Recruiting Thread 2017
- Thread starter Scholz
- Start date
Remember a couple of weeks ago when Tate Martell was going to flip Damion Miller to the aggys? That was fun.
I thought you just had to have a pulse and show up . . . to be admitted to Cougar high?? I'm really confused now! 
The Tom Herman Effect...I thought you just had to have a pulse and show up . . . to be admitted to Cougar high?? I'm really confused now!
CB Kary Vincent of Port Arthur Memorial talks about his visit to UT (24/7):
“It was great,” Vincent said. “I had a long talk with Coach (Charlie) Strong. He told me how much he would love for me to come up there and develop me. He said he loves my personality and my play. He said that I could live all my dreams at UT.”
“Growing up, I loved Texas,” Vincent said. “Port Arthur native Jamaal Charles played for them, so I always had high thoughts on Texas. Now that track is over, I’ll be releasing a Top 10 soon. Everything is stagnant as far as school placing goes.”
“Coaches and comfort,” he said. “I’m looking for a chance to come in and play early. I just want that home feeling.”
CB Kary Vincent throwing up the Horns after winning state.
WR Omar Manning of Lancaster receives an invitation to The Opening.
“It was great,” Vincent said. “I had a long talk with Coach (Charlie) Strong. He told me how much he would love for me to come up there and develop me. He said he loves my personality and my play. He said that I could live all my dreams at UT.”
“Growing up, I loved Texas,” Vincent said. “Port Arthur native Jamaal Charles played for them, so I always had high thoughts on Texas. Now that track is over, I’ll be releasing a Top 10 soon. Everything is stagnant as far as school placing goes.”
“Coaches and comfort,” he said. “I’m looking for a chance to come in and play early. I just want that home feeling.”
CB Kary Vincent throwing up the Horns after winning state.
WR Omar Manning of Lancaster receives an invitation to The Opening.
Per TFB:
– Mannie Netherly: Crosby (TX) WR Mannie Netherly stopped by the Texas football offices on Thursday before finishing 2nd in the 200m in Friday at the State track meet. This was Netherly’s first visit to any school since his recent decommitment from Texas A&M.
Netherly told me he “had a great time hanging out in the players lounge and around the whole campus”. He also hung out with Texas QB commit Sam Ehlinger, who Netherly has gotten close with. He told me he and Ehlinger talk “every week”. A little note to remember is that Netherly was very close with former Texas A&M QB commit Tate Martell and that was another reason he chose to decommit from the Aggies. Having the talented WR build a strong relationship with Texas’ QB commit definitely doesn’t hurt their chances.
Right now it looks like LSU and Texas are the top contenders for Netherly but I wouldn’t necessarily count out Texas A&M for good just yet either. I expect Netherly to slow down his recruitment for the time being. – (Andrew)
– Walker Little: Episcopal (TX) OT Walker Little took his first visit to Stanford over the weekend. Most feel Texas, Stanford, and Ole Miss are the top contenders for Little right now. Since he has taken visits to all 3 schools, I wanted to get his thoughts on those programs.
Texas: “Love the pride of playing for TEXAS. It’s a rising program, with a potential for early playing time. It’s a quality school, in a great city, and is close to home.”
Ole Miss: “I feel very comfortable there, I have a great relationship with the coaching staff. They have a great team with lots of talent and offer the chance to play in the SEC.”
Stanford: “The education is incredible. Weather is great along with the campus. They have an NFL-type offense and put OL in the league every year. They had a great season last year and have a very talented team.”
It sounds like the Stanford visit went well, but I still feel Texas is the team to beat in this one as of today. – (Andrew)
– Baron Browning: My #1 player in the state, OLB Baron Browning visited Texas yesterday after being in town for the State track meet. It is good to see Browning back on campus as he couldn’t make it to Texas’ Spring game last month. There is still a long ways to go in this recruitment.
– Mannie Netherly: Crosby (TX) WR Mannie Netherly stopped by the Texas football offices on Thursday before finishing 2nd in the 200m in Friday at the State track meet. This was Netherly’s first visit to any school since his recent decommitment from Texas A&M.
Netherly told me he “had a great time hanging out in the players lounge and around the whole campus”. He also hung out with Texas QB commit Sam Ehlinger, who Netherly has gotten close with. He told me he and Ehlinger talk “every week”. A little note to remember is that Netherly was very close with former Texas A&M QB commit Tate Martell and that was another reason he chose to decommit from the Aggies. Having the talented WR build a strong relationship with Texas’ QB commit definitely doesn’t hurt their chances.
Right now it looks like LSU and Texas are the top contenders for Netherly but I wouldn’t necessarily count out Texas A&M for good just yet either. I expect Netherly to slow down his recruitment for the time being. – (Andrew)
– Walker Little: Episcopal (TX) OT Walker Little took his first visit to Stanford over the weekend. Most feel Texas, Stanford, and Ole Miss are the top contenders for Little right now. Since he has taken visits to all 3 schools, I wanted to get his thoughts on those programs.
Texas: “Love the pride of playing for TEXAS. It’s a rising program, with a potential for early playing time. It’s a quality school, in a great city, and is close to home.”
Ole Miss: “I feel very comfortable there, I have a great relationship with the coaching staff. They have a great team with lots of talent and offer the chance to play in the SEC.”
Stanford: “The education is incredible. Weather is great along with the campus. They have an NFL-type offense and put OL in the league every year. They had a great season last year and have a very talented team.”
It sounds like the Stanford visit went well, but I still feel Texas is the team to beat in this one as of today. – (Andrew)
– Baron Browning: My #1 player in the state, OLB Baron Browning visited Texas yesterday after being in town for the State track meet. It is good to see Browning back on campus as he couldn’t make it to Texas’ Spring game last month. There is still a long ways to go in this recruitment.
