1. Texas could be in for a really big recruiting moment in the coming months
If you've read this column in the past, you probably know I'm not a big believer in silent commitments. Yet, I keep finding myself bringing them up.
In my eyes, a player really isn't committed until he's acknowledged it publicly and basically let other colleges know of his intentions. And a player certainly isn't silently "committed" if he's taking other visits. All that being said, you can gain some valuable insight on where a recruit - or a program - stands if there is talk about players giving some sort of verbal pledge behind the scenes.
In talking to someone this week, I was told of an interesting note that I'll definitely be filing away for later. Rumor on the streets is that there's a group of recruits who want to commit to Texas on the same day, possibly this summer. They even have a plan of how they want to announce the big news.
We'll see if the plan actually comes to fruition and you'll get no further details from me out of respect to the players who may or may not be involved, but it sounds like there's at least a chance that Texas could score some recruiting momentum in the not-too-distant future.
2. New UT commit Byron Hobbs is a terrific player, but also quite the prankster
New Texas linebacker commitment Byron Hobbs pulled off a bit of a surprise when he announced his decision to attend Texas on Twitter on Friday evening. The fact that Hobbs chose the Longhorns wasn't exactly a huge shock, but the timing of his decision seemed to come out of the blue.
I was able to catch up with Hobbs on Sunday and he told me there was no big plan to commit when he did, and there was no real significance to him pulling the trigger on April 7. Instead, Hobbs said, he just felt in his gut it was the right time, and he and his family figured he may as well get the recruiting process over with.
Hobbs, out of Fort Worth Eastern Hills, said he knew he was going to commit to Texas ever since attending a UT scrimmage earlier this spring. When I asked him what Texas had that pushed UT out in front of all the other schools (programs like Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Baylor and Arkansas had offered), Hobbs had a pretty good response.
"What didn't Texas have is the real question," Hobbs said.
The best part of my conversation with Hobbs was when he detailed how his commitment happened ...
Hobbs first called Tom Herman to tell him of his decision to commit to Texas, but then decided to have a little fun with defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.
"We called coach Orlando about five minutes later. I told coach Orlando 'Thank you for all the time you've spent on me but I'm committing to Oklahoma,'" Hobbs said. "He told me to get off the phone with him and I started laughing. I told him I was kidding and I want to commit to the University of Texas."
3. Texas is in a good spot to pick up a quarterback commitment on Thursday
Quarterback Casey Thompson is set to announce his decision on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at his school. The ceremony will be live-streamed by a couple different media outlets, and the guess is here is that Longhorn fans will want to tune in.
In talking to the Moore, Ok. product this week, he said Texas, North Carolina, Arizona State, Miami, Tennessee and Oklahoma are all schools that drew consideration, but he has officially settled on one school. With Thompson's familiarity with the Texas coaches and UT campus (he's been to Austin twice this spring, including last weekend), Texas is the clear odds-on favorite.
Thompson told me this week he really likes the UT staff, including Herman and Beck, and after sitting in on the quarterback meetings last weekend, he feels like he'd be a good fit in the Longhorns' offense. The UT coaches and current team members were telling Thompson he needs to join the program, and it feels like their sales pitch was enough to seal the deal.
If Texas does land Thompson, it will get a talented dual-threat quarterback (Rivals250 member), but it will also get a young man who seems to have the intangibles you want in a quarterback - he's mature, has a really good head on his shoulders and other players seem to gravitate to him. About a month ago, on our OB podcast, I mentioned that I thought he could be a sort of Pied Piper for the Longhorns should he eventually commit and barring a surprise, it looks like he'll have a chance to begin working on other prospects as early as this weekend.
1. What will be a few important elements to watch in the Orange-White game?
The Longhorns will put a bow on their 2017 spring football season on Saturday with the Orange-White game, which always provides some talking points. A few areas on which I'll be focusing (along with recruits, of course):
Quarterbacks - Once again, this one's obvious and everyone at the stadium will be focused on this position. Everything I continue to hear is that Shane Buechele is the clear leader heading into the spring game. From a person who was at Saturday's scrimmage: "(Anyone) that said Sam (Ehlinger) outplayed (Buechele) is insane. (Buechele) is head and shoulders above Sam right now. Maybe not in August, but absolutely better right now."
Running backs - When Chris Warren went out with an injury, I predicted in this column a couple weeks ago that I thought Kyle Porter had a chance to surprise people this spring, and it sounds like he's done just that. The coaches and various people close to the team have sung Porter's praises, including after last week's scrimmage (I'm told Porter actually got rolled up in that practice but stayed in). Texas needs Porter to be good, and I'll be curious to see how he looks on Saturday.
Defensive personnel - Obviously, we'll be watching to see which individual players step up and make plays, but I'm equally interested to see what type of personnel groupings the coaches use. Will guys l ike Malcolm Roach, Malik Jefferson and Beckyn Hager all be on the field at the same time? How will the d-line rotation work? A lot of those key decisions won't be made until fall camp, but we'll have a pretty good idea of what the coaches are thinking after Saturday's scrimmage.
2. What does Texas need to do to win over a guy like Anthony Cook?
Houston Lamar five-star cornerback Anthony Cook was on campus for Saturday's scrimmage, and the Longhorns still feel like the team to beat. But it's not a slam dunk.
In talking to Cook recently, he is genuinely interested in Clemson (he has visited there twice) and any time a player is visiting Ohio State, as Cook will do this weekend, it's worth watching. LSU is another school that will be a big player for the ultra-talented Cook.
To me, this one seems pretty simple - it will all come down to Texas winning games. If UT wins big in the fall, Cook feels like he's pretty much a lock. If Texas struggles, the staff will have to sell him on the future, which may make it difficult when the other schools high on his list are winning big already. I'm not even sure Texas has to win big right away ... if the Horns can just show improvement in 2017, enough to convince Cook that things are heading in the right direction, I expect he'll be a Longhorn.
ONE PREDICTION - Texas will host multiple out-of-state satellite camps
It was announced this week that the Longhorns will be part of a camp at Kennessaw State (about 20 miles north of Atlanta) on June 11. Expect more camp dates to follow. I've heard third-hand information form a couple people now that the Longhorns will also be part of at least one camp in Florida. Dare I say, "Tom Herman gets it."
