Here are a few notes from the last two days of Texas satellite camps:
- The Houston camp was a complete waste of time, money and resources for all involved on the Texas side - that includes both the media and the Longhorns football staff.
- The issue in Houston was a lack of promotion. The camp was held in cooperation with Houston Baptist University, who seemingly did not do a thing to promote the event. This was evident in the fact that an address or any details of anything regarding the camp was unfindable online. (I would know as I showed up at Houston Baptist for a camp taking place on the other side of the metro-area at Klein Memorial; we had to contact someone on the Texas staff to let us know where it was.)
- Recent DE offer Kenneth Murray was supposed to show up to attend the camp but not workout, but he wasn't able to make it due to family restrictions. Murray is a Charlie Strong kind of kid and I think Texas will be in it for him until the end.
- The uselessness of the Houston camp this year should not keep the staff from continuing to go there in the future, but doing another one with HBU organizing should be 100% out of the question. When it is technically their camp, Texas cannot promote it; and HBU has now shown they are not a match to work with Texas like this.
- The Dallas camp was much, much better, despite the disaster that is IH-45 North through the Corsicana area which threatened to make me late arriving from Houston.
- From check-in, you could tell that the level of athlete was much better and the Texas coaches seemed more happy and in their element. The event was run cleanly from start to finish by ShowTyme, a company that runs, organizes and (most importantly) promotes the living s--- out of its camps. Boston College also had coaches in attendance, but it was clear that this was a Texas camp.
- The story of the day was 2018 DL Bobby "Tre" Brown who I told Suchomel after the camp to be on immediate offer-watch for. I think my exact statement was "it's just a matter of when, not if." It turns out the offer came very early on Saturday morning. Even among so many talented (and usually older) campers, the 15-year-old Brown stood out like a sore thumb. At 6-4 and 265 pounds, Brown has crazy feet and unreal speed to go with a slender-yet-substantial frame. Brown ran a 4.65 40-time at Texas A&M's camp last week. When I was asked by other reporters who I thought the best player at the entire camp was, Brown was an easy answer to give. In speaking with his parents, it's clear that Texas is a big offer for him. His stock will blow up, but this is another kid Texas seems to have gotten in on early enough to make a big-time impression.
- The other player who I was most impressed by at the Dallas camp was a little bit lesser-known in 2018 WR Jarek Broussard from Richardson High School. He doesn't have a profile on any of the recruiting sites yet, but that is guaranteed to change soon enough. He's a somewhat smaller WR but is still growing and has big enough hands and long enough legs to make you think he'll fill out in a mold similar to Desean Jackson or Will Fuller. He was un-coverable and caught every single ball that came within his reach and a few that didn't. His tracking ability to the football coupled with a natural wiggle and third-gear to get over the top of high-quality DBs at the camp was uncanny. You know a stud whenever all the other players always stop what they're doing to watch his reps and get excited when he inevitably does something sick. That's how some of the other receiver campers acted about Jarek Broussard. Get him on your radar. His HUDL tapes show him as an RB (which certainly shows his elusiveness both through traffic and in open-space), but his future is at receiver, and not as a "gadget" slot receiver for speed-sweeps either. A true, outside receiver who'll burn folks.
Some other notes on players who caught my attention:
2017 TE/WR/H-Back Kenny Nelson (Frisco Centennial) - I can only assume this player must have grade issues or isn't marketing himself well because there is absolutely no reason this sort of potential mismatch should only have offers from Jackson State and Lamar. Nelson profiles as move/split/receiving TE or H-back hybrid-type. At 6-3 and 220 pounds, he can create natural separation with his size and just reminds you of the basketball-to-football-type of tight end who can box linebackers and safeties out to frame the football. Can't ever see him being an inline player. (HUDL LINK CLICK HERE)
2018 LB Alston Orji (Rockwall HS) - What a beast. High school teammates with Chris Warren, he has a little brother who's a 2019 prospect that's just as good looking a young man. Like Tre Brown, Orji is a player I left the camp convinced Texas will be offering at some point. Orji says Texas has not talked to him about what position they see him at, but that he's comfortable at both the mike and the will. Orji has a ton of good offers already, but said if Texas were to get involved, they would be right there at the top. (HUDL LINK CLICK HERE) SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: As expected, Orji was offered. Texas should be considered right at the top of his list.
