THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas scored a huge addition with the commitment from wide receiver Jake Smith
Texas scored a huge commitment on Sunday night when wide receiver Jake Smith announced that he had chosen the Longhorns over USC. The announcement came just a few hours after Smith had returned home from his Texas official visit and it was a decision that had been in the making for a while. Texas really won the playmaking wideout over during his unofficial visit back in April, and since that time it’s just been a case of the Longhorns putting the finishing touches on Smith’s decision.
“To be 100 percent honest, he had pretty much, I’d say 95-percent, decided when he came back from his spring game visit,” said Smith’s father, James Smith. “He still went to USC on his official visit, and he likes USC, but it just wasn’t enough to push him over the top in that direction. When we came back (to Austin last weekend), he was 100 percent in as soon as we hit the ground in Texas. He loves it there. We love it there.”
Smith announced his decision on Sunday night via Twitter, but he actually made his commitment official on Saturday during a meeting with Texas head coach Tom Herman.
“We were on a visit with coach Herman out at his house. He sat us down, asked Jake how he was feeling, and he said ‘Coach I want to come to Texas’. It was really that simple,” Mr. Smith said.
Ranked No. 104 nationally, Smith is one of the country’s top offensive playmakers. He held more than 30 offers from some of college football’s top programs. In the end, it was his faith in the Texas coaches and the vibe he felt on his visits to Austin that helped the Longhorns win out.
“Really it’s the whole package for him. He sees it as a great opportunity for a great education. He sees Texas really as an up-and-coming football program, as silly as that sounds because it is Texas. He thinks they’re on the right path to compete for a national championship. I think that’s important to him,” Mr. Smith said
“He believes in coach Herman, believes in the staff. I think it’s the best fit he could find for himself offensively. I think that slot position is what they were coveting, think he fits very well into their offense in that position. When you’re looking at these schools, they’re all nice. USC is USC. Notre Dame is Notre Dame. Ohio State is Urban Meyer. They’re all good schools, but I think Texas really had the whole package. The other thing too, when you come from Scottsdale, it’s a warm weather climate, very similar to Austin. I think the environment in Austin, it’s very similar to Phoenix.”
Smith dominates the high school level in a variety of ways. His coaches at Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep get him the ball as a receiver, lined up in the backfield and on special teams. He’ll fill a similar role in the Texas offense.
“They definitely want to use him in a variety of ways. Not as a pure between the tackles running back, more line him up in the backfield, swing him out into open space. Also line him up in the slot, outside at times maybe, mostly just try to get him in open spaces,” Mr. Smith said.
Mr. Smith credited Bryan Carrington, Tim Beck, Tom Herman and Drew Mehringer as being the guys primarily responsible in his son’s recruitment.
2. Texas commitment De’Gabriel Floyd is changing up his body
People who have covered De’Gabriel Floyd for the past couple years will tell you he’s really put in work to develop his frame and add some good muscle mass in that time. Floyd’s at it again. I talked to him this week and we were discussing his Rivals profile, which listed him at 218 pounds. It turns out, that figure is no longer even close to being accurate.
“Yesterday I stepped on the scale and I was 244,” Floyd said. “My goal is to get to 250, then in the summertime burn whatever little fat I have, get down to a lean 240. I’m still mobile, can still guard receivers in the slot, take on running backs. It feels good.
“I want to put on a little bit more mass. Just because if I can move how I move, but be a little bit stronger and stout, it’s a harder situation for offensive linemen to block me and running backs to run through me. I want to get bigger and stronger, but keep my mobility. So far it’s going well.”
Floyd will compete in the Rivals Five-Star Challenge in Atlanta in a few weeks and then head straight to Dallas to compete in The Opening. From there, he plans to spend a good portion of the month of July in Austin.
“It’ll be the same thing as always, go down there, work out, kick it with the coaches, the players, just have fun,” Floyd said.
The Westlake Village (CA) product and Rivals100 member has been one of Texas’ most solid commitments ever since he gave a verbal pledge on March 31. Floyd reiterated once again that he feels great about his decision to be a Longhorn.
“I’ve never felt better. I’m 1,000-percent committed, will be in Texas in January,” Floyd said. “What made me commit so early was the situation I fell into. Coach (Todd) Orlando, coach Herman, they gave me the breakdown of what Texas needs in my class. I saw it and took advantage with my decision.
“It’s the vibe I get with coach Orlando, coach Herman. It’s a family setting They’re like my family already in a short amount of time. My teammates and the guys have already taken me under their wing. They’re ready for me to get there and ball.”
