Guys are starting to trickle in for check-in for tomorrow's Five-Star Challenge. I'll have more detailed reports in the coming days, but some quick highlights ...
--- Austin Bowie wide receiver Elijah Higgins just came through. For those of you who were asking about Higgins' tweet last night needing an edit, he told me he's close to releasing a list of favorites. It'll probably be five or six schools, he said. Texas will make the cut. Higgins plan is to commit this summer and he says he's genuinely torn between several schools. Different days have him feeling different schools. He did take a couple recent unofficial visits to Texas and said they were both really good visits, including getting a chance to go through some film with the UT coaches to show how he'd be utilized. Florida, Stanford and Ohio State are also heavily involved here.
--- I pretty much knew the answers before I talked to wide receiver Garrett Wilson, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask ... Wilson said Texas does still communicate with him (he was invited to the Heat Wave party) and he'll always like the Longhorns, but he said he's locked in with his Ohio State commitment. I asked Wilson if Texas would have any chance to get him to open things up a bit if the Longhorns have a successful 2018 season and he was pretty clear that he'll be attending Ohio State.
--- It was a similar story with Derek Stingley Jr, who recently committed to LSU. Stingley said it was a close race and Texas was strongly considered, but the opportunity to play in front of his family at LSU was too tough to turn down. I asked if there's any chance he'd keep things open a bit and Stingley said he's 100 percent with his commitment and finished with the recruiting process.
--- Offensive lineman Stacey Wilkins listed Texas as one of his top schools along with Oklahoma and Georgia. He 's going to drop a top 8 or 10 soon but said those three are standing out. He said he's trying to get back down to Austin for another unofficial visit before school starts, and then he'll be back in Austin for his official visit for the USC game. The biggest draw, he said, is Herb Hand's reputation and the relationship he's built with guys like recruiting assistant Jake Langhi.
--- 2020 linebacker Derek Wingo holds a Texas offer and said the Longhorns are very much on his radar. He went to the Florida Atlantic satellite camp that Texas was at. Wingo said he doesn't know a ton about Texas, so he wants to get to Austin for a visit to see things for himself. He talks to Stan Drayton regularly. He listed Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma as his top three.
--- Five-star running back Trey Sanders said he really enjoyed his Texas unofficial visit a few weeks ago, especially the chance to sit down and go over his film with Drayton. Sanders is planning on dropping a top five pretty soon and said Texas has a great shot of making the cut. He wants to get back to Austin later this summer for a second unofficial visit and then wants to set up an official visit as well. Of note, when the players check in, they get their pictures taken and they have the option to pick up hats of the schools they're strongly considering. Sanders put on a Texas hat first and then followed with a few others like Florida, Florida State, Alabama and Georgia. His brother is enrolling at Florida tomorrow so that's worth watching.
-- 2020 OL Chris Morris told me he visited Texas earlier this summer and liked what he saw. He's wide open but said he really likes Herb Hand and Texas would be in his top 10 if he had a list. He was thinking of coming back for another visit in July but doesn't know if he'll be able to make that work.
--- Rivals100 LB Rian Davis told me via text after his Texas official visit a couple weeks ago that the Longhorns and Georgia were tied atop his list. Today he said Georgia has a slight lead because he's visited there a few times and is a little more familiar with them. The good news ... he did say he wants to get back to Texas in the fall to see a game.
--- Branson Bragg said he's talked to Herb Hand since committing to Stanford, but he's locked in with his Stanford decision. Hand is the only coach he speaks with because of his respect for him, but Bragg said he has no intentions of taking any other visits besides Stanford.
--- Texas is still in a good spot with five-star 2020 RB Zachary Evans. He wasn't able to make it in for the Heat Wave a couple weeks ago but said he may return later this summer and will definitely be at a game in the fall. He plans to release a top 15 next fall so there's a long way to go in this one, but Texas is in a good spot. He did visit Alabama just last week and had good things to say about that trip as well.
--- 2020 DL Prince Dorbah camped at Texas a few weeks ago and said that visit went well. He's hoping to get back to Austin later this summer for a UT practice. Right now, he said he's pretty open to every school that has offered, which includes the Longhorns.
Just talked to Texas LB commitment De'Gabriel Floyd who said he's ready to do some recruiting on UT's behalf while out here (he mentioned Rian Davis specifically). Floyd is locked in with his commitment and actually talked to Todd Orlando this morning. He'll spend a good portion of July in Austin.
2020 ATH Kelee Ringo has a UT offer and Texas is on his list. His coach at Scottsdale Saguaro is none other than former Longhorn Bryant Westbrook. He said he'd be interested in visiting Texas at some point but doesn't have anything in the works yet.
Last wave of guys just came through check-in.
Talked to defensive end Marcus Stripling. He said recruiting is kind of on the back burner for him this summer. He'll take his official visits in the fall (wants to go to Texas, Texas A&M, OU, LSU and Bama) and then will probably decide in December. Claims he's pretty open among those five schools.
2020 QB Bryce Young is going to drop a top six this weekend. Texas will be on the list. Look for OU, Texas, USC, Washington, Penn State and Bama to make the cut based on some things I saw today. Young doesn't have any plans for visits at any point, but spoke very highly of his previous two visits to UT and Tim Beck. I asked him about Texas having one QB commit in his class and whether or not that would impact him, and Young basically said he knows he'll have to compete at the collegiate level no matter where he goes, so it's a non-factor.