Damn Kary Vincent got wheels. That was the 6A final? Geez, wasn't even close.
New offer to local SDE Ondario Robinson of Hutto today.
http://247sports.com/Player/Ondario-Robinson-84150
WDE Robert Beal visiting 6/23 per IT.
http://247sports.com/Player/Ondario-Robinson-84150
WDE Robert Beal visiting 6/23 per IT.
Kennedale OLB Baron Browning. Yes please.
Browning's powerlifting this year:
Body Weight - 228.9
Squat - 540
Bench - 340
Deadlift - 630
The Eyes of Texas: Satellite camps, five-star nuggets
The wait is over. Texas will finally conduct summer satellite camps. The slate begins on June 6 at the Mind Sound Body Camp — Charlie Strong has been announced and advertised as an attendee but UT officials have told Horns247 that Longhorn coaches “might” attend the event while Strong is not scheduled to — and continues June 16-17 when the Longhorns travel to both Houston and Dallas. The Dallas camp will be hosted by Dallas Showtyme, which organized last year’s joint Michigan-USC camp in the area. Along with Texas, Dallas Showtyme is also organizing camps for Michigan, Iowa State and Illinois this year.
Camp director Gerald Smith is excited about the opportunity to work with Texas after originally touching base with UT about a satellite camp in 2015. “I actually contacted them last year and at the time they weren’t interested in holding camps off campus,” Smith said. “They wanted to keep their brand on campus, which is understandable. But I contacted them again this year and told them we could do one in Dallas. The next thing I thing I know I got a call back saying that they wanted to do it, so we got everything filed and approved. We’re really excited.”
The key figure behind the camp’s setup wasn’t Strong but rather Director of Player Personnel Mike Giglio. While Strong obviously picked Dallas as a location, Giglio was the man working behind the scenes with Smith. “To be honest, I haven’t spoken with Coach Strong,” Smith said. “I spoke with (Giglio) and gave him a rundown of how many staff members they needed to send down and how it would be marketed. I also assured them that they didn’t have to worry about quality. I’m taking care of everything. They just have to show up.”
Quality satellite camps are something Smith takes pride in. Last year’s camp received national media attention and featured highly-touted recruits like Jean Delance, Rahssan Thornton, Eric Cuffee and Shawn Robinson. Smith said Texas will benefit by partnering with Dallas Showtyme because it will not only help with recruiting. but it will also get Strong in front of parents and kids. “Strong is building a great program,” Smith said. “I think he can build off coming here by just getting his face out there and interacting with the kids. I’ve been to UT’s practices, and the staff has a lot of energy. Strong is a teacher. If I had a son, I would want him to play for Strong because of his core values. I think everybody will get to see that side of him rather just what they see on TV. It’s an honor to work with him and Texas. We’re going to have a successful camp.” (Holland)
***
Derrick Tucker surprised many with his commitment to Texas A&M late last week. The four-star safety out of Manvel was considered a heavy lean. But I’m told Texas decided to take things slow with him following junior day in late February. While the Longhorns didn’t completely back off Tucker, they weren’t ready to take his commitment at this time. UT wanted Tucker to make other visits and fix his grades in the classroom. At this point, it’s not just about qualifying scores for the ACT and SAT. Tucker has to pick up his grades in regular classes and pass the state standardized test, which is needed to graduate.
Texas A&M took a small risk by accepting Tucker’s commitment and making him a priority. And it could pay off big-time — Tucker is a talented player that could make an early impact at the next level. With that said, Tucker isn’t completely shutting things down and could take a closer look at UT down the line. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see the Longhorns make a late push if Tucker gets everything squared away academically.
So with Tucker off the board for now, where does Texas sit at safety in the 2017 class? Things look pretty bleak. Texas is out of the mix for guys like Isaiah Pryor, Grant Delpit and Daniel Wright. Meanwhile, Tucker and Robert Barnes are both committed elsewhere. South Grand Prairie’s Jeffrey Okudah is the only other safety Texas has offered, but he’s being recruited as cornerback that can play multiple positions in the secondary. Texas recently offered Mansfield’s Saiid Adebo, who is listed as an athlete, and he’s a guy that I feel could fit the role. However, Notre Dame is in the lead and if Stanford puts an offer on the table, that recruitment could be over. I would expect Texas to send out at least a couple of new offers at the position in the near future. (Holland)
***
Dylan Moses has made one thing clear — Texas is his leader. The five-star outside linebacker out of IMG Academy (Fla.) publicly named Texas his leader this offseason over heavy favorites Alabama and LSU. Yet no pundits have put in a crystal ball pick for the Longhorns. The perception remains that Moses, despite his comments, will land at either Alabama or LSU when it’s all said and done. So why is Texas not garnering much respect? “I know he’s sticking with it, but I feel like he named Texas his leader because he was coming off a visit and loved it,” said a source close to Moses. “I think that’ll probably change a lot throughout his recruitment. I still believe he’ll land somewhere in the southeast.”
That’s not to say that Texas doesn’t have a shot here. The Longhorns are squarely in the mix for Moses and will be until the very end. Moses has already scheduled a return trip to Texas for next month, his father is a huge fan of Charlie Strong and the family has known Brick Haley for years. “I think he genuinely likes Texas,” another source said. “You can never count them out, especially with Charlie Strong. He has ties to the state. And not a lot of people are talking about it, but that’s what makes Houston a player, too. Dylan has family in Houston. He likes Tom Herman and what they’re building there. He made a visit last month and loved it. That’s a school to watch.”
