Best moment
There weren’t any real positive surprises for Texas on Wednesday, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Longhorns have laid the foundation for what will be a fantastic 2019 recruiting class. Sure, missing on two nationally-televised running back announcements was a bitter pill to swallow, but Texas fans need to remind themselves that this is still a class that features incredible talents like Jordan Whittington, Jake Smith, and Tyler Johnson, three Rivals100 members that could have literally picked any school in the country.
While Texas didn’t win out on all of the prospects it was hoping would commit this week, Wednesday went off without any real negative drama for the Longhorns and the guys who were expected to sign their letters of intent all did so on or ahead of schedule.
Best moment part II
Just when it looked like Texas might have to scramble to find offensive linemen to add to the class for the February signing date, things appear to have taken a turn with Sugarland Dulles talent Isaiah Hookfin.
Coming into last weekend’s Texas official visit, most felt the Longhorns were the clear team to beat but it was a much closer race than anyone realized. In fact, things began shifting Baylor’s direction early this week and as of Wednesday morning, Hookfin was all set to sign with the Bears. On Wednesday afternoon, he announced that he had pushed back his signing. In arguably the more interesting story of the day, it looks like Texas could once again be surging here and close to adding a key offensive line component to the recruiting class.
Still work to do
The Longhorn staff continues to work on Hookfin, and Texas will have to fight until February to hold onto the commitment of Houston North Forest standout Javonne Shepherd.
Shepherd informed OB on Wednesday morning that he would not be signing during the early window, and he’s planning to take a Texas A&M official visit on January 11. Here’s the kicker though … the Aggies’ class is close to full and they’re still after a few other prospects as well, so this one does have some moving parts.
As always with Shepherd, I won’t count anything as being “done” until his letter of intent is actually sent in.
Worst moment
If we’re going to talk about the day’s best moments, we have to point out the one negative as well.
The Longhorns came oh so close to landing Rivals100 running back Noah Cain, only to see the IMG Academy standout side with Penn State at the last minute. Texas closed strong and it was a dead heat coming down the stretch, but Cain decided to go with Penn State, the team most had pegged as the leader about a week ago before the Longhorns made a late surge.
Texas wants a second back in this class to pair with Derrian Brown – a very good player who’s probably not getting the respect he deserves – and the Longhorns missing on their top running back targets this week will force the staff to evaluate other options. Landing Cain would have given this class a huge boost.
Silver lining
If there is one benefit (or two) to missing out on Cain, it’s that five-star running back Trey Sanders did select Alabama, which could put Katy running back Deondrick Glass in play if that’s the route the staff decides to go. Had Sanders sided with Georgia, there was a chance that Bama would put the pressure on Glass and the Tide may have been tough to beat.
Stan Drayton did see Glass during the recent contact period and Glass has told OB he’ll take an official visit to Texas in January. If Texas can in fact get him on campus and show the types of opportunity he’ll have in this offense, it wouldn’t be a shock at all to see the Longhorns rocket up Glass’s list. Glass is a strong academic and character guy too, so he’d fit in well with the culture at Texas.
One other potential silver lining to watch if we’re projecting more than a year in advance … Texas’ running back room will have some open seats in it next year, which should give the Longhorns a terrific sales pitch to present to the 2020 backs. Zachary Evans would have to be licking his chops at the opportunity to come in and be a major contributor from the day he steps on campus.
LBs load up
Texas had a big need at the linebacker position this year and not only did the Longhorns load up during the early signing period, they grabbed four talented linebackers with a lot of versatility.
De'Gabriel Floyd, one of UT’s earliest commitments and most vocal supporters, is coming in with the mindset that he’ll play at the Rover spot but with his frame, he’s a guy who could also help out on the inside. He’s the type of talent that will find his way into the rotation sooner rather than later.
Caleb Johnson, who just committed this week, is a lightning rod who can track down plays from sideline to sideline. Very Gary Johnson-esque. Johnson comes in with a little more than one season of JUCO ball under his belt so he has some experience. He’ll have four years to play three seasons at Texas.
David Gbenda is a bit undersized by traditional standards, but he’s a player who is expecting to play on the inside, where his quickness and ability to slide off blocks should make him a valuable commodity in today’s world of spread offenses.
Marcus Tillman has played all over the field at the high school level, as both a DB and a linebacker. He feels he thrives on the outside, where he can pin his ears back and get to the passer or drop into coverage if necessary. Others feel he could slide inside and be equally effective.
WRs load up too
Drew Mehringer signed a very good group of four receivers, including a couple “athlete” types who are as talented as any players Texas signed.
Jake Smith is a dynamo who will be an immediate weapon as a slot receiver, as a guy who can take carries out of the backfield or on jet sweeps, and be a threat in special teams. A case can be made that Jordan Whittington is the pound-for-pound best player that Texas signed, while Marcus Washington and Kennedy Lewis are both players who will present match-ups issues on the outside with their size.
Texas and OU atop the Big 12
As is the norm, Texas and Oklahoma were the runaway leaders in the Big 12 during the first day of the early signing period.
OU’s 21-man haul has the Sooners sitting at No. 6 in the Rivals team rankings, while Texas’ 22-man haul has the Longhorns perched at No. 8. In order to find the No. 3 team in the conference, you have to scroll all the way down to No. 29, where TCU lands.
