Very good list of recruits coming in. Most on the list are 4* on rivals and the majority hold a Texas offer. Several elite young guys mixed in as well.
2017
QB Sam Ehlinger (Texas commit)
OL Walker Little
OL Xavier Newman
OL Stephan Zabie
TE Major Tennison (Texas commit)
WR Damion Miller (Texas commit)
WR Omar Manning
WR Montrell Estell
WR Herb Sparks
DE Lagaryonn Carson (Texas commit)
DE Taquon Graham
DE Bryan Jones
LB Anthony Hines
LB Baron Browning
LB Levi Jones
LB Mohamed Sanogo
DB Kobe Boyce (Texas commit)
DB Chevin Calloway
DB Myles Jones
DB Josh Thompson
DB Langston Frederick
2018
QB Jalen Mayden
WR Jalen Preston
WR Joshua Moore
LB Alston Orji
DB Anthony Cook
DB Jordan Moore
DB Isaiah Humphries
2019
QB Roschon Johnson
24/7 reporting CB
Chevin Calloway of Dallas Bishop Dunne will be in Austin tomorrow. Big news considering he hasn't shown much interest in UT up until this point.
Here are Thursday's notes on Texas targets.
— Austin Westlake outside linebacker
Levi Jones said he would likely attend the Texas spring game on Saturday. Jones was recently on campus for an unofficial visit and is high on the Longhorns.
— Arizona State commit and three-star Mansfield Lake Ridge inside linebacker
Loren Mondy is also a maybe for the game. Mondy attended UT junior day and is on the radar.
— Manvel safety
Derrick Tucker informed me that he would not be able to make the trip to Texas this weekend. Tucker was on campus for junior day and hopes to return later this offseason.
— Katy tight end
Parker Eichenberger committed to Houston today and cancelled his weekend visit to Texas. Eichenberger said he is firmly committed to the Cougars and will visit there instead.
— Brother Martin (La.) wide receiver
Jeremy Singleton has opted to go to LSU’s spring game. The three-star prospect was pondering making an unofficial visit to Texas this weekend.
— Four-star 2018 Sachse defensive back
Isaiah Humphries has canceled his weekend trip to Texas and will instead head to Notre Dame. Humphries visited Texas in late February.
Fort Bend Travis offensive lineman
Will Farrar opened up his recruitment after decommitting from UCLA last weekend. One of the schools Farrar is now considering is Texas. He made an unofficial visit to Austin on Thursday afternoon to take in a Longhorns practice and meet with the staff. “It went well," Farrar said. "I showed up, and I watched practice. I spent time with Coach (Charlie) Strong and Coach (Matt) Mattox. Coach Mattox showed us around. We were here about four hours. The facilities are nice. I had never seen the facilities before, so it was cool going around.”
A big reason for Farrar's heavy interest in Texas is his strong relationship with Mattox, which dates back to his time at Tulsa. Farrar communicated often with Mattox when he was being courted by the Golden Hurricane and has now met him a handful of times in person. Farrar’s favorite part of the trip was getting to speak with Strong and seeing how he runs practices. The 6-foot-5, 290 pounder was able to view a practice without pads and learn where he would fit into the offense. “It’s a practice before the spring game, so it was just helmets," he said. "It was kind of light. They ran a lot of tempo and screens, so it was cool. Coach Mattox told me I would start off playing inside. He said things could change. I could move outside. I’m capable of doing that, but I’m probably going to start out at guard.”
Farrar will take a trip this weekend to LSU. There are no immediate trips planned afterwards, but he told Horns 247 that he would be back at Texas soon. He is also interested in Houston, LSU, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. UCLA is currently out of the picture, but he did not rule out the possibility of them jumping back into the mix. “I’m just going to enjoy it,” Farrar said of the recruitment process. "I’ll take my visits and go see what the schools are all about. We’ll just see where it goes.” A three-star prospect, Farrar is ranked as the No.13 offensive guard in the nation and No. 51 overall prospect in the state of Texas, according to 247Sports Composite.
Austin Westlake offensive tackle
Stephan Zabie does not hold an offer from Texas. But that hasn’t stopped his teammate and Texas quarterback pledge
Sam Ehlinger from constantly being in his ear about the Longhorns. “My friend, Sam Ehlinger, is committed there, and he’s been talking to me about it,” Zabie said. “He loves Texas. He’s all Texas. He’s a hard commit. I’ve been checking it out. I see it from the outside, so it looks great.”