Still, Alabama and LSU remain the popular picks. “He’s always loved the schools,” a source said. “LSU is a hometown thing, and he’s know the coaches there forever. He just feels comfortable there. He loves Alabama too. With Nick Saban and the tradition, it’s not hard to see why.” According to a source, Moses, who will graduate in December and enroll early, will likely make a commitment around October or November. At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Moses is ranked as the No. 1 outside linebacker in the country and No. 1 overall prospect in the state of Florida, according to 247Sports Composite. (Holland)
EJ Holland: Texas still in mix for rising DT Damion Daniels
Bishop Dunne defensive tackle Damion Daniels is taking things slow. A three-star prospect, Daniels holds close to 30 total offers and is carefully weighing all of his options. Daniels has no favorites at this time, but he does know when he wants to narrow his list. “Everything is going great,” Daniels said. “Every school is showing love. I don’t really have a top list of schools right now. I really love every school. I want to cut the list right before the football season at our media day.”
Daniels has visited Baylor, LSU, Texas A&M and UTSA this offseason. He was supposed to make his way to Texas for an unofficial visit last month but was forced to cancel due to illness. Still, Daniels said his interest in Texas remains high, and he hopes to make a trip before his senior season. “I’m really interested,” Daniels said. “I love Texas. They are an in-state school. They are only four hours away from Dallas, so it’s close to home. I have high hopes for them this season. I just really like Texas.”
Daniels, who picked up an offer from UT in late February, has been building a strong relationship with the coaching staff and communicating with them frequently. “I really like Coach (Coach) Strong and Coach (Brick) Haley,” Daniels said. “They are love. Coach BJ (Brian Jean-Mary) came up to the school and saw me, so they’re showing a lot of love right now.” Daniels is working along both the offensive and defensive lines this spring and is gearing up for a busy summer slate. Daniels hopes to make unofficial visits to Colorado, Ole Miss, LSU, Florida, Miami, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa.
At 6-foot-1, 315 pounds, Daniels is ranked as the No. 38 defensive tackle in the country and No. 80 overall prospect in the state, according to 247Sports Composite.
Hornsports Burnt Ends - 05/16/2016
Last week in Burnt Ends we wrote this regarding players we’d like to see Texas target in the spring evaluation.
“Mansfield DB/WR Paulson (Saiid) Adebo is a fit both academically and athletically for Charlie Strong’s team. Adebo is a two way star, but we think his ultimate upside lies at defensive back. In a deep playoff run for Mansfield last year, Adebo locked down the competition at corner. He has a long frame and smooth athleticism, and he’s also an excellent student. Texas showed some interest in him last fall, but he hasn’t heard from them this year. In the past few weeks Adebo notched offers from Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Mississippi State. We have been told by sources close to his recruitment that Adebo would be extremely receptive to a Texas offer, so we will watch this one closely.”
Texas offered Adebo last week, and we were able to connect with our sources near his recruitment again to get the latest.
“That was one he was waiting on for a long time. I think Texas will be near the top of his list.”
Adebo is a bit like Kyle Porter from last year’s class. He’s not much for social media, and he bucks the trend of publicizing his offers on twitter like most prospects. Texas told Adebo they’d like to bring him in as a defensive back, and that aligns with Adebo’s goals for his college career. While he would be happy to play wherever he is needed, it was made clear to us that Adebo believes his long term future and upside is at the corner. Adebo is also working very hard to perfect his craft. He competed at the state track meet in Austin on Friday and Saturday, before returning to training on Sunday. It looks like this recruitment could stretch out through the season, and we will stay on top of it to bring you the latest.
+++++
Last week we told you about Henderson (TX) athlete Trestan Ebner. We connected with Ebner later in the week to talk about his Texas recruitment and where he currently sits. As we told you Texas increased their contact with Ebner over the last few weeks, and Jeff Traylor is putting in the work on this front.
“I talk to coach Traylor every day, and he came to visit me last week,” said Ebner. Texas is recruiting Ebner at receiver, but he told us he’s happy to play on either side of the ball at the collegiate level. “I don’t have a preference for either because I like playing both,” Ebner told us. If Texas were to offer they’d jump right to the top of his list. Ebner said he would have a top three of Texas, TCU, and Ole Miss if the Longhorns put an offer on the table.
As for Jeff Traylor, Ebner seems very impressed by one of the best recruiters on the Texas staff. “I knew coach Traylor before he went to Texas. He’s pretty cool! He keeps in touch with me and he keeps me up to date on what’s going on with me being recruited at Texas.”
From talking to him, it seems that Ebner lights up when Texas is mentioned. We believe Texas has a very good shot if they finally do extend an offer. We will keep you up to date of this recruitment as it develops.
+++++
We’ve been bullish in telling people that we believe if Texas can muster some wins in 2016, it could blow the roof off of recruiting. Kids really are buying what Charlie Strong and company are selling, but they want to see results and wins before fully buying in. It seems some programs from around the state are a bit worried that might happen. We were told of two separate instances in which other Big 12 schools were negatively recruiting against Texas this week. One instance involved a current Texas commit, while another involves a prospect many believe is leaning towards Texas. For the committed player, we have been told that this school is sending him tweets regarding each player Texas offers at the same position. This is a particularly bold strategy since this school hasn’t offered the commit in question, yet they keep trying to convince him Texas is stringing him along. Expect these things to continue, because if Texas is viewed as a sleeping giant, other schools will try to cut off the head before it can wake up.
Browning's powerlifting this year:
Body Weight - 228.9
Squat - 540
Bench - 340
Deadlift - 630
The Eyes of Texas: Satellite camps, five-star nuggets
The wait is over. Texas will finally conduct summer satellite camps. The slate begins on June 6 at the Mind Sound Body Camp — Charlie Strong has been announced and advertised as an attendee but UT officials have told Horns247 that Longhorn coaches “might” attend the event while Strong is not scheduled to — and continues June 16-17 when the Longhorns travel to both Houston and Dallas. The Dallas camp will be hosted by Dallas Showtyme, which organized last year’s joint Michigan-USC camp in the area. Along with Texas, Dallas Showtyme is also organizing camps for Michigan, Iowa State and Illinois this year.
