Cliffs notes: Houston Lamar wide receiver Al’Vonte Woodard chose the Longhorns a few minutes ago, picking Texas over a final five schools that included LSU, Ole Miss, Ohio State and Texas A&M. He released his decision with a video on Youtube.
Rankings: Woodard is a four-star prospect and is ranked as the nation’s 38th best player overall. He’s the No. 8-ranked wide receiver prospect.
Evaluation: When you watch what Woodard puts on tape, he does a little bit of everything for Houston Lamar, and he does it all pretty well. He’s big enough and has enough speed that he can be a true outside receiver, but he’s also quick enough and at a shade over 6-feet, can be effective working out of the slot. For Lamar, Woodard is really good at stretching the field and getting behind defenders with his speed. In fact, he makes it look pretty easy. When I’ve seen him recently at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge and at The Opening, as one might expect, it hasn’t been quite as easy for Woodard to blow by defenders, but he’s still found ways to be pretty productive. Woodard uses his body well to get inside position, he has good hands and does a really good job of tracking the ball deep and making adjustments when necessary.
I’d describe Woodard in similar terms that I’ve used to describe someone like Keaontay Ingram – I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s dominant in any one phase (he’s not the biggest, not the fastest, not the best runner after the catch), but he’s is pretty damn good in all aspects of the position.
Wide receiver numbers – Woodard becomes the Longhorns’ second wide receiver commitment in the 2018 class, joining Rondale Moore. The two should be a nice complement for one another, with the undersized but ultra-fast Moore a true slot receiver whereas Woodard’s versatility should allow him to try his hand as an inside and outside receiver. Texas is still very much in the race for other receivers, including guys like Brennan Eagles, Terrace Marshall, Jaylen Waddle and Tommy Bush.
Early on, it looked like Texas would take four or possibly even five wide receiver commitments if the right guys wanted to come aboard. I’m still expecting the staff to take Eagles as an outside receiver and in a perfect world, someone like Waddle as another inside guy, but that may be a bit of a longshot as it stands right now.
