good school. I think the head coach is a pretty good guy and I like the coaching staff too.”
Athens, Texas athlete Kendall Sanders is another who could still be an option. He committed to Oklahoma St. and after contemplating whether or not to attend the Texas junior day decided against it. In fact he told one source he was done and going to Oklahoma St. There continues to be a little smoke here so we’ll continue to keep an eye on it, but at this point it’s looking like it’s not going to happen. (Howell)
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This evening Rivals.com Florida Recruiting Analyst Chris Nee reported Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep athlete Nelson Agholor received a Texas offer today.
The 6-2, 180-pound Agholar is thought to be one of the top prospects in Florida, maybe as high as No. 2 behind John Theus, and already has offers from many of the nation’s elite.
He is most likely headed for the receiver position on the college but could also end up at running back or defensive back.
Does Texas have a legit shot?
Right now USC appears to be the leader with Florida also having a good shot. He really like Urban Meyer and his staff when they were there. He does appear to be open at this point and willing to give everyone a look.
I would say he’s a longshot until Texas is able to get him on campus for a visit. (Howell)
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Plano West defender Bryce Cottrell has expressed an interest in Texas and reached out to the Longhorns. Texas viewed his film and liked what they saw and are planning to evaluate him during spring ball. They have also talked to him about attending a Texas spring practice. He is a 3-4 linebacker and it looks like Texas is looking at him as a 4-3 defensive end. This weekend he will be visiting Mississippi St. with Georgia and Tennessee showing interest. (Howell)
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Texas is now sitting at 13 commitments for the 2012 class and spots are filling up quickly. There are a few in-state prospects who hold offers from the Longhorns who have yet to commit a
Jonathan Gray, RB, Aledo
After a family meeting last night Gray named Texas, TCU, and Texas A&M as his top three. There is a lot of talk that Texas and TCU are his leaders, and depending on who you ask he is all but committed to one of the two. He is the Longhorns top priority at running back and they have made that clear and are not targeting another running back at this point. Gray has said he could make a summer decision, but it could be coming sooner than that. I like the Longhorn’s chances right now.
Chances of a commitment: Very good
Dominique Wheeler, WR, Crockett
Wheeler and Texas appear to have parted ways…at least for now. Barring some unforeseen change this one appears to be done.
Chances of a commitment: Very very very doubtful
Kennedy Estelle, OL, Pearland Dawson
The offers continue to roll in for the huge, athletic offensive tackle. There seems to be a lot of smoke around this one though with Texas thought to be the leader in the clubhouse. This one could come down the pipe soon and is one to watch.
Chances of a commitment: Likely
Michael Starts, OL, Waco La Vega
Starts is another prospect who is seeing offers roll in. He did not name any favorites and would like to get to know more about the schools recruiting him. That said, I got the feeling a couple times that Texas may have a slight edge in this one. That’s nothing more than my gut feeling, but there was thought he could commit at the first Texas junior day. He wants to take some visits this summer but if Estelle commits and Starts wants to be a Longhorn he may have to make a decision sooner.
Chances of a commitment: Good
Malcom Brown, DT, Brenham
Texas A&M has made their presence felt around Brenham and Brown has been an Aggie priority for a long, long time. He did make it to the Texas junior day last weekend, but this one still feels like Texas has some ground to cover.
Chances of a commitment: Doubtful
Javonte Magee, DL, San Antonio Sam Houston
Magee has not named a leader recently but Baylor, Texas A&M, and Texas appear to be the teams to watch. A&M has made a strong impression along with Baylor, and Texas has Quincy Russell in his ear. It sounds like Texas may need to make up a little bit of ground, but they are in the mix.
Chances of a commitment: All right
Mario Edwards, DE, Denton Ryan
Edwards is a top priority and he says he plans to take his official visits. The ties to Florida St. may be too tough for Texas to overcome but Edwards did make it down the day before the Texas junior day. There is a lot of smoke behind Florida St and I’m inclined to believe they have the inside track on this one. However, Texas is going to fight this one out and see if they can come out on top.
Chances of a commitment: a little less than all right, but not quite doubtful
Timothy Cole, LB, Brenham
As mentioned above Texas A&M has made their presence felt in Brenham, but if there is one the Longhorns have a good shot at grabbing it’s Cole. I’m thinking there is a fighting chance for the Longhorns on this one, but nothing out of Brenham will come easy in the 2012 class.
Chances of a commitment: Good
(Howell)
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In case you missed it, we had some pretty interesting football team notes earlier this week. A couple highlights …
Redshirt freshman John Harris has been getting first-team run at wide receiver and DeMarco Cobbs has spun down from safety to linebacker. For more news and notes,
click here.
This post was edited on 3/4 11:34 AM by Suchomel
This post was edited on 3/4 1:23 PM by Jason Howell
