Another year of covering The Opening – an amazing event with amazingly strict media restrictions. Media members are given one 15-minute window per day to interview athletes, and the folks running the event take those time restrictions seriously (and boundary restrictions … step one foot into an area where you’re not supposed to and you’re going to get an earful immediately).
Overall, it’s a great event … other than the hard-to-understand limited media access.
Some thoughts as I sit in the Salt Lake City airport getting ready to make a late-night trek back to Austin.
There wasn’t a ton of time for actual in-depth skill evaluations over the course of the four days I was here. There was only one part – on Saturday night – where players took part in 1-on-1s, and most guys got only two or three reps. Seven-on-seven play began on Sunday and will carry over into Monday, but it can be hard to get an accurate gauge on players in that setting because the guys are still trying to learn the offenses and the timing is still off.
B.J. Foster – I watched Foster pretty closely in 1-on-1s and only saw him take two reps. In those reps, he looked to me to be a little rusty, which is understandable considering this was his first really competitive setting since injuring his knee in his junior season. Foster struggled a bit with the speed of the receiver he was covering and in his second rep, against a tight end, he played pretty soft coverage on an underneath route. In today’s 7-on-7 action, he was more in his comfort zone in the time I got to watch him. He appeared to be moving well and did make a nice read and closed quickly on a pass over the middle to get his hands on the ball for a PBU. He still has upside that’s off the charts … it’s just going to take him a bit to round back into form.
Rondale Moore – I expected Moore to do well in this event because I thought he’d blow it out of the water in testing. Only, they didn’t test. Moore did compete in the fastest man competition and missed advancing to the final grouping of two runners by about a half step. No real surprise here … but the dude can scoot. I thought Moore caught the ball cleanly and showed good footwork in the reps I saw him take. I’ve said this before, but Moore is just a good football player who has a good feel for the game to go along with his ridiculous athleticism. He had a couple chances to make big plays in the 7-on-7 portion I watched, but his quarterbacks didn’t do him any favors with the throws. Again, not uncommon in a setting like this. Moore can certainly stretch a defense deep but I really like what he can bring with his versatility as a jet sweep guy, in the return game and anything else the coaches can do to keep defenses off balance. High character young man too. Very polite, looks you in the eye when speaking, very respectful and values academics big-time.
Side note … Justin Watkins was listed on the online roster leading up to the event as a participant, but he wasn’t there. Same thing happened with the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge. Little things like that, plus switching schools, plus being committed to umpteen schools already is probably a huge reason why the UT coaches and Watkins had a mutual parting of ways and he was replaced with Moore, who is a much more reliable take. That’s not me saying Watkins is a bad kid – I don’t think that at all and people close to him have told me he has high character – but in recruiting, you have to take athletes you can actually trust and Moore fits that bill while Watkins doesn’t. No-brainer decision for Texas if you ask me.
Caden Sterns – This was the first time I’ve seen Sterns live since last summer, when he put on a strong showing at Texas’ Under the Lights camp. The versatile DB certainly didn’t look out of place in a setting like this, where he was matched up with the best prospects in the country. Sterns was solid in the reps I saw him take on Saturday and in the game action I watched on Sunday, he was very active and seemed to be around the ball quite a bit, including showing some nice closing burst on underneath routes. Sterns will play all over the field for Texas and I can see why the Texas coaches feel he can excel at either corner or safety … really good range and a terrific long, lean frame that should develop really well over time.
Amon-Ra St. Brown – He’s a smallish guy with a biggish attitude. Dude can back up the talk thought. Probably the best receiver I saw at this event and the Five-Star Challenge. Great routes, speed, hands, confidence … tremendous prospect.
Terrace Marshall Jr. – If St. Brown wasn’t the best receiver in attendance, Marshall was. Great measurable but extremely fluid for a guy with his size. He’s also a guy that consistently found his way to the front of the line in 1-on-1s … I like that. Give me a guy who wants to take reps against the best over a guy who kind of floats in the back of the line. Marshall said he’ll visit Texas this summer and again for an official, but I still think Texas trails in this one.