Camp director Gerald Smith is excited about the opportunity to work with Texas after originally touching base with UT about a satellite camp in 2015. “I actually contacted them last year and at the time they weren’t interested in holding camps off campus,” Smith said. “They wanted to keep their brand on campus, which is understandable. But I contacted them again this year and told them we could do one in Dallas. The next thing I thing I know I got a call back saying that they wanted to do it, so we got everything filed and approved. We’re really excited.”
The key figure behind the camp’s setup wasn’t Strong but rather Director of Player Personnel Mike Giglio. While Strong obviously picked Dallas as a location, Giglio was the man working behind the scenes with Smith. “To be honest, I haven’t spoken with Coach Strong,” Smith said. “I spoke with (Giglio) and gave him a rundown of how many staff members they needed to send down and how it would be marketed. I also assured them that they didn’t have to worry about quality. I’m taking care of everything. They just have to show up.”
Quality satellite camps are something Smith takes pride in. Last year’s camp received national media attention and featured highly-touted recruits like Jean Delance, Rahssan Thornton, Eric Cuffee and Shawn Robinson. Smith said Texas will benefit by partnering with Dallas Showtyme because it will not only help with recruiting. but it will also get Strong in front of parents and kids. “Strong is building a great program,” Smith said. “I think he can build off coming here by just getting his face out there and interacting with the kids. I’ve been to UT’s practices, and the staff has a lot of energy. Strong is a teacher. If I had a son, I would want him to play for Strong because of his core values. I think everybody will get to see that side of him rather just what they see on TV. It’s an honor to work with him and Texas. We’re going to have a successful camp.” (Holland)
***
Derrick Tucker surprised many with his commitment to Texas A&M late last week. The four-star safety out of Manvel was considered a heavy lean. But I’m told Texas decided to take things slow with him following junior day in late February. While the Longhorns didn’t completely back off Tucker, they weren’t ready to take his commitment at this time. UT wanted Tucker to make other visits and fix his grades in the classroom. At this point, it’s not just about qualifying scores for the ACT and SAT. Tucker has to pick up his grades in regular classes and pass the state standardized test, which is needed to graduate.
Texas A&M took a small risk by accepting Tucker’s commitment and making him a priority. And it could pay off big-time — Tucker is a talented player that could make an early impact at the next level. With that said, Tucker isn’t completely shutting things down and could take a closer look at UT down the line. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see the Longhorns make a late push if Tucker gets everything squared away academically.
So with Tucker off the board for now, where does Texas sit at safety in the 2017 class? Things look pretty bleak. Texas is out of the mix for guys like Isaiah Pryor, Grant Delpit and Daniel Wright. Meanwhile, Tucker and Robert Barnes are both committed elsewhere. South Grand Prairie’s Jeffrey Okudah is the only other safety Texas has offered, but he’s being recruited as cornerback that can play multiple positions in the secondary. Texas recently offered Mansfield’s Saiid Adebo, who is listed as an athlete, and he’s a guy that I feel could fit the role. However, Notre Dame is in the lead and if Stanford puts an offer on the table, that recruitment could be over. I would expect Texas to send out at least a couple of new offers at the position in the near future. (Holland)
***
Dylan Moses has made one thing clear — Texas is his leader. The five-star outside linebacker out of IMG Academy (Fla.) publicly named Texas his leader this offseason over heavy favorites Alabama and LSU. Yet no pundits have put in a crystal ball pick for the Longhorns. The perception remains that Moses, despite his comments, will land at either Alabama or LSU when it’s all said and done. So why is Texas not garnering much respect? “I know he’s sticking with it, but I feel like he named Texas his leader because he was coming off a visit and loved it,” said a source close to Moses. “I think that’ll probably change a lot throughout his recruitment. I still believe he’ll land somewhere in the southeast.”
That’s not to say that Texas doesn’t have a shot here. The Longhorns are squarely in the mix for Moses and will be until the very end. Moses has already scheduled a return trip to Texas for next month, his father is a huge fan of Charlie Strong and the family has known Brick Haley for years. “I think he genuinely likes Texas,” another source said. “You can never count them out, especially with Charlie Strong. He has ties to the state. And not a lot of people are talking about it, but that’s what makes Houston a player, too. Dylan has family in Houston. He likes Tom Herman and what they’re building there. He made a visit last month and loved it. That’s a school to watch.”
Still, Alabama and LSU remain the popular picks. “He’s always loved the schools,” a source said. “LSU is a hometown thing, and he’s know the coaches there forever. He just feels comfortable there. He loves Alabama too. With Nick Saban and the tradition, it’s not hard to see why.” According to a source, Moses, who will graduate in December and enroll early, will likely make a commitment around October or November. At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Moses is ranked as the No. 1 outside linebacker in the country and No. 1 overall prospect in the state of Florida, according to 247Sports Composite. (Holland)
EJ Holland: Texas still in mix for rising DT Damion Daniels
Bishop Dunne defensive tackle Damion Daniels is taking things slow. A three-star prospect, Daniels holds close to 30 total offers and is carefully weighing all of his options. Daniels has no favorites at this time, but he does know when he wants to narrow his list. “Everything is going great,” Daniels said. “Every school is showing love. I don’t really have a top list of schools right now. I really love every school. I want to cut the list right before the football season at our media day.”
Daniels has visited Baylor, LSU, Texas A&M and UTSA this offseason. He was supposed to make his way to Texas for an unofficial visit last month but was forced to cancel due to illness. Still, Daniels said his interest in Texas remains high, and he hopes to make a trip before his senior season. “I’m really interested,” Daniels said. “I love Texas. They are an in-state school. They are only four hours away from Dallas, so it’s close to home. I have high hopes for them this season. I just really like Texas.”