2017 WR Judah Bell (Bishop Gorman) - Tall and lanky, I figured for sure that Bell was a player with more big-time offers. He's a little bit lumbering coming in and out of his breaks and is not going to burn you down the field, but has long arms and is a natural snatcher of the football. (HUDL LINK CLICK HERE)
2017 DE Dayo Odeyingbo (Carollton Ranchview) - The ultimate "walk-up warrior" during registration of the whole camp, Odeyingbo would turn heads in just about any room or situation he walked into due to his extremely long and cat-like 6-5, 245-pound frame. It looks ripe to fill out to about 280 to 290. Odeyingbo has good feet and shows good hand-work and precision for such a lanky young man who's still growing into his big body and paws. As I was leaving the camp yesterday, I told Jason that Tre Brown, Alston Orji and Dayo Odeyingbo were the three players to monitor the most closely for possible immediate offers. I'm 100% sure he made a great impression on the Texas staff. (HUDL LINK CLICK HERE)
2017 DB Speedy Green - I've always had a soft spot for Green as he's a player I've gotten to know through his recruitment - and I've always admired his attitude and ability to flourish in a camp setting, doing new drills and taking instructions from strangers, all the while being deaf. As usual, Green was one of the standout DBs of the camp. I'm not sure what impression he made on the Texas coaches, but I have little doubt he'll come out of the camp with a Boston College offer. The BC DBs coach basically worked with Green exclusively during one-on-one's, coaching him up on technique and giving the kind of attention that no other players were receiving. Green's best ability is his instinctual reaction to breaking to the catch-point. He's a disruptive menace with simply outstanding read-and-react quicks. (HUDL LINK CLICK HERE)
Texas MUST invade New Orleans next summer
Whoever has gotten in Charlie Strong's ear to make him think that the high school football coaches in the state of Texas will collectively act like a bunch of scorned lovers should UT camp outside the Lone Star State is doing the program a disservice.
The Houston satellite camp was a complete waste. The reason the Dallas camp was so much better was because a company like ShowTyme was running it, and take it from me, they know how to promote. Hell, they sent me a tweet seemingly every single day for a month leading up to the event with an image of the camp poster. This effort paid off in a big way for Texas, as the coaches were able to be in their element among high-level prospects. Furthermore, they were free of logistical and organizational issues and left to just evaluate and coach the camp.
In speaking with the people at ShowTyme, it is clear that the company's connections in New Orleans are every bit as strong as they are in Dallas. In fact, the event organizer even told me previously that he was trying and trying to get Strong to do a camp in NOLA because he knows it would be absolutely bananas.
My opinion is that Charlie Strong is a man who takes a measured approach to things and doesn't dive into many football endeavors in a willy-nilly fashion. This was Strong's first year doing satellite camps, and the Houston and Dallas events basically symbolized him dipping his toe in the water. I believe, now that he's developed a relationship with the folks at ShowTyme and built a little bit of trust there in the wake of a successful event, that he'll listen to their pleas to take this show to the Big Easy next year.
Any Texas high school coach that's going to cry into his pillow over something like this is probably one you don't want to deal with, anyway.
- The Houston camp was a complete waste of time, money and resources for all involved on the Texas side - that includes both the media and the Longhorns football staff.
- The issue in Houston was a lack of promotion. The camp was held in cooperation with Houston Baptist University, who seemingly did not do a thing to promote the event. This was evident in the fact that an address or any details of anything regarding the camp was unfindable online. (I would know as I showed up at Houston Baptist for a camp taking place on the other side of the metro-area at Klein Memorial; we had to contact someone on the Texas staff to let us know where it was.)
- Recent DE offer Kenneth Murray was supposed to show up to attend the camp but not workout, but he wasn't able to make it due to family restrictions. Murray is a Charlie Strong kind of kid and I think Texas will be in it for him until the end.
- The uselessness of the Houston camp this year should not keep the staff from continuing to go there in the future, but doing another one with HBU organizing should be 100% out of the question. When it is technically their camp, Texas cannot promote it; and HBU has now shown they are not a match to work with Texas like this.
- The Dallas camp was much, much better, despite the disaster that is IH-45 North through the Corsicana area which threatened to make me late arriving from Houston.
- From check-in, you could tell that the level of athlete was much better and the Texas coaches seemed more happy and in their element. The event was run cleanly from start to finish by ShowTyme, a company that runs, organizes and (most importantly) promotes the living s--- out of its camps. Boston College also had coaches in attendance, but it was clear that this was a Texas camp.
- The story of the day was 2018 DL Bobby "Tre" Brown who I told Suchomel after the camp to be on immediate offer-watch for. I think my exact statement was "it's just a matter of when, not if." It turns out the offer came very early on Saturday morning. Even among so many talented (and usually older) campers, the 15-year-old Brown stood out like a sore thumb. At 6-4 and 265 pounds, Brown has crazy feet and unreal speed to go with a slender-yet-substantial frame. Brown ran a 4.65 40-time at Texas A&M's camp last week. When I was asked by other reporters who I thought the best player at the entire camp was, Brown was an easy answer to give. In speaking with his parents, it's clear that Texas is a big offer for him. His stock will blow up, but this is another kid Texas seems to have gotten in on early enough to make a big-time impression.
