Texas has loaded up on skill position talent in the 2018 recruiting class, but the coming into this week, the Longhorns were still in major need of some help in the trenches, particularly along the defensive line.
Texas got that help on Monday afternoon, with defensive tackle Keondre Coburn announcing on Twitter that he has committed to Texas.
Coburn, out of Houston Westfield, has been thought of as a strong Texas lean for some time, but he had kept people guessing on exactly when he might make an announcement. A Rivals250 member, Coburn did visit Texas earlier this spring but wasn’t able to attend UT’s Stars at Night camp in late July. He did visit Alabama that same weekend, causing some fans to get nervous. It turns out, those nerves were all for naught.
The 6-2, 305-pound Coburn becomes Texas’ 16th commitment in the 2018 class and is the Longhorns’ first defensive line pledge.
He’s obviously strong and stout, sturdy. He’s really capable of rushing the passer and playing strong,” said Rivals.com regional recruiting analyst Nick Krueger. “This spring, I thought he really showed a lot of improvement, not from bad to good, just more progression. At the Under Armour camp (in Houston), He went against Kardell (Thomas), and just ate his lunch. He has good pass rush moves, can work the spin, has all the intangibles you like.”
Landing Coburn is a big recruiting win for Texas for a number of reasons. Coburn’s obviously a tremendous talent but he also plays at a need position and it’s a down year for defensive tackles in the state of Texas.
“I guess the two closest guys to talk about (in the state) would be Bobby Brown since he can probably play d-tackle, and Calvin Avery, who just committed to Illinois. All three are very different players though. They all play the same position, but they have one defining factor about each that makes them unique.”
Coburn has been a regular visitor to the Forty Acres over the past couple years, and he has ties to the Texas program in former Westfield head coach and current UT tight ends coach Corby Meekins. Seeing Coburn announce his commitment to the Longhorns wasn’t necessarily unexpected, but that doesn’t take away from the recruiting significance it has on the Longhorns’ class.
A four-star prospect, Coburn is Texas’ 12th four-star commitment and UT’s eighth commitment from the Rivals250.
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