Daniels, who picked up an offer from UT in late February, has been building a strong relationship with the coaching staff and communicating with them frequently. “I really like Coach (Coach) Strong and Coach (Brick) Haley,” Daniels said. “They are love. Coach BJ (Brian Jean-Mary) came up to the school and saw me, so they’re showing a lot of love right now.” Daniels is working along both the offensive and defensive lines this spring and is gearing up for a busy summer slate. Daniels hopes to make unofficial visits to Colorado, Ole Miss, LSU, Florida, Miami, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa.
At 6-foot-1, 315 pounds, Daniels is ranked as the No. 38 defensive tackle in the country and No. 80 overall prospect in the state, according to 247Sports Composite.
Hornsports Burnt Ends - 05/16/2016
Last week in Burnt Ends we wrote this regarding players we’d like to see Texas target in the spring evaluation.
“Mansfield DB/WR Paulson (Saiid) Adebo is a fit both academically and athletically for Charlie Strong’s team. Adebo is a two way star, but we think his ultimate upside lies at defensive back. In a deep playoff run for Mansfield last year, Adebo locked down the competition at corner. He has a long frame and smooth athleticism, and he’s also an excellent student. Texas showed some interest in him last fall, but he hasn’t heard from them this year. In the past few weeks Adebo notched offers from Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Mississippi State. We have been told by sources close to his recruitment that Adebo would be extremely receptive to a Texas offer, so we will watch this one closely.”
Texas offered Adebo last week, and we were able to connect with our sources near his recruitment again to get the latest.
“That was one he was waiting on for a long time. I think Texas will be near the top of his list.”
Adebo is a bit like Kyle Porter from last year’s class. He’s not much for social media, and he bucks the trend of publicizing his offers on twitter like most prospects. Texas told Adebo they’d like to bring him in as a defensive back, and that aligns with Adebo’s goals for his college career. While he would be happy to play wherever he is needed, it was made clear to us that Adebo believes his long term future and upside is at the corner. Adebo is also working very hard to perfect his craft. He competed at the state track meet in Austin on Friday and Saturday, before returning to training on Sunday. It looks like this recruitment could stretch out through the season, and we will stay on top of it to bring you the latest.
+++++
Last week we told you about Henderson (TX) athlete Trestan Ebner. We connected with Ebner later in the week to talk about his Texas recruitment and where he currently sits. As we told you Texas increased their contact with Ebner over the last few weeks, and Jeff Traylor is putting in the work on this front.
“I talk to coach Traylor every day, and he came to visit me last week,” said Ebner. Texas is recruiting Ebner at receiver, but he told us he’s happy to play on either side of the ball at the collegiate level. “I don’t have a preference for either because I like playing both,” Ebner told us. If Texas were to offer they’d jump right to the top of his list. Ebner said he would have a top three of Texas, TCU, and Ole Miss if the Longhorns put an offer on the table.
As for Jeff Traylor, Ebner seems very impressed by one of the best recruiters on the Texas staff. “I knew coach Traylor before he went to Texas. He’s pretty cool! He keeps in touch with me and he keeps me up to date on what’s going on with me being recruited at Texas.”
From talking to him, it seems that Ebner lights up when Texas is mentioned. We believe Texas has a very good shot if they finally do extend an offer. We will keep you up to date of this recruitment as it develops.
+++++
We’ve been bullish in telling people that we believe if Texas can muster some wins in 2016, it could blow the roof off of recruiting. Kids really are buying what Charlie Strong and company are selling, but they want to see results and wins before fully buying in. It seems some programs from around the state are a bit worried that might happen. We were told of two separate instances in which other Big 12 schools were negatively recruiting against Texas this week. One instance involved a current Texas commit, while another involves a prospect many believe is leaning towards Texas. For the committed player, we have been told that this school is sending him tweets regarding each player Texas offers at the same position. This is a particularly bold strategy since this school hasn’t offered the commit in question, yet they keep trying to convince him Texas is stringing him along. Expect these things to continue, because if Texas is viewed as a sleeping giant, other schools will try to cut off the head before it can wake up.
More recruiting.
IT--A lot of people, especially my family in California, can't fathom there are people who make a living writing about a single college football team year-round. It's not a real job, they'll say, and I'll nod in agreement.
The job is sort of real, however, because recruiting never sleeps. Hell, it doesn't even rest its eyes.
Because of the new satellite camp set-up, there's even more to write about. Save the Texas tornado that is January-NSD, May and June have become the most exciting months for recruitniks.
Here's how the current calendar looks:
FEBRUARY: POST-NSD
The days and weeks following NSD are a celebration, specifically if your team just landed nine new pledges. Sometimes Strong doesn't even get a commitment, he just reaches for that signature awaiting him on the fax machine. This is the equivalent of getting to home before getting to first. Possible, but hard to accomplish unless you have game.
This is also the unofficial start of the next cycle where things begin anew. Much of the recruiting of that class is already taking place, but now they're officially the class of relevance.
From late January to early March you'll see junior days taking place. Texas likes to have its junior day later than most because Strong's muscles need time to rest after all that flexing. A&M has its in January because atrophy.
MARCH
More quiet than the previous or following months. Spring practice will start for college teams and we'll have campus visitors angling to see practice. Track also starts up for many high school football players.
APRIL
The spring game plus track season is a good time for recruiting. Of course we have the Texas Relays which usually means some top level football talent is on campus.
In the middle of the month the spring evaluation period officially begins and coaches start hitting high schools to see 2017 targets who they can talk to, and 2018 prospects they cannot talk to.
MAY
May is full tilt spring evaluation. It's not uncommon for coaches to hit up five or more schools in one day as Jeff Traylor has illustrated. The evaluation aspect of the period is a bit overblown. Coaches usually just shoot the s*** with each other on the sideline. They'll eye-ball kids to get an accurate feel for their size but it's not like they're hovering over them and watching their every move. This is more about face-time. The kids who are being evaluated are usually those who will be invited to camp or in the class below.