- The other player who I was most impressed by at the Dallas camp was a little bit lesser-known in 2018 WR Jarek Broussard from Richardson High School. He doesn't have a profile on any of the recruiting sites yet, but that is guaranteed to change soon enough. He's a somewhat smaller WR but is still growing and has big enough hands and long enough legs to make you think he'll fill out in a mold similar to Desean Jackson or Will Fuller. He was un-coverable and caught every single ball that came within his reach and a few that didn't. His tracking ability to the football coupled with a natural wiggle and third-gear to get over the top of high-quality DBs at the camp was uncanny. You know a stud whenever all the other players always stop what they're doing to watch his reps and get excited when he inevitably does something sick. That's how some of the other receiver campers acted about Jarek Broussard. Get him on your radar. His HUDL tapes show him as an RB (which certainly shows his elusiveness both through traffic and in open-space), but his future is at receiver, and not as a "gadget" slot receiver for speed-sweeps either. A true, outside receiver who'll burn folks.
Some other notes on players who caught my attention:
2017 TE/WR/H-Back Kenny Nelson (Frisco Centennial) - I can only assume this player must have grade issues or isn't marketing himself well because there is absolutely no reason this sort of potential mismatch should only have offers from Jackson State and Lamar. Nelson profiles as move/split/receiving TE or H-back hybrid-type. At 6-3 and 220 pounds, he can create natural separation with his size and just reminds you of the basketball-to-football-type of tight end who can box linebackers and safeties out to frame the football. Can't ever see him being an inline player. (HUDL LINK CLICK HERE)
2018 LB Alston Orji (Rockwall HS) - What a beast. High school teammates with Chris Warren, he has a little brother who's a 2019 prospect that's just as good looking a young man. Like Tre Brown, Orji is a player I left the camp convinced Texas will be offering at some point. Orji says Texas has not talked to him about what position they see him at, but that he's comfortable at both the mike and the will. Orji has a ton of good offers already, but said if Texas were to get involved, they would be right there at the top. (HUDL LINK CLICK HERE) SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: As expected, Orji was offered. Texas should be considered right at the top of his list.
2017 WR Judah Bell (Bishop Gorman) - Tall and lanky, I figured for sure that Bell was a player with more big-time offers. He's a little bit lumbering coming in and out of his breaks and is not going to burn you down the field, but has long arms and is a natural snatcher of the football. (HUDL LINK CLICK HERE)
2017 DE Dayo Odeyingbo (Carollton Ranchview) - The ultimate "walk-up warrior" during registration of the whole camp, Odeyingbo would turn heads in just about any room or situation he walked into due to his extremely long and cat-like 6-5, 245-pound frame. It looks ripe to fill out to about 280 to 290. Odeyingbo has good feet and shows good hand-work and precision for such a lanky young man who's still growing into his big body and paws. As I was leaving the camp yesterday, I told Jason that Tre Brown, Alston Orji and Dayo Odeyingbo were the three players to monitor the most closely for possible immediate offers. I'm 100% sure he made a great impression on the Texas staff. (HUDL LINK CLICK HERE)
2017 DB Speedy Green - I've always had a soft spot for Green as he's a player I've gotten to know through his recruitment - and I've always admired his attitude and ability to flourish in a camp setting, doing new drills and taking instructions from strangers, all the while being deaf. As usual, Green was one of the standout DBs of the camp. I'm not sure what impression he made on the Texas coaches, but I have little doubt he'll come out of the camp with a Boston College offer. The BC DBs coach basically worked with Green exclusively during one-on-one's, coaching him up on technique and giving the kind of attention that no other players were receiving. Green's best ability is his instinctual reaction to breaking to the catch-point. He's a disruptive menace with simply outstanding read-and-react quicks. (HUDL LINK CLICK HERE)
Texas MUST invade New Orleans next summer
Whoever has gotten in Charlie Strong's ear to make him think that the high school football coaches in the state of Texas will collectively act like a bunch of scorned lovers should UT camp outside the Lone Star State is doing the program a disservice.
The Houston satellite camp was a complete waste. The reason the Dallas camp was so much better was because a company like ShowTyme was running it, and take it from me, they know how to promote. Hell, they sent me a tweet seemingly every single day for a month leading up to the event with an image of the camp poster. This effort paid off in a big way for Texas, as the coaches were able to be in their element among high-level prospects. Furthermore, they were free of logistical and organizational issues and left to just evaluate and coach the camp.
In speaking with the people at ShowTyme, it is clear that the company's connections in New Orleans are every bit as strong as they are in Dallas. In fact, the event organizer even told me previously that he was trying and trying to get Strong to do a camp in NOLA because he knows it would be absolutely bananas.
My opinion is that Charlie Strong is a man who takes a measured approach to things and doesn't dive into many football endeavors in a willy-nilly fashion. This was Strong's first year doing satellite camps, and the Houston and Dallas events basically symbolized him dipping his toe in the water. I believe, now that he's developed a relationship with the folks at ShowTyme and built a little bit of trust there in the wake of a successful event, that he'll listen to their pleas to take this show to the Big Easy next year.
Any Texas high school coach that's going to cry into his pillow over something like this is probably one you don't want to deal with, anyway.
