All in all, you'd have to say this weekend was a success for the Texas football team.
Let's add up the receipts real quick...
* Landed arguably the best prospect in the state of Missouri in Mookie Cooper, who would rank as a possible Top 10 level prospect in the state of Texas, and continues to establish that the Longhorns are going to be an absolute force as a national recruiting power in territories that have either been dormant or flat-out ignored for multiple decades.
* Put the third of five in-state puzzle pieces in place with the commitment of 2020 Porth Neches-Griove future four-star Jaylen Garth. With Garth, Jake Majors and Logan Parr in place, all that remains for Herb Hand's master plan to come together is two final pieces.
* Brought in 14 state Top 100 prospects over the course of the last two days, including possible five-star 2020 defensive back Bryson Washington out of Houston King.
* Brought in a number of early critical in-state targets in the 2021 recruiting class,
It wasn't the kind of weekend to remember for all-time, but it served its purpose more than pretty well, as a weekend like this is about big-picture brick-laying for numerous players in multiple classes. As I've outlined quite a few times, in order to land the elite of the elite prospects, you simply must get them on campus at least a half-dozen times during the recruiting process.
A guy like Washington will be a headliner on some school's commitment list and with the Longhorns already serving as a favorite to land his signature, Tom Herman and his coaching staff were able to get one-on-one time on their turf. It's invaluable.
No. 2 - That Dallas problem in recruiting ...
Ok, maybe we shouldn't call it a problem if for no other reason than Texas coach Tom Herman would scoff at such a notion.
Still, no matter how you shape it, Herman's history as a recruiter in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex is as historically limited as any third-year head coach in the history of the Texas program, as he averages about a kid from that area per year in his five seasons as a head coach at both Houston and Texas. I'm sure there's no need to beat the dead corpse of a topic into the ground with a stick too much, but considering the rapid pace that suddenly belongs to the 2020 class, it seemed like a good idea to at least set some expectations for the topic over the course of the next 300+ days or so.
In putting the finishing touches on the latest update to the 2020 Lone Star Recruiting Top 100 list, the importance of the area in the context of 2020 in-state recruiting was fairly emphatic, as four of the top 10, 11 of the top 20 and 17 of the top 34 prospects belong to the vast Metroplex areas.
Translation: it's a damn good year in the area that Herman has proven the least as a recruiter.
So, let's break it all down. Here's a list of those 17 players ranked inside of the top 34 as things currently stand (bolded players are uncommitted).:
6. Lancaster defensive back Lorando Johnson
7. Southlake Carroll defensive back RJ Mickens
8. Cedar Hill Trinity Christian defensive back Dwight McGlothern
10. Denton Ryan athlete Drew Sanders (committed to Oklahoma)
12. Duncanville safety Chris Thompson
13. Keller Central wide receiver Davon Graham (committed to Oklahoma)
15. Prosper offensive lineman Jake Majors (committed to Texas)
16. Carrollton Hebron safety Darius Snow
18. Rockwall wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (committed to Ohio State)
19. Dallas Jesuit running back EJ Smith
20. Duncanville athlete Ja'Quinden Jackson
24. Mesquite Poteet running back Seth McGowan
25. Highland Park defensive end Prince Dorbah
26. Dallas Carter defensive end Branard Wright
30. Cedar Hill defensive tackle Courtland Ford (committed to LSU)
31. Frisco Lone Star wide receiver Marvin Mims
34. Dallas Bishop Dunne linebacker Brennan Scott
Of the five players that have already committed, the Longhorns have landed a commitment from the area's top offensive lineman, which represents a nice win for Texas, while helping fortify the 2020 class’s foundation of highly-skilled line prospects.
With the 12 prospects that remain on the list above as uncommitted, the Longhorns aren't really involved with five of them - (No. 6) Johnson, (No. 7) Mickens, (No. 19) Smith), (No. 26) Wright and (No. 31) Mims.