That's it for today. I've got a few guys that I'll track down tomorrow during the camp and will obviously have more detailed reports in the coming days when I have some more time.
--- Austin Bowie wide receiver Elijah Higgins just came through. For those of you who were asking about Higgins' tweet last night needing an edit, he told me he's close to releasing a list of favorites. It'll probably be five or six schools, he said. Texas will make the cut. Higgins plan is to commit this summer and he says he's genuinely torn between several schools. Different days have him feeling different schools. He did take a couple recent unofficial visits to Texas and said they were both really good visits, including getting a chance to go through some film with the UT coaches to show how he'd be utilized. Florida, Stanford and Ohio State are also heavily involved here.
--- I pretty much knew the answers before I talked to wide receiver Garrett Wilson, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask ... Wilson said Texas does still communicate with him (he was invited to the Heat Wave party) and he'll always like the Longhorns, but he said he's locked in with his Ohio State commitment. I asked Wilson if Texas would have any chance to get him to open things up a bit if the Longhorns have a successful 2018 season and he was pretty clear that he'll be attending Ohio State.
--- It was a similar story with Derek Stingley Jr, who recently committed to LSU. Stingley said it was a close race and Texas was strongly considered, but the opportunity to play in front of his family at LSU was too tough to turn down. I asked if there's any chance he'd keep things open a bit and Stingley said he's 100 percent with his commitment and finished with the recruiting process.
--- Offensive lineman Stacey Wilkins listed Texas as one of his top schools along with Oklahoma and Georgia. He 's going to drop a top 8 or 10 soon but said those three are standing out. He said he's trying to get back down to Austin for another unofficial visit before school starts, and then he'll be back in Austin for his official visit for the USC game. The biggest draw, he said, is Herb Hand's reputation and the relationship he's built with guys like recruiting assistant Jake Langhi.
--- 2020 linebacker Derek Wingo holds a Texas offer and said the Longhorns are very much on his radar. He went to the Florida Atlantic satellite camp that Texas was at. Wingo said he doesn't know a ton about Texas, so he wants to get to Austin for a visit to see things for himself. He talks to Stan Drayton regularly. He listed Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma as his top three.
--- Five-star running back Trey Sanders said he really enjoyed his Texas unofficial visit a few weeks ago, especially the chance to sit down and go over his film with Drayton. Sanders is planning on dropping a top five pretty soon and said Texas has a great shot of making the cut. He wants to get back to Austin later this summer for a second unofficial visit and then wants to set up an official visit as well. Of note, when the players check in, they get their pictures taken and they have the option to pick up hats of the schools they're strongly considering. Sanders put on a Texas hat first and then followed with a few others like Florida, Florida State, Alabama and Georgia. His brother is enrolling at Florida tomorrow so that's worth watching.
-- 2020 OL Chris Morris told me he visited Texas earlier this summer and liked what he saw. He's wide open but said he really likes Herb Hand and Texas would be in his top 10 if he had a list. He was thinking of coming back for another visit in July but doesn't know if he'll be able to make that work.
--- Rivals100 LB Rian Davis told me via text after his Texas official visit a couple weeks ago that the Longhorns and Georgia were tied atop his list. Today he said Georgia has a slight lead because he's visited there a few times and is a little more familiar with them. The good news ... he did say he wants to get back to Texas in the fall to see a game.
--- Branson Bragg said he's talked to Herb Hand since committing to Stanford, but he's locked in with his Stanford decision. Hand is the only coach he speaks with because of his respect for him, but Bragg said he has no intentions of taking any other visits besides Stanford.
--- Texas is still in a good spot with five-star 2020 RB Zachary Evans. He wasn't able to make it in for the Heat Wave a couple weeks ago but said he may return later this summer and will definitely be at a game in the fall. He plans to release a top 15 next fall so there's a long way to go in this one, but Texas is in a good spot. He did visit Alabama just last week and had good things to say about that trip as well.
--- 2020 DL Prince Dorbah camped at Texas a few weeks ago and said that visit went well. He's hoping to get back to Austin later this summer for a UT practice. Right now, he said he's pretty open to every school that has offered, which includes the Longhorns.
Just talked to Texas LB commitment De'Gabriel Floyd who said he's ready to do some recruiting on UT's behalf while out here (he mentioned Rian Davis specifically). Floyd is locked in with his commitment and actually talked to Todd Orlando this morning. He'll spend a good portion of July in Austin.
2020 ATH Kelee Ringo has a UT offer and Texas is on his list. His coach at Scottsdale Saguaro is none other than former Longhorn Bryant Westbrook. He said he'd be interested in visiting Texas at some point but doesn't have anything in the works yet.
Last wave of guys just came through check-in.
Talked to defensive end Marcus Stripling. He said recruiting is kind of on the back burner for him this summer. He'll take his official visits in the fall (wants to go to Texas, Texas A&M, OU, LSU and Bama) and then will probably decide in December. Claims he's pretty open among those five schools.
2020 QB Bryce Young is going to drop a top six this weekend. Texas will be on the list. Look for OU, Texas, USC, Washington, Penn State and Bama to make the cut based on some things I saw today. Young doesn't have any plans for visits at any point, but spoke very highly of his previous two visits to UT and Tim Beck. I asked him about Texas having one QB commit in his class and whether or not that would impact him, and Young basically said he knows he'll have to compete at the collegiate level no matter where he goes, so it's a non-factor.
That's it for today. I've got a few guys that I'll track down tomorrow during the camp and will obviously have more detailed reports in the coming days when I have some more time.