Because there's so much contact between coaches and prospect there's plenty of content to write, and you begin to get a better sense for where the schools stand for each player and vice versa.
You'll also tend to see offers go out at this time as we've seen in recent days.
7-on-7 begins to heat up, which is a good way to access movement skills. A lot of younger players will start to emerge at these events.
Also skills camps begin to heat up. Justin will be at the ETSN.com camp in Tyler this Sunday. I'll be at Derrick Johnson's camp in Manor that same day.
JUNE
Recruiting Valhalla if you write for a living. Schools host their own on-campus camps as well as the satellite version throughout the state. This will be the first year Texas has held satellite camps but I've been going to other school's camps for years. It's a great way to see how other coaching staff's interact with recruits. Even Stoops comes across as likeable.
I'm going to try and put together a camp schedule for June. It's going to be a fantastically hectic month.
Of course we'll be at every Texas event we're allowed to cover.
JULY
It's time to hit the airport and head to The Opening. UT will have tons of targets in attendance; a far cry from the Great Depression of 2013 when it was Jerrod Heard, Lorenzo Joe, and that's about it.
Texas will undoubtedly have it's Under the Lights camp again. The first two installments have been a raging success. Seeing Strong wrap his arm around a player and walk the length of the field gives you a, "that recruitment is over" feeling.
Immediately after that camp is Big 12 media days. A not-so subtle reminder the season is right around the corner.
AUGUST
Strong typically decelerates in August and September to focus on the purpose of the whole thing; getting ready for football games. There will be some August camp visitors but for the most part things begin to quiet on the recruiting front.
Statewide we'll see some recruiting action from the recruits who want to have their announcement made before their season begins.
SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER
Game visitors and covering high school games/quote gathering is on the order. A wary eye must be kept on the players taking official visits to far off places. Trends begin to set sharply in many cases over these months. Invariably we'll hear of Texas not recruiting as hard as other schools. This will be semi-accurate but hasn't hurt Texas yet.
The behind the scenes information begins to heat up quite a bit and the picture begins to come together. November will be especially crazy this cycle because of the amount of early enrollees.
DECEMBER
December is this year's January as the real lead-up to NSD with big names such as Baron Browning, Anthony Hines, JK Dobbins, Dylan Moses, Jeffrey Okudah, Tyrell Shavers, Will Farrar, and Robert Beal planning on enrolling early. Texas commits, Sam Ehlinger and Kobe Boyce plan on doing the same.
I suspect we'll see Strong try and build class consensus earlier in the cycle than the last two years, and his efforts will obviously be aided or hindered depending on how the season goes.
Late December and early January is more important to this class than NSD itself. Hold on to your s*** in December. Those early/mid-December OV's will be pretty big.
JANUARY
We'll have the All Star games and the corresponding barrage of announcements. There will be threads aplenty; gifs galore. You will miss MAJOR and OBVIOUS hints we drop to ease concerns in order to focus on bizarre possibilities only the most creative imagination can come up with. Isaac Asimov meets Alex Jones, the recruiting version.
December and January are going to be awesome. The early enrollee decisions will play a major factor in how the class finishes up on NSD. While Texas has to hit the EE's with both barrels, they can't lose sight of other big names like Marvin Wilson, Walker Little, Omar Manning, and myriad others, including current Texas commits.
NSD
It's happy hour season!
As you can see it's pretty easy to fill out a calendar's worth of content. Sure there are clogs in the info pipeline from time to time but this cycle especially holds a lot of intrigue throughout, especially with the potential of two Christmas'.
This calendar potentially culminates with:
QB - Sam Ehlinger
RB - JK Dobbins - I'm putting trust in Strong and my read in JK. I'll ride with it until JK tells me not to
WR - Damion Miller - Baylor concerns me
WR - Omar Manning - Strong will have to work all the angles and build a family consensus like with Erick Fowler
WR - Tyrell Shavers - Texas kid, imo
TE - Major Tennison - Admittedly I have concerns with Florida and Michigan
OL - Xavier Newman
OL - Will Farrar - I'm feeling really good here
OL - Walker Little - Been feeling good here
OL - Grayson Reed - I could see Stephan Zabie here if Reed sticks with A&M
A player throwing a glitch in my calculator is WR Mannie Netherly. I think he can be had but I believe he'd have to hop on board earlier rather than later unless Texas takes four WR's which is possible. I'm trying to keep this to a 20 person class.
DT - Marvin Wilson - Everyone is sleeping on Texas for some very bizarre reason
DL - Lagaryonn Carson - If he doesn't make it in for whatever reason put Ondario Robinson here
DE - Taquon Graham - You know this cracka loves me some Graham
FOX - No idea. I'm not going with Robert Beal here, yes I know Strong has an angle of some sort. I do think Texas can make up some ground with K'Lavon Chaisson if/when it gets him to campus. I could see recent offer Josh Clarke getting the nod here. Beal will visit twice more, so there's that.
LB - Baron Browning -If he's in the class you don't have to take a Fox.
LB - Anthony Hines - I write this with zero homerism. I think, and have thought for some time, Texas will land the super duo
CB - Kobe Boyce
CB - Kary Vincent - Like with Manning this will be another fun one with TCU
DB - Saiid Adebo - If Texas gives the full sell I like its chances
DB - Not sure. I'm not going with an Okudah projection at this point. I think UT has a shot for Chevin Calloway but he's impossible to predict and he may prove a difficult read up until he decides.
So there's 20 - or 18 real predictions, and two 'I have no idea' cop outs. I do think the class can extend to 22 which leaves some BPA potential. At LB, Levi Jones will be one to watch, as well as Kenneth Murray from Elkins. These are the names you should be typing every time you look for the D-y-l-a-n M-o-s-e-s keys.