Zabie has only played one year of football. Originally from the west side of Philadelphia, he’s spent three years in Austin. The rising lineman made an unofficial visit in the fall and said he liked the program overall. “I like the UT campus,” Zabie said. “It’s a great campus, has a great program and is a great school. If they offer, I will check it out and see how it fits me.”
Despite playing just one season, the 6-foot-5, 290 pounder is already up to 12 offers. Oklahoma and Texas A&M are his current leaders. “It’s going pretty well,” Zabie said about his recruitment. “It’s really exciting because my first season to play football was this past season. I’m excited to get the exposure and compete.” Zabie will make an unofficial visit to Texas this weekend. A three-star prospect, Zabie is ranked as the No. 76 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 97 overall prospect in the state of Texas, according to 247Sports Composite.
The Scoop From: Eric Nahlin
MARVIN WILSON
I caught up with someone who knows Wilson (Bellaire Episcopal) and the words the monster defensive tackle used to describe his Tuesday visit were “really good” and that the team looked “strong and fast.”
There’s no reason to be excited or concerned at this point. Texas just needs to hold fast and work the family angle. If Texas wins this recruitment (and it has a better chance than I initially thought), then family and proximity will have played a big part.
Late momentum on the level we saw last year will go a long way towards securing guys like Wilson, Browning, Hines, and potentially Okudah. That’s why some such as myself are optimistic with recruiting right now.
WILL FARRAR
Farrar (Fort Bend Travis) was one of the first names being discussed in the class of 2017 and admittedly I wasn’t all that high on him then like I was with Jack Anderson. That changed when I focused on him after his Texas offer. He reminds of the guard version of Zach Shackelford. He’s a mauler.
He visited Texas yesterday and had this to say beforehand: “I hear from Texas every day. Every coach on their staff hits me up on Twitter and we talk. I’m looking forward to seeing the environment and the way Coach Mattox runs practice. I’m going to be a little bit late to practice but I’m going to stay for a couple hours later.”
After Farrar briefly stated, “It went good! Really got to spend some time with Coach Mattox.”
Farrar was committed to UCLA for a time but recently opened things up. He’s stated A&M was a childhood favorite but the Ags have yet to offer. He visited College Station on Wednesday, Austin on Thursday, and will be in Baton Rouge this weekend.
The 6-foot-5, 290 pound Farrar won’t turn 18 until he arrives on a college campus.
SPRING GAME VISITORS
2017 (*Texas commit)
This is a quality list, especially when you consider priority targets like Marvin Wilson and Will Farrar already visited this week. We did remove
Lagaryonn Carson (travel issues).
*
Sam Ehlinger, QB - Austin Westlake
*
Damion Miller, WR - Tyler John Tyler
*
Major Tennison, TE - Bullard
*
Kobe Boyce, CB - Lake Dallas: Boyce visited A&M last week as a courtesy, and after Kevin Sumlin tried to pressure him to open up his new commitment, Boyce declined. That’s a tactic Sumlin would use on some others, e.g., Damion Miller. Boyce will be a Longhorn.
Baron Browning, LB - Kennedale: In my opinion Browning is the state’s best prospect. It’s always good getting a 5-star back on campus. A spirited contest which highlights the young athletes will go a long way towards keeping Browning’s interest high. This is just another brick in the road to securing his commitment by early January.
Walker Little, OT - Bellaire Episcopal: Little’s about as wide open as it gets. He recently visited Ole Miss and will visit Stanford later in the spring. Scuttle here is all over the map which is usually the case when a player is this open. Any face time with Matt Mattox is a good thing in this recruitment.
Anthony Hines, LB - Plano East: See: Baron Browning. These two have very similar recruitments when it comes to Texas. Texas just has to stay the course and win some games and things have a great chance to end well.
Taquon Graham, DE - Temple: We’ve long maintained Texas looks good here and we’ve predicted him to Texas. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later. This will be Graham’s second visit to Austin this month. I hear he wants to get a better idea of what the campus is like and to see the academic side.
Omar Manning, WR - Lancaster: I’m going to reverse course here a tad and say TCU is the team to beat, that Texas has more ground to make-up, and that UT will become a big factor likely after this weekend. One subscriber had a candid and unprovoked conversation with a relative of Manning and this relative stated TCU was the team to beat. I hollered at my TCU source and he said they are the team to beat but that they’re wary of Texas. “You know how these things can go.”
Myles Jones, DB - Magnolia West: The Kobe Boyce situation in reverse; the difference being Strong will play the long game and not pressure him to open his recent Aggie commitment up. Jennings is a big fan of Jones so this will be an interesting one to watch.