Floyd has been a vocal supporter of the Texas program on social media ever since he committed, and he keeps in touch with a number of recruits, including Jake Smith, Bru McCoy and Chris Adimora. He’s been singing UT’s praises to all of them.
“I just tell them the position you can be in. Texas isn’t biased against young players. If you’re a baller, you’re a baller,” Floyd said. “You can make an impact if you give yourself a chance.”
3. David Gbenda has stuck to his word of taking things slowly
When linebacker David Gbenda picked up offers from the likes of Texas and Texas A&M early in the spring, there was a lot of speculation that he might make an early decision. Gbenda himself maintained all along that he wanted to take things slowly, and he has stuck to that plan.
Things have actually been very quiet for Gbenda of late as he’s been focused on his workouts and starting to plan out some visits. Things will heat up a bit this weekend, with Gbenda planning to visit Texas A&M. He’s also considering a Texas visit in a couple weeks.
“Right now I’m still deciding (on favorites),” Gbenda said. “I think I’ll be narrowing it down this week.”
This one still looks like it’ll come down to either Texas or Texas A&M, and Gbenda said again this week that he’s not in a rush to make a commitment.
“This is my life we’re talking about. I’m trying to make the best decision for me and my family,” Gbenda said.
Texas’ biggest selling point is his relationship with the coaches and the recruiting momentum the Longhorns established with their 2018 class. Unfortunately for Texas, with Texas A&M off to a fast start in the 2019 class, the Aggies are very much a threat in this one.
“The new change that’s coming in,” Gbenda said of what he likes about Texas. “The new guys coming in, they’re changing the program a lot. Really, it’s just something about them. I like their defense too.”
With Gbenda set to be in College Station this weekend, it’ll be important for Texas to follow up with a visit of its own the following weekend.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. Why is Texas having such success with its out-of-state recruiting efforts?
Texas picked up its fourth out-of-state commitment on Sunday when wide receiver Jake Smith announced his pledge, continuing an impressive trend for the Longhorns in recruiting players from outside the Lone Star State. It’s a pattern unlike anything I can remember seeing in about two decades of covering the UT football program, but the out-of-state emphasis comes at the perfect time.
It’s not a fun fact to admit for Texas fans, but new A&M coach Jimbo Fisher has given the Aggies’ recruiting efforts a shot in the arm, and Oklahoma is recruiting well off a highly-successful debut season under new head coach Lincoln Riley. Texas is doing just fine in its own right with commitments from Tyler Johnson, Jordan Whittington, Roschon Johnson, T’Vondre Sweat and Jared Wiley, but the landscape of recruiting in the state of Texas is much different than it was a year ago, and the competition is about as tough as I can remember in the last decade.
Texas isn’t conceding any player, obviously, but the staff has been smart and proactive in identifying and really emphasizing several out-of-state targets, which have led to a run of early commitments from players in Arizona, California and Georgia. More are sure to come, possibly in the very near future.
The opportunity to recruit top national talent from outside the state of Texas has always been there for Texas and truthfully, it’s a recruiting philosophy fans have wanted UT to use going back to Mack Brown’s days in Austin. This year was the perfect time to really focus in on those efforts and it’s been a major success so far in this recruiting cycle.
Perhaps the most interesting side of this story will be whether or not Texas continues to heavily target out-of-state guys in the coming years. On one hand, the success the staff is experiencing this year would seem to indicate it might be a wise move. On the other, if Texas goes out and turns in a highly successful 2018 season (struggles by A&M and OU would certainly help as well), the in-state floodgates could open up and the Longhorns could once again dominate the landscape in the state of Texas.
Whatever the strategy, credit the staff for being smart with this year’s group and going wherever necessary to find top talent.
2. What to expect from UT’s summer camps?
Texas will host its first on-campus mini-camp on Tuesday night (the camps are closed to the media but we’ll be able to talk to some of the participants after it ends). So what to expect? There could be some movement with guys who put themselves on UT’s radar, or guys who are already on the radar performing well enough to garner an offer, but the days of camps providing a ton of fireworks are pretty much gone.
For those of you who have been following recruiting for several years, you’ll probably remember the days under Mack Brown when junior days and summer camps were two of the biggest recruiting events of the year, and we could always count on numerous commitments from both events. Not so much anymore.
Recruiting timelines have changed and evaluations are much more thorough in today’s day and age. Today’s camps are more about fringe offer players trying to make an impression, or younger players who are already on the radar showing up to get some time working out with the UT coaches. Of course, you’ll also have at least one big unofficial visitor in Javonne Shepherd.
ONE PREDICTION – Texas’ next commitment comes from a defensive back
Recruiting rarely goes according to the timeline that’s expected, but I’m just playing the odds here, since there are a couple that could pop at any time.