Trey Hill – Not really much new in this one from when I saw him a few weeks ago. The talented interior lineman would be an extremely tough pull for Texas, but Derek Warehime is giving it a go and Hill continues to mention a visit to Texas either this summer or in the fall.
Tommy Bush – Bush struggled some in the couple reps he got in 1-on-1s, having some difficulties with physical coverage and not getting a lot of separation on underneath routes when he did get off the line. In 7-on-7, he appeared more comfortable and made a couple catches underneath, but did drop one on a deep post that should have been a TD. I still think Bush has tons of upside with his combination of size and speed, but he could be a guy Texas wants to watch closely in the fall to see how his game develops. The tools are definitely there though … honestly, his raw potential may be as high as any receiver in the state if he continues to develop
Brennan Eagles – He was using a Longhorn backpack all week, so that’s a good sign, right? Eagles didn’t do much in 1-on-1s, but a big part of that was that the quarterbacks weren’t very accurate on his reps. He did make a couple catches underneath when I was watching in 7-on-7 play, but was never able to shake free when going deep. Eagles runs well and tests well, but I wouldn’t call him a true burner that is just going to run by elite defenders. He does have a great frame though, which helps him shield off defenders, and I’ve never seen a receiver catch balls downfield with one hand as easily as Eagles does. Probably won’t help him in games much, but it’s pretty damn impressive. I’d call it a solid week for Eagles but nothing I’d describe as dominant. Eagles, as usual, didn’t want to do interviews and I didn’t bug him too much. He’s delaying his announcement, but Texas still looks good.
Al’Vonte Woodard – Woodard was open a few times in the game I watched him, but his quarterback went to the other side of the field. When it was thrown his way, he made the catch. Woodard is quite a bit smaller than a guy like Eagles, but shows good speed and footwork. He’ll probably be an outside guy but he is a pretty versatile receiver who could really play inside or out. Woodard is still set to announce on July 15 and it’ll be a huge shock if the choice isn’t Texas. I’ve felt strongly about that for a while and feel even more strongly about it after this week.
Amari Gainer – Not much new from when I talked to him a few weeks ago. He said he’ll probably visit Texas this summer and again for an official. He’s still committed to Florida State, but Texas and Bama are the two others he’s considering. It’ll be tough to flip him, but hey, if he wants to visit, why not swing for the fences?
Luke Ford – When I first saw Ford on day two of the event (he sat out day one), I was taken aback by his frame. He’s about 6-7 and looks like he’s been in a college weight program for a few years already. He’ll visit Texas on July 21 and genuinely seems interested in the Longhorns, although Alabama and Auburn are his top two right now. Texas has ground to make up, but with UT’s lack of depth at the tight end position, I could see the Longhorns making a move up his list after he visits.
Tanner McKee – Another guy who sure looks the part. It’s easy to see why college coaches love him. Legit 6-6 … just looks like a future NFL quarterback. McKee didn’t participate on Sunday due to his religious beliefs, but I got to see quite a bit from him in the first few days of the event, albeit against air. From a purely physical standpoint, McKee looks as good as any quarterback that was in attendance. From a performance perspective, from what I saw, I’d put him in the middle of the pack of the quarterbacks who were in attendance. He looks like he’d have an absolute cannon of an arm, but I never really got to see him rare back and just fire a frozen rope and blow me away with his arm strength the way some of the others did. He’s really, really good and has a prototypical QB frame, but a notch below some of the others in terms of arm strength and accuracy. McKee told me he’ll take an official visit to Texas and may even return this summer for a second unofficial visit.
Ronnie Perkins – Perkins will visit Texas in July with UT commitment Dele Adeoye, so that’s a positive step for the Longhorns. He is pretty open though and while his interest in UT is legit, when another (non-Texas) reporter asked him which schools were standing out, he rattled off a few and didn’t mention the Longhorns. Could have just been an oversight, and Texas will get its chance to impress in a few weeks. Perkins didn’t work out in the lineman 1-on-1s on Sunday, so I didn’t really get a barometer on how he stacked up. He’s certainly not small but was a tad shorter than most of the other d-linemen in attendance.