Josh Thompson, CB - Nacogdoches: Thompson certainly looks the part both build-wise and athletically. He’s a guy who should have a big spring. To his credit Strong was on Thompson last year amidst the heated Brandon Jones recruitment. Smart.
Montrell Estell, ATH- Hooks: We feel like Baylor is recruiting the athlete the hardest and Texas has some WR’s ahead of him on the covet list (Manning, Tyrell Shavers, Manny Netherly). What makes Estell interesting is he could play DB on the next level.
Herb Sparks, ATH - Wilmer Hutchins
Cam Buckley, WR - Cedar Hill: I discussed him last week. If he tries to commit I honestly don’t know what will happen but I suspect he’ll be asked to slow things down.
Xavier Newman, OL - Desoto: Said the recent guard offer: “I’m just looking forward to seeing how their program is and the coaches are with the players. Also, how the school and facilities are.” Newman also went on to say he’s unsure when he’ll commit and he’s just waiting on the right time. A&M feels like he’s theirs to lose and that’s the case heading into the weekend but Texas will never have a better opportunity to capture Newman’s interest than this weekend. These are the situations where it’s possible to see a big bounce in a recruitment. If he ends up at Texas it will remind of the Denzel Okafor commitment. Just replace A&M with TCU.
Stephen Zabie, OL - Austin Westlake: It’s a good year at the position when an upside tackle like Zabie doesn’t have an offer yet. Right now he is calling A&M and OU his leaders and both have offered. Zabie’s unsure of how close he is to receiving a Texas offer but I get the feeling that’s what he’s waiting on. Managing 0-line numbers and recruit personalities will be interesting this cycle.
Mohamed Sanogo, LB - Plano West: Texas can’t be left without a mike in this class, and with Hines being so damn good, all the staff can do is diligently recruit him and let his decision play out while building a relationship with Sanogo, a player Texas may have to offer late. The later your offer is to a player the stronger your pre-existing relationship needs to be in order to land him unless the player has very limited options. Sanogo has limited options right now but that will change.
Levi Jones, LB - Austin Westlake: Sam's best friend will join him.
Chevin Calloway, CB - Dallas Bishop Dunne: One of the top corners for 2017 will be there. It's a start.
2018
Jaylen Waddle, ATH - Bellaire Episcopal (Holds UH and Ole Miss offers)
Jalen Mayden, QB - Garland Sachse
Jalen Preston, WR - Manvel: I’m not convinced he shows up based on the hard to decipher message I got back from Preston. He’s highly rated at this very early stage in the Class of 2018.
Alston Orji, LB - Rockwall: He’s an offer, imo, and after talking to someone in the know he’s an offer to Texas. I’m not sure if he’s offered this weekend simply because of the way UT operates but he’ll be offered at some point. Important in this recruitment is to win over the father. Do that and it’s daylights for the competition. Strong has done well to continue Mack Brown’s success with players of West African descent.
Anthony Cook, DB - Houston Lamar: Another player who looks like an offer. Cook’s mother is Eric Cuffee’s 1st cousin. Lamar is absolutely loaded at DB with 4-5 guys who will play D1 between the 2017 and 2018 class.
Joshua Moore, ATH - Yoakum and Jordan Moore, ATH - Yoakum: Justin will have more on the small school twins.
From: Justin Wells
Recruits heading to Austin, freshmen expectations, and more.
1.
Boyd, Buechele, Collin, and Shack - Freshmen Expectations
While most of their friends are preparing for graduation parties and prom, these four are prepping for the Orange-White Scrimmage. UT had a handful of early enrollees from the 2016 class. There's been growing pains, confidence boosts, and a potential superstar in the making. I spoke to someone close to the group this week. He mentioned the good and bad.
On Boyd: The guy we all thought would play fullback in Austin is currently running with the 2's at linebacker. He's shedding the baby fat (arrived at 245, now 234) and becoming a lean, mean tackling machine. Demarco never imagined he'd play this quick so he's still swimming some with the schemes and formations. He thought he might sit for a couple of years, then work his way into the lineup. He's a humble kid who often doesn't give himself enough credit for what he's accomplished. He's the backup at Mike right now, along with Edwin Freeman. I fully expect to see him play a freshman and make an impact on special teams.
On Buechele: Shane could actually start Week 1 vs Notre Dame. In some ways, we all thought this was possible. Texas didn't have a guy on the roster that was the sure-fire starter, and Shane knew this during his entire recruitment. Having played in a similar system at Lamar, adding Gilbert was just the cherry on top. Shane has had his bumps and bruises - he's thrown picks, he's had an adjustment to the speed of the UT DBs, and he's been popped in practice which led to a fight. Spring football at its best.