That leaves (No. 8) McGlothern, (No. 12) Thompson, (No. 16) Snow, (No. 20) Jackson), (No. 24) McGowan, (No. 25) Dorbah and (No. 34) Scott as the most prominent prospects from the region that the Longhorns have offered so far in the 2020 class, although (No. 43) Irving Ranchview quarterback Michael Henderson, (No. 50) WestMesquite running back Ty Jordan, (No. 58) Arlington athlete Jahari Rogers, (No. 60) Little Elm cornerback Ryan Watts and (No. 63) Mansfield Timberview cornerback Jalen Kimber also have offers, which leaves a total of 12 remaining prospects for us to judge success and failure from in this class.
From this group of players, the Longhorns are probably the betting favorite for Thompson, Jackson and Jordan, while they are probably in the top two or three for McGlothern, Snow, McGowan, Dorbah, Scott, Rogers, Watts and Kimber.
Landing Thompson and Jackson alone would represent quite a nice Metroplex coup for the Longhorns, especially when combined with Majors. If they can ping a couple of others from the list, we'd be talking about 20 percent of the 2020 class hailing from the Metroplex. However, if the Longhorns don't close the deal with the Duncanville pair, it's also possible that Texas might walk away with only one commitment from the Metroplex that ranks as a truly elite prospect.
Maybe Herman is right. Maybe the Longhorns don't have a Metroplex problem. What happens with Thompson and Jackson might tell us all we need to know.
No. 3 - Random Recruiting Scattershots ...
... My general rule of thumb is that you want to get every elite in-state prospect on your recruiting board on campus at least a half-dozen times if you want to land him. Potential five-star defensive back Bryson Washington has to be close to that number and it's not even March. Just be patient because the tea leaves are screaming burnt orange on this one.
... If new commit Mookie Cooper played his high school ball in the state of Texas, we'd be talking about a top-10 level type in-state talent. I compared him to Duke Thomas the other day, but the name Nathan Vasher rolled around in my head as well.
... The player panel at Saturday's recruiting event included Sam Ehlinger, Brandon Jones and Bru McCoy. With Ehlinger and Jones surely headed for captain status this season, it says a lot about what the coaches think of McCoy to have him included in that kind of company.
... Bryan Carrington liked this Tweet on Sunday.
No. 4 - Battle between the scenes ...
In case you missed it over the weekend, there was a subtle game of mess-talking on social media between members of the Texas and Oklahoma support staffs.
In the aftermath of a Texas Junior Day, an event that featured the commitment of hotshot Missouri prospect Mookie Cooper, Oklahoma recruiting analyst Chip Viney responded with some public low-key shade.
What I found interesting about Viney coming after Carrington is that Viney is supposed to be the OU version of Carrington, but I have to confess I've never heard of the dude. Not only do I not remember any recruit of substance ever mentioning his name in a story, but I don't recall anyone ever talking about him on Orangebloods.
A search on the Orangebloods message boards will show that other than the post that was made on the day of his hire last summer (August 1), his name had been mentioned exactly one time between the day he was hired and Sunday. While his name was listed, his presence wasn't standout worthy.
While the program he works for has a bunch of championships, Viney pales in comparison to Carrington when it comes to be an impact presence in the world of recruiting. It made Carrington's response to him all that more on point.
Don't hate the playa, Chip, hate the game.
No. 5 - Living game to game ...
Shaka Smart and Co. handled their business this weekend against Oklahoma State to move to 15-11 and seemingly into a safer position as it relates to making the NCAA Tournament, but with five games to go the stress won't be going down any time soon.
The Longhorns have an entire week off before heading to Norman for what would appear to be a very winnable against a hot and cold Sooners team, but winning on the road in the Big 12 is such a bear that the smart money is almost certainly on Texas losing that game. A few days later, the Longhorns play in Waco. A week later, Texas plays in Lubbock. Add in remaining home games against Iowa State and TCU and ... and ... I just don't know.
This is a team that's playing pretty decent basketball in Big 12 play, as evidenced by the fact that the largest margin of defeat in conference play is seven points. In one of the toughest leagues in the nation, the Longhorns are always competitive at worst. If this team hadn't dumped games against the likes of Radford, VCU and Providence at home, we'd be talking about an 18-8 team and a top-five type seed going into the Big Dance.
Even as it plays good basketball heading into March, this team is haunted by its sins in December, sins that turned this entire season into the fog.