Ron Tatum – The former UT commit was on the online roster but didn’t participate. Remember, he also backed out of the Five-Star Challenge a day or two before it began. My guess is you can probably close the book on Tatum and Texas, but I wasn’t able to ask him to find out for sure.
Overall, it’s a great event … other than the hard-to-understand limited media access.
Some thoughts as I sit in the Salt Lake City airport getting ready to make a late-night trek back to Austin.
There wasn’t a ton of time for actual in-depth skill evaluations over the course of the four days I was here. There was only one part – on Saturday night – where players took part in 1-on-1s, and most guys got only two or three reps. Seven-on-seven play began on Sunday and will carry over into Monday, but it can be hard to get an accurate gauge on players in that setting because the guys are still trying to learn the offenses and the timing is still off.
B.J. Foster – I watched Foster pretty closely in 1-on-1s and only saw him take two reps. In those reps, he looked to me to be a little rusty, which is understandable considering this was his first really competitive setting since injuring his knee in his junior season. Foster struggled a bit with the speed of the receiver he was covering and in his second rep, against a tight end, he played pretty soft coverage on an underneath route. In today’s 7-on-7 action, he was more in his comfort zone in the time I got to watch him. He appeared to be moving well and did make a nice read and closed quickly on a pass over the middle to get his hands on the ball for a PBU. He still has upside that’s off the charts … it’s just going to take him a bit to round back into form.
Rondale Moore – I expected Moore to do well in this event because I thought he’d blow it out of the water in testing. Only, they didn’t test. Moore did compete in the fastest man competition and missed advancing to the final grouping of two runners by about a half step. No real surprise here … but the dude can scoot. I thought Moore caught the ball cleanly and showed good footwork in the reps I saw him take. I’ve said this before, but Moore is just a good football player who has a good feel for the game to go along with his ridiculous athleticism. He had a couple chances to make big plays in the 7-on-7 portion I watched, but his quarterbacks didn’t do him any favors with the throws. Again, not uncommon in a setting like this. Moore can certainly stretch a defense deep but I really like what he can bring with his versatility as a jet sweep guy, in the return game and anything else the coaches can do to keep defenses off balance. High character young man too. Very polite, looks you in the eye when speaking, very respectful and values academics big-time.
Side note … Justin Watkins was listed on the online roster leading up to the event as a participant, but he wasn’t there. Same thing happened with the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge. Little things like that, plus switching schools, plus being committed to umpteen schools already is probably a huge reason why the UT coaches and Watkins had a mutual parting of ways and he was replaced with Moore, who is a much more reliable take. That’s not me saying Watkins is a bad kid – I don’t think that at all and people close to him have told me he has high character – but in recruiting, you have to take athletes you can actually trust and Moore fits that bill while Watkins doesn’t. No-brainer decision for Texas if you ask me.
Caden Sterns – This was the first time I’ve seen Sterns live since last summer, when he put on a strong showing at Texas’ Under the Lights camp. The versatile DB certainly didn’t look out of place in a setting like this, where he was matched up with the best prospects in the country. Sterns was solid in the reps I saw him take on Saturday and in the game action I watched on Sunday, he was very active and seemed to be around the ball quite a bit, including showing some nice closing burst on underneath routes. Sterns will play all over the field for Texas and I can see why the Texas coaches feel he can excel at either corner or safety … really good range and a terrific long, lean frame that should develop really well over time.
Amon-Ra St. Brown – He’s a smallish guy with a biggish attitude. Dude can back up the talk thought. Probably the best receiver I saw at this event and the Five-Star Challenge. Great routes, speed, hands, confidence … tremendous prospect.
Terrace Marshall Jr. – If St. Brown wasn’t the best receiver in attendance, Marshall was. Great measurable but extremely fluid for a guy with his size. He’s also a guy that consistently found his way to the front of the line in 1-on-1s … I like that. Give me a guy who wants to take reps against the best over a guy who kind of floats in the back of the line. Marshall said he’ll visit Texas this summer and again for an official, but I still think Texas trails in this one.
Trey Hill – Not really much new in this one from when I saw him a few weeks ago. The talented interior lineman would be an extremely tough pull for Texas, but Derek Warehime is giving it a go and Hill continues to mention a visit to Texas either this summer or in the fall.