On Johnson: We knew Collin had game, we just didn't know how quickly he would adapt to the D1 level. But it's safe to say he's been the brightest spot of the incoming freshmen. He's been downright unguardable. Factor in he's going against Hill, Davis, and Boyd in practice, and that's even more impressing. Texas stole this kid from Cali and the rest of the college football world will soon know come this fall. He's the one I'm anxious to watch at tomorrow's Orange-White game. Ocho Cinco 2.0 is the new age of Texas wide receivers.
On Shackelford: Instead of studying for senior finals, Zach is going over protection calls for tomorrow's Spring game. Think about that. When our own Chris Hall spoke highly on the 18-year old from Belton, we listened. The fact a true freshman QB and center could be lined up vs Notre Dame is something. But by all accounts, he'll be ready. If you ask him, he's been preparing for this his entire life.
2.
Omar Manning. The 4-star wideout from Lancaster will be on hand for tomorrow's glorified scrimmage. He's one of the best in-state pass catchers for 2017 and Texas is recruiting him accordingly.
"(Texas) is really showing me a lot of love right now," said Manning. "I'm ready to see what the new offense looks like. I also want to meet the new coaches and get a feel for the school as a whole and ask questions. I have a lot to ask."
Manning dropped a Top 5 schools list recently and Texas wasn't one of them. That's starting to change, according to Manning.
"I really like coach Traylor, coach Williams, and coach Gilbert," Manning said. "They are great coaches I can relate to."
TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma, and Okie State are considered the front runners at the moment with the Horned Frogs and Bears thought to be his leaders, per Eric. But if UT continues its hot pursuit of Manning, that could all change. One visit at a time.
3.
Baron Browning ready to return. The top LB in Texas for 2017 has missed Austin lately. That should be words to all Texas fans ears.
"I'm just really looking forward to being back down there (Austin)," Browning said, who recently announced he'll be playing in the Army All American Bowl after his senior year. "I talk to Texas all the time."
Browning continues to show his freak ability after winning district in the 100-meters (h/t
@brownrecluse) this week with a 11.21 after 11.07 in the prelims. "I was crushing them boys," Browning told me this morning. Indeed you were, BB.
I still think Browning is UT's to lose at this point. And his pledge would go a long way towards the Horns garnering Anthony Hines commitment as well. The thought of them playing beside each other is appealing in many ways to the 5-star duo. Playing beside Malik Jefferson helps too.
Browning and his family will leave for Austin either this evening or early in the morning. This continues to trend Texas.
4. Texas pursuing Alabama pledge. If the Horns can't find a talented TE in-state for 2018, then they aren't trying. Spring Dekaney 5-star
Malcolm Epps is the latest example. He took in a UT practice this week, and despite being solid to Bama, Texas opened his eyes.
"It was amazing," said Epps, of his trip to Austin. "They (Strong and Traylor) were telling me they need a TE like me in this new offense. They talked about how my family could see me and how it's close to home. They are a home state school so I'm keeping my eyes on them."
As I was texting with Epps, something happened. He was offered. Not bad for the 6-foot-6, 220-pound tight end. He won't be at the Spring game but wants to come back to Austin sometime this summer.
It's early on this one, but Texas has a shot. How good of a shot is yet to be determined. Getting good intel on an Alabama pledge is a nice start. Just stay the course.
5. The
Moore Twins. They're back.
The talented twins from Yoakum will once again be in Austin for an unofficial visit this weekend. They attended UT's scrimmage two Saturday's ago before shining at the Opening Regionals in Houston the following day.
"I'm more than ready to get back," said Joshua, who plays WR and safety. "Austin never fails to impress me. I know plenty about it. Austin is a special place for us."
His brother agrees.
"Texas is already one of my favorite schools," Jordan said, who also plays WR and CB. "I love it down there. My mom graduated from Texas so I've liked UT for awhile. They'll be up there for awhile and always be a big factor."
It's safe to say Texas the Moore twins are a package deal. They won't come out and say it, but it seems obvious when talking to them. Both are at the point they are loving the recruiting process, but remember they'll just be juniors come this fall. Long way to go here.
In case you are wondering, they are both takes.
Of note; Liberty-Eylau DL and Texas commit Lagaryonn Carson will not attend the Spring game due to travel issues. He's going to try to make it in sometime this summer.
Quotable quote:
"I'm so ready to get back," said Brandon Jones, about Austin. "It's about to be home. I really can't wait."
