Offensive lineman Remington Strickland has seen his stock blow up of late, with offers from programs like Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M, Michigan and Virginia Tech coming in within the last few weeks. For Strickland, a 6-4, 294-pounder out of Fort Bend Baptist, it’s been nice to see his hard work in the off-season paying off.
“It’s just really been great to be able to get the Power 5 recognition I’ve always wanted,” Strickland said. “I’ve been putting in the work, so it’s nice to get that recognition.”
Strickland has been in talks with Texas offensive line coach Herb Hand for several months. He and Hand were doing zoom meetings back in the summer, and on Thursday of last week, Hand extended a scholarship offer.
“I’ve been talking to him for a while. He just said he was finally able to pull the trigger,” Strickland said. “He said he has an open spot, he liked my tape and was excited to be able to offer me.”
With so much new interest from a number of different schools, Strickland has had to hit the reset button on his recruitment. At one time, he had hoped to commit before his senior season started. Now he’s slowing things down a bit and wants to take some self-guided tours of different campuses and cities. He’ll start things off next weekend with a trip to Oklahoma and has a few others he’s like to see as well.
“Texas and Baylor would be good ones. If possible, I’d like to see Virginia Tech,” Strickland said. “That’s kind of ways off but I’d like to get there if I can.”
A timeline for a commitment is undecided. Strickland said if he visits a campus and falls in love, he could commit soon and sign in December. If new offers continue to come in, or if he feels he needs to do more research, he’ll wait to sign until February. Texas is a school that Strickland said will draw strong consideration.
“Texas is actually very high up for me,” Strickland said. “I really like Hand, all the guys he’s put in the NFL, like Connor Williams. Texas is pretty high for me. I like Tom Herman a lot, like Texas a lot.”
When it comes time to decide, Strickland said he’ll have a few factors that will be important for him. Mostly it will be about his general comfort level, and each school’s academic reputation will also play a part.
“I would say academics are definitely very high f or me. Also a place where I like the coaching staff a lot, can really fit in and feel like home,” Strickland said. “I feel like anywhere I go, I’m going to have to face competition, so playing time is just a matter of me competing.”