Texas isn't out of it with Okudah, so save that question/concern. I'm just not predicting him to Texas.
IT--A lot of people, especially my family in California, can't fathom there are people who make a living writing about a single college football team year-round. It's not a real job, they'll say, and I'll nod in agreement.
The job is sort of real, however, because recruiting never sleeps. Hell, it doesn't even rest its eyes.
Because of the new satellite camp set-up, there's even more to write about. Save the Texas tornado that is January-NSD, May and June have become the most exciting months for recruitniks.
Here's how the current calendar looks:
FEBRUARY: POST-NSD
The days and weeks following NSD are a celebration, specifically if your team just landed nine new pledges. Sometimes Strong doesn't even get a commitment, he just reaches for that signature awaiting him on the fax machine. This is the equivalent of getting to home before getting to first. Possible, but hard to accomplish unless you have game.
This is also the unofficial start of the next cycle where things begin anew. Much of the recruiting of that class is already taking place, but now they're officially the class of relevance.
From late January to early March you'll see junior days taking place. Texas likes to have its junior day later than most because Strong's muscles need time to rest after all that flexing. A&M has its in January because atrophy.
MARCH
More quiet than the previous or following months. Spring practice will start for college teams and we'll have campus visitors angling to see practice. Track also starts up for many high school football players.
APRIL
The spring game plus track season is a good time for recruiting. Of course we have the Texas Relays which usually means some top level football talent is on campus.
In the middle of the month the spring evaluation period officially begins and coaches start hitting high schools to see 2017 targets who they can talk to, and 2018 prospects they cannot talk to.
MAY
May is full tilt spring evaluation. It's not uncommon for coaches to hit up five or more schools in one day as Jeff Traylor has illustrated. The evaluation aspect of the period is a bit overblown. Coaches usually just shoot the s*** with each other on the sideline. They'll eye-ball kids to get an accurate feel for their size but it's not like they're hovering over them and watching their every move. This is more about face-time. The kids who are being evaluated are usually those who will be invited to camp or in the class below.
Because there's so much contact between coaches and prospect there's plenty of content to write, and you begin to get a better sense for where the schools stand for each player and vice versa.
You'll also tend to see offers go out at this time as we've seen in recent days.
7-on-7 begins to heat up, which is a good way to access movement skills. A lot of younger players will start to emerge at these events.
Also skills camps begin to heat up. Justin will be at the ETSN.com camp in Tyler this Sunday. I'll be at Derrick Johnson's camp in Manor that same day.
JUNE
Recruiting Valhalla if you write for a living. Schools host their own on-campus camps as well as the satellite version throughout the state. This will be the first year Texas has held satellite camps but I've been going to other school's camps for years. It's a great way to see how other coaching staff's interact with recruits. Even Stoops comes across as likeable.
I'm going to try and put together a camp schedule for June. It's going to be a fantastically hectic month.
Of course we'll be at every Texas event we're allowed to cover.
JULY
It's time to hit the airport and head to The Opening. UT will have tons of targets in attendance; a far cry from the Great Depression of 2013 when it was Jerrod Heard, Lorenzo Joe, and that's about it.
Texas will undoubtedly have it's Under the Lights camp again. The first two installments have been a raging success. Seeing Strong wrap his arm around a player and walk the length of the field gives you a, "that recruitment is over" feeling.
Immediately after that camp is Big 12 media days. A not-so subtle reminder the season is right around the corner.
AUGUST
Strong typically decelerates in August and September to focus on the purpose of the whole thing; getting ready for football games. There will be some August camp visitors but for the most part things begin to quiet on the recruiting front.
Statewide we'll see some recruiting action from the recruits who want to have their announcement made before their season begins.
SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER
Game visitors and covering high school games/quote gathering is on the order. A wary eye must be kept on the players taking official visits to far off places. Trends begin to set sharply in many cases over these months. Invariably we'll hear of Texas not recruiting as hard as other schools. This will be semi-accurate but hasn't hurt Texas yet.
The behind the scenes information begins to heat up quite a bit and the picture begins to come together. November will be especially crazy this cycle because of the amount of early enrollees.
DECEMBER
December is this year's January as the real lead-up to NSD with big names such as Baron Browning, Anthony Hines, JK Dobbins, Dylan Moses, Jeffrey Okudah, Tyrell Shavers, Will Farrar, and Robert Beal planning on enrolling early. Texas commits, Sam Ehlinger and Kobe Boyce plan on doing the same.
I suspect we'll see Strong try and build class consensus earlier in the cycle than the last two years, and his efforts will obviously be aided or hindered depending on how the season goes.
Late December and early January is more important to this class than NSD itself. Hold on to your s*** in December. Those early/mid-December OV's will be pretty big.
JANUARY
We'll have the All Star games and the corresponding barrage of announcements. There will be threads aplenty; gifs galore. You will miss MAJOR and OBVIOUS hints we drop to ease concerns in order to focus on bizarre possibilities only the most creative imagination can come up with. Isaac Asimov meets Alex Jones, the recruiting version.
December and January are going to be awesome. The early enrollee decisions will play a major factor in how the class finishes up on NSD. While Texas has to hit the EE's with both barrels, they can't lose sight of other big names like Marvin Wilson, Walker Little, Omar Manning, and myriad others, including current Texas commits.
NSD
It's happy hour season!
As you can see it's pretty easy to fill out a calendar's worth of content. Sure there are clogs in the info pipeline from time to time but this cycle especially holds a lot of intrigue throughout, especially with the potential of two Christmas'.
