It’s been a loooooong day after getting to the UT campus before 8 a.m., covering the Horns’ visitors/practice, then driving to Houston so I can attend the Under Armour Camp on Sunday morning. I’ll have much more in the coming days, but some quick-hitter updates from today’s visitors.
QB Dia Bell – After having interviewed Bell a few times in the last month, I didn’t bother him with an interview today. But it sounds like it was another very productive visit and Bell enjoyed watching practice. He was accompanied by his mom and one of his siblings.
RB KJ Edwards – He REALLY enjoyed the chance to watch Chad Scott coach and that made a strong impression. Those two have really connected well since Scott took the Texas job. Texas and Texas A&M continue to battle it out atop his list but I wouldn’t bet against the Longhorns here.
WR Mason James – Coming from Norman (OK), you might think he’s a lock for OU. I’m not saying he won’t end up there, but James seems pretty open. Texas checked a lot of boxes with him today, including academics and how he’d fit in the offense (similar to Daylan McCutcheon).
OL John Turntine – The big news with Turntine is he said he’s pretty much down to three schools – Texas, Texas A&M and Michigan. Texas continues to stress to Turntine that he’s a major priority in this cycle.
DL Jamarion Carlton – The Temple standout was a late arrival today but it sounds like it was a productive visit. He got some time with Steve Sarkisian and said he might set up a Texas OV. The problem … his June weekends are booked with OV set with Texas A&M, Baylor and SMU.
Edge Dre Quinn – Texas made a strong move in this one, with Quinn saying the Longhorns are in his top three coming out of this weekend. He set up an OV for the Longhorns in June.
LB Xavier Griffin – The USC commitment sounds like he’s still pretty solid with the Trojans (even doing the USC hand sign when taking pics). Griffin mentioned that he may return for an official visit so Texas is in the mix, but there’s a lot of work to be done with this one.
LB Kosi Okpala – He was just in Austin a couple of weeks ago and returned again today. Okpala said he liked the way the defense was flying around at the scrimmage. OVs are set to Texas, Houston, Baylor and Penn State. He’s keeping an open mind but Texas is in a strong position and today only helped UT’s footing.
DB Samari Matthews – I thought coming into this visit that Texas would really surge with Matthews, and I think that’s what is happening. He’s staying until Monday so he’ll have a couple more days to get a feel for the UT program and the city of Austin. Matthews noted that he always wanted the Texas offer and he set up his Texas OV the day he got the offer, so that’s pretty telling. South Carolina is the main threat in this one but Texas is in his top four and this is one I could see falling the Longhorns’ way.
CB Hayward Howard – Another interesting visit … Howard’s visit went well enough that he set up a Texas official visit for the first weekend of June. He also has visits set up to Miami and LSU.
QB Dia Bell – After having interviewed Bell a few times in the last month, I didn’t bother him with an interview today. But it sounds like it was another very productive visit and Bell enjoyed watching practice. He was accompanied by his mom and one of his siblings.
RB KJ Edwards – He REALLY enjoyed the chance to watch Chad Scott coach and that made a strong impression. Those two have really connected well since Scott took the Texas job. Texas and Texas A&M continue to battle it out atop his list but I wouldn’t bet against the Longhorns here.
WR Mason James – Coming from Norman (OK), you might think he’s a lock for OU. I’m not saying he won’t end up there, but James seems pretty open. Texas checked a lot of boxes with him today, including academics and how he’d fit in the offense (similar to Daylan McCutcheon).
OL John Turntine – The big news with Turntine is he said he’s pretty much down to three schools – Texas, Texas A&M and Michigan. Texas continues to stress to Turntine that he’s a major priority in this cycle.
DL Jamarion Carlton – The Temple standout was a late arrival today but it sounds like it was a productive visit. He got some time with Steve Sarkisian and said he might set up a Texas OV. The problem … his June weekends are booked with OV set with Texas A&M, Baylor and SMU.
Edge Dre Quinn – Texas made a strong move in this one, with Quinn saying the Longhorns are in his top three coming out of this weekend. He set up an OV for the Longhorns in June.
LB Xavier Griffin – The USC commitment sounds like he’s still pretty solid with the Trojans (even doing the USC hand sign when taking pics). Griffin mentioned that he may return for an official visit so Texas is in the mix, but there’s a lot of work to be done with this one.
LB Kosi Okpala – He was just in Austin a couple of weeks ago and returned again today. Okpala said he liked the way the defense was flying around at the scrimmage. OVs are set to Texas, Houston, Baylor and Penn State. He’s keeping an open mind but Texas is in a strong position and today only helped UT’s footing.
DB Samari Matthews – I thought coming into this visit that Texas would really surge with Matthews, and I think that’s what is happening. He’s staying until Monday so he’ll have a couple more days to get a feel for the UT program and the city of Austin. Matthews noted that he always wanted the Texas offer and he set up his Texas OV the day he got the offer, so that’s pretty telling. South Carolina is the main threat in this one but Texas is in his top four and this is one I could see falling the Longhorns’ way.
CB Hayward Howard – Another interesting visit … Howard’s visit went well enough that he set up a Texas official visit for the first weekend of June. He also has visits set up to Miami and LSU.