Tommy Bush – Bush struggled some in the couple reps he got in 1-on-1s, having some difficulties with physical coverage and not getting a lot of separation on underneath routes when he did get off the line. In 7-on-7, he appeared more comfortable and made a couple catches underneath, but did drop one on a deep post that should have been a TD. I still think Bush has tons of upside with his combination of size and speed, but he could be a guy Texas wants to watch closely in the fall to see how his game develops. The tools are definitely there though … honestly, his raw potential may be as high as any receiver in the state if he continues to develop
Brennan Eagles – He was using a Longhorn backpack all week, so that’s a good sign, right? Eagles didn’t do much in 1-on-1s, but a big part of that was that the quarterbacks weren’t very accurate on his reps. He did make a couple catches underneath when I was watching in 7-on-7 play, but was never able to shake free when going deep. Eagles runs well and tests well, but I wouldn’t call him a true burner that is just going to run by elite defenders. He does have a great frame though, which helps him shield off defenders, and I’ve never seen a receiver catch balls downfield with one hand as easily as Eagles does. Probably won’t help him in games much, but it’s pretty damn impressive. I’d call it a solid week for Eagles but nothing I’d describe as dominant. Eagles, as usual, didn’t want to do interviews and I didn’t bug him too much. He’s delaying his announcement, but Texas still looks good.
Al’Vonte Woodard – Woodard was open a few times in the game I watched him, but his quarterback went to the other side of the field. When it was thrown his way, he made the catch. Woodard is quite a bit smaller than a guy like Eagles, but shows good speed and footwork. He’ll probably be an outside guy but he is a pretty versatile receiver who could really play inside or out. Woodard is still set to announce on July 15 and it’ll be a huge shock if the choice isn’t Texas. I’ve felt strongly about that for a while and feel even more strongly about it after this week.
Amari Gainer – Not much new from when I talked to him a few weeks ago. He said he’ll probably visit Texas this summer and again for an official. He’s still committed to Florida State, but Texas and Bama are the two others he’s considering. It’ll be tough to flip him, but hey, if he wants to visit, why not swing for the fences?
Luke Ford – When I first saw Ford on day two of the event (he sat out day one), I was taken aback by his frame. He’s about 6-7 and looks like he’s been in a college weight program for a few years already. He’ll visit Texas on July 21 and genuinely seems interested in the Longhorns, although Alabama and Auburn are his top two right now. Texas has ground to make up, but with UT’s lack of depth at the tight end position, I could see the Longhorns making a move up his list after he visits.
Tanner McKee – Another guy who sure looks the part. It’s easy to see why college coaches love him. Legit 6-6 … just looks like a future NFL quarterback. McKee didn’t participate on Sunday due to his religious beliefs, but I got to see quite a bit from him in the first few days of the event, albeit against air. From a purely physical standpoint, McKee looks as good as any quarterback that was in attendance. From a performance perspective, from what I saw, I’d put him in the middle of the pack of the quarterbacks who were in attendance. He looks like he’d have an absolute cannon of an arm, but I never really got to see him rare back and just fire a frozen rope and blow me away with his arm strength the way some of the others did. He’s really, really good and has a prototypical QB frame, but a notch below some of the others in terms of arm strength and accuracy. McKee told me he’ll take an official visit to Texas and may even return this summer for a second unofficial visit.
Ronnie Perkins – Perkins will visit Texas in July with UT commitment Dele Adeoye, so that’s a positive step for the Longhorns. He is pretty open though and while his interest in UT is legit, when another (non-Texas) reporter asked him which schools were standing out, he rattled off a few and didn’t mention the Longhorns. Could have just been an oversight, and Texas will get its chance to impress in a few weeks. Perkins didn’t work out in the lineman 1-on-1s on Sunday, so I didn’t really get a barometer on how he stacked up. He’s certainly not small but was a tad shorter than most of the other d-linemen in attendance.
Ron Tatum – The former UT commit was on the online roster but didn’t participate. Remember, he also backed out of the Five-Star Challenge a day or two before it began. My guess is you can probably close the book on Tatum and Texas, but I wasn’t able to ask him to find out for sure.