Like I said, I just don't know.
No. 6 - Say what you want about the Longhorn Network ...
I've never missed it more than I did this weekend when trying to watch the Texas baseball team. Everything about it was just of a lesser variety/standard.
We often take things for granted in this world in which we live and I have to believe the LHN falls into this category for some. I definitely take for granted being able to watch 75 percent of this team's games over the cable subscription airwaves. It might not do everything right, but being reminded of how the other half lives was a reminder of how much it does actually get right.
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
BUY or SELL: Horns get at least 2 graduate transfers?
(Sell) I'm going to say that the Longhorns get one offensive line transfer, but not two.
BUY or SELL: Although Texas is now signing some tremendously talented recruits, there’s a diamond in the rough preferred walk on that makes an impact in the next few years (ala Hunter Renfrow)?
(Sell) Guys like Hunter Renfrow are needles in a haystack and I'm not going to bet that a needle like Renfrow falls out of the sky and into a similar prominent role.
BUY or SELL: OU loses 3 regular season games next year?
(Sell) I think the Sooners are going to be really good ... again.
BUY or SELL: Zach Evans gets tired of the recruiting game and shuts it down before his senior season and becomes bell cow for Texas?
(Sell) I'll admit that the thought has crossed my mind, but I don't think we're at that point just yet. That being said, Texas is in a very good position.
BUY or SELL: One of Jake Smith, Jordan Whittington or Bru McCoy scores the first TD of the season?
(Sell) Give me either Collin Johnson through the air or Sam Ehlinger on the ground.
BUY or SELL: You’d bet a paycheck that Texas makes the playoff in 2019?
(Sell) Not unless I'm getting some very good odds.
BUY or SELL: Aggroids will put SEC west conference runner ups on their stadium along with all the other bogus accomplishments?
(Buy) They haven't already done this?
BUY or SELL: Justin Flowe chooses the good guys, being our California spokesperson this recruiting cycle, ala Floyd last year?
(Buy) I'm going to step out on the limb.
BUY or SELL: Herb Hand is more important to the program than Todd Orlando right now (in other words, losing him would be more of a setback in several phases of the program)?
(Sell) It's very close, though, which speaks to the value of Hand to the Texas program. I gave it a lot of thought and eventually decided that Orlando is still the most important coach on the staff.
BUY or SELL: Texas signs the top offensive line group in the country for 2020?
(Sell) Top five, yes.
BUY or SELL: You can only have one chip for the rest of your life. That chip is original Cheetos?
(Sell) Push comes to shove, give me a bag of these.
No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
... I didn't watch a single second of the NBA three-point contest and dunk contest. It's just not my jam any more.
... I'd tank for R.J. Barrett. No question.
... Bryce Harper to Philly ... it happens this week. I can feel it.
... I miss writing about Jordan Speith kicking ass on the Tour.
... Call me crazy, but it's hard for me to see an NFL team giving a high-end draft pick for Antonio Brown, who turns 31 years old before the start of next season.
... Real Madrid might be the weirdest team in Europe. They don't look like champions and yet, you can't quite shut the door on them in the Champions League.
... As a Liverpool fan, consider me incredibly anxious with 10 days between games and Bayern Munich and Manchester United looming in the coming week.
No. 9 - The List: With the 2019 Oscars just days away ...
I've seen almost every movie nominated for a major award. Here's how I would rank them heading into next week's big night.
Best Picture:
1. A Star Is Born
2. The Favourite
3. Roma
4. BlacKkKlansman
5. Vice
6. Black Panther
7. Green Book
8. Bohemian Rhapsody
Lead Actor:
1. Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
2. Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
3. Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
4. Christian Bale, “Vice”
5. Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”
Lead Actress:
1. Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
2. Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
3. Glenn Close, “The Wife”
4. Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Unseen: Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Supporting Actor:
1. Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
2. Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
3. Sam Rockwell, “Vice”
4. Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Unseen: Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Supporting Actress:
1. Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
2. Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”
3. Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
4. Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”.
5. Amy Adams, “Vice”
Director:
1. Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
2. Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
3. Adam McKay, “Vice”
4. Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Unseen: Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
No. 10 – And Finally ...
Stay tuned. Its arrival is near.