This calendar potentially culminates with:
QB - Sam Ehlinger
RB - JK Dobbins - I'm putting trust in Strong and my read in JK. I'll ride with it until JK tells me not to
WR - Damion Miller - Baylor concerns me
WR - Omar Manning - Strong will have to work all the angles and build a family consensus like with Erick Fowler
WR - Tyrell Shavers - Texas kid, imo
TE - Major Tennison - Admittedly I have concerns with Florida and Michigan
OL - Xavier Newman
OL - Will Farrar - I'm feeling really good here
OL - Walker Little - Been feeling good here
OL - Grayson Reed - I could see Stephan Zabie here if Reed sticks with A&M
A player throwing a glitch in my calculator is WR Mannie Netherly. I think he can be had but I believe he'd have to hop on board earlier rather than later unless Texas takes four WR's which is possible. I'm trying to keep this to a 20 person class.
DT - Marvin Wilson - Everyone is sleeping on Texas for some very bizarre reason
DL - Lagaryonn Carson - If he doesn't make it in for whatever reason put Ondario Robinson here
DE - Taquon Graham - You know this cracka loves me some Graham
FOX - No idea. I'm not going with Robert Beal here, yes I know Strong has an angle of some sort. I do think Texas can make up some ground with K'Lavon Chaisson if/when it gets him to campus. I could see recent offer Josh Clarke getting the nod here. Beal will visit twice more, so there's that.
LB - Baron Browning -If he's in the class you don't have to take a Fox.
LB - Anthony Hines - I write this with zero homerism. I think, and have thought for some time, Texas will land the super duo
CB - Kobe Boyce
CB - Kary Vincent - Like with Manning this will be another fun one with TCU
DB - Saiid Adebo - If Texas gives the full sell I like its chances
DB - Not sure. I'm not going with an Okudah projection at this point. I think UT has a shot for Chevin Calloway but he's impossible to predict and he may prove a difficult read up until he decides.
So there's 20 - or 18 real predictions, and two 'I have no idea' cop outs. I do think the class can extend to 22 which leaves some BPA potential. At LB, Levi Jones will be one to watch, as well as Kenneth Murray from Elkins. These are the names you should be typing every time you look for the D-y-l-a-n M-o-s-e-s keys.
Texas isn't out of it with Okudah, so save that question/concern. I'm just not predicting him to Texas.
"DL - Lagaryonn Carson - If he doesn't make it in for whatever reason put Ondario Robinson here."
Hope all is well with L. Carson...first time I've read any recruitnik questioning whether he ends up at UT.
Hope all is well with L. Carson...first time I've read any recruitnik questioning whether he ends up at UT.
Higdon thinks we'll only end up with 4 of the current 6 committed. D.Miller and M.Tennison have seemed to be the shakiest but who knows.
Speaking of.... Poster on another site related this below. Given his recent comments, I wouldn't call him a commit anymore at this point.
^as a side note, I was at the Bullard HS awards ceremony last night and Tennison was Gator chomping onstage.
Why even commit if you are not ready to commit. I only want the kids that bleeds burnt orange. If a kid does decommit, watch the UT curse begin. Always happens
The Mack Brown curse had some legs when most of the victims were in a time where decommits were rare and typically reserved for flakey recruits. Generally flakes aren't going to make good football players at the college level. Now it doesn't look as strong when so many kids commit / decommit with regularity.
Might want to hold you top 5 prediction cause you are now at 22 is all non biased people are saying.
Not if he visits that square, icy, rust belt shithole in winter. GFY
No recruit is a lock with Charlie Strong recruiting them.
Charlie could flip salt into pepper.
Charlie could flip salt into pepper.
I always hoped he would catch on... sad to see him go and not work out here. But good luck to him at Sam.
On a brighter note we now have another scholly in the '17 class.
Quotes from ATH Saiid Adebo of Mansfield after receiving a UT offer last week (24/7):
“It was big," Adebo said. "Growing up, I always liked Texas. It’s a home state team. If you live in Texas, you follow UT, so it’s a big offer. It’s definitely going to be somewhere I look at."
“I like the tradition. They’ve been down a few years. But Texas doesn’t stay down for long, so they’ll be back in no time.”
“I got to go to the field house and meet with Coach Strong and some of the other coaches," he said. "That was big. I talked to Coach Strong and Coach Jennings, who was at Arkansas. He’s going to start hitting me up here now.”
“It (future position) doesn’t matter to me,” Adebo said. “I think I’m equally capable of playing both ways. It doesn’t matter. Whatever school or system fits me best is where I will go.”
24/7 reporting OL Will Farrar is about to have surgery for a torn labrum that will see him miss time his senior year.
However, Inside Texas says that injury happened last year, he's already had surgery and is already rehabbing.
The UT staff knew about the injury before they offered.
Carrollton DE/TE Dayo Odeyingbo. This kid should be camping with UT. The staff is curious about him playing TE.
http://247sports.com/Player/Dayo-Odeyingbo-81070
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/4165393/dayo-odeyingbo
“It was big," Adebo said. "Growing up, I always liked Texas. It’s a home state team. If you live in Texas, you follow UT, so it’s a big offer. It’s definitely going to be somewhere I look at."
“I like the tradition. They’ve been down a few years. But Texas doesn’t stay down for long, so they’ll be back in no time.”
“I got to go to the field house and meet with Coach Strong and some of the other coaches," he said. "That was big. I talked to Coach Strong and Coach Jennings, who was at Arkansas. He’s going to start hitting me up here now.”
“It (future position) doesn’t matter to me,” Adebo said. “I think I’m equally capable of playing both ways. It doesn’t matter. Whatever school or system fits me best is where I will go.”
24/7 reporting OL Will Farrar is about to have surgery for a torn labrum that will see him miss time his senior year.
However, Inside Texas says that injury happened last year, he's already had surgery and is already rehabbing.
The UT staff knew about the injury before they offered.
Carrollton DE/TE Dayo Odeyingbo. This kid should be camping with UT. The staff is curious about him playing TE.
http://247sports.com/Player/Dayo-Odeyingbo-81070
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/4165393/dayo-odeyingbo
