Last weekend's Texas junior day was a great chance for the Longhorn coaches to get some one-on-one time with a number of uncommitted prospects and lay the foundation for those prospects. It was also a key opportunity for the UT coaches to meet with three of the Longhorns' four early commitments and answer any questions those players may have.
Arguably no visit was bigger than that of tight end Major Tennison, an early Texas commitment. The Bullard product has been pretty open that he's still evaluating other programs and he has some questions about the new direction of the Texas offense under offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert. Tennison and Gilbert talked during Saturday's junior day, and Tennison said he liked what he heard.
Key quote: "It was awesome. It was great to get to talk to the new coaches, get their insight on how they're going to use the tight ends. I got to hear everything I wanted to. It was just a great day," Tennison said. "I got to meet some of the other recruits, got to talk to Sam (Ehlinger) for a while, got to hang out with Damion (Miller) for a while. It was just a good time."
On his conversations with Gilbert: Tennison's biggest issue coming into the junior day was how the tight ends will be used in Texas' offense. As an athletic prospect who can make plays in the passing game, Tennison is hoping to hear that Texas will throw the ball to its tight ends, and that's exactly what he was told when he met with Gilbert.
"Definitely what I was hoping for, a lot of that they will use the tight end, and that it's not just rumors and whatnot. Really good stuff," Tennison said. "They're going to throw to the tight end, obviously use it for run and pass blocking like you should. Just like I wanted to hear - they will throw and not just be a straight blocker."
Locked into Texas now?: Prior to the junior day, Tennison told Orangebloods.com that he was still evaluating other college programs despite his Texas commitment. He's being upfront and open about it, and simply wants to explore a few other options while he waits to get a better handle on Texas' new offensive schemes.
Saturday's visit helped reel him in a bit for Texas, but Tennison is still keeping an open mind.
"I'm still keeping my eyes open, just looking around. But at the same time, everybody knows I love Texas, I love the Longhorns," Tennison said. "It really gave me a good feeling today getting to hear all that and talking to coaches."
One school that will likely be in line for a visit at some point is Michigan. The Wolverines have offered and Tennison said he'd like a chance to meet Jim Harbaugh. Alabama extended an offer on Monday night so that could be another program worth watching. Nebraska, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have also offered.
Recapping the junior day visit: One of the highlights for Tennison and just about every other recruit at UT's junior day was the experience in watching Texas knock off Oklahoma on the hardcourt. That game, along with the conversations with the UT staff, were what Tennison said he'll take away from the visit.
"Besides the epic basketball game, it was definitely getting to talk to coach Gilbert about how they're going to use the tight end," Tennison said. "Definitely that. It was great conversation. I felt very confident after we got done talking about it.
"He seems like a very confident guy, seems like he knows exactly what he's talking about. He's very smart. I've seen films of his past teams and they're very good, they do what he says they're going to do and that just gives me confidence in him."
East Texas connection: One ace up Texas' sleeve could be the presence of tight ends coach Jeff Traylor. Traylor and Tennison have struck up a good relationship thanks to each of them having East Texas roots, but it wasn't always that way.
"Being that I had to play against him (when Traylor was at Gilmer), I hated him for a while. But after he moved to Texas and I finally got to meet him in person, he's just a great down-to-earth guy, he doesn't throw any lies at you. It's 100 percent truth all the time," Tennison said. "I really respect that. He's an easy guy to talk to and get along with. It would be very easy to play for him and take criticism from him one day."
