THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas will host several big-time recruits this weekend
The Longhorns hosted some top recruiting talent in late January on a weekend that eventually saw Texas gain a commitment from offensive lineman Jake Majors. It’ll be round two this weekend, with a large number of high level prospects expected to make their way to the Forty Acres for unofficial visits on Saturday.
The days of big February recruiting events resulting in a flood of new commitments are largely over – it feels like forever ago when Mack Brown would have half the class locked in before the calendar hit March – but these events are still big for a couple reasons. First off, it gives the Texas staff a chance to place a key foundation piece with some of the top players on its board, and it also gives the staff a good idea of a player’s interest level when a prospect makes a visit (sometimes repeated visits) to campus.
It’s still early in the week and the confirmations will continue to roll in over the next few days, but players like ATH Mookie Cooper, DE Jason Harris, CB Ryan Watts, CB Dwight McGlothern, S Bryson Washington, DE Princely Umanmielen, OL/DLBraedon Nutter, WR Shadrach Banks (2021) and DE Landon Jackson (2021) have already confirmed that they’ll be on campus, which is a pretty good start as of Monday evening (updated list later in this column).
The Longhorns are off to a very solid start with the 2020 recruiting class, with three strong commitments and having put themselves in a very good position with several other top prospects from around the state. While this weekend may not produce a ton of fireworks the way fans have seen from junior days a decade ago, this will be one of the more important recruiting weekends for the Longhorns before the Orange-White game and the wave of official visits beginning in April.
2. We’re about to hit the camp circuit, which is always an interesting time of the year
Along with Texas hosting some top recruits on Saturday, this weekend also marks the beginning of what will be a busy camp circuit in both Houston and Dallas. Things kick off on Sunday with the Houston Under Armour camp, followed by a Rivals 3 Stripe Camp in Houston next weekend. Over the four weeks that follow that event, Rivals, Under Armour and Nike (The Opening) will all host camps in both the Houston and Dallas areas.
Those emergence of those events always bring a lot of interest because it’s a good chance to gather news on some of the region’s top talent, it’s a good opportunity to see some top national recruits compete against each other and you’ll see new names surface from somewhat under-the-radar guys who go out and perform well.
Last year at this time was when I first watched current Texas freshman Jared Wiley and came away impressed enough that I said I’d stack him up against any tight end prospect in the state, including Austin Stogner, who was in the Rivals100 at the time. I stand by that claim a year later (funny story … a couple reporters I know have a side bet on who will have the more successful college career out of Stogner and Wiley). It was at one of these events last year when I saw Roschon Johnson have a very solid day passing the ball but also stand out as a leader among his peers. It was at one of these camps when it took seeing about two passes from now-UT commitment Hudson Card to realize he had some legit arm talent and anyone claiming he was an “athlete playing quarterback” was misguided.
There is some overlapping of events so I won’t be able to be at all of them, but over the next five weeks, I’ll spend most of my weekends in either Houston or Dallas where I’ll get a chance to talk to a bunch of prospects to get their thoughts on Texas as well as see them in action. Whereas the February signing day last week passed with very little activity, this is always one of the busiest times of the year and it should help bring into focus which players have a good chance of being part of the Longhorns’ 2020 recruiting class.
3. It wouldn’t be a complete shock to see Texas gain a commitment this weekend
I mentioned above that I’m not expecting a flurry of activity in terms of commitments, but it certainly wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Texas add a name to its 2020 commitment list, or maybe snag a behind-the-scenes pledge.
Most of the uncommitted players in the 2020 class have indicated they want to wait until later in the process to make a decision, but there’s always a chance a player could fall in love on his visit, accelerate his timeline and shut down the process either publically or privately.
If you’re looking for possible candidates, pay attention to the guys who have been on campus numerous times ...
This will be unofficial visit number three for St. Louis Trinity athlete Mookie Cooper, who will be joined on the visit by two teammates, including Texas wide receiver signee Marcus Washington. Cooper has taken some other visits recently and while him making a move this weekend would be a bit of a surprise, it does feel like Texas is in the pole position on this one so it’s not out of the question that he m akes a move.
Safety Bryson Washington has had Texas high on his list for a while and was on campus a few weeks ago and is planning to return on Saturday. He’s indicated that he’ll probably wait until later this year – possibly the summer – to make an official commitment, but it’s clear he has a very strong interest in the Longhorns and Texas would appear to be the team to beat right now.
Defensive end Princely Umanmielen has been on the UT campus numerous times in recent weeks and while he hasn’t even released a formal list of favorites, it’s pretty obvious in reading the tea leaves that the Longhorns are in a great position to land the Manor standout. Oklahoma is still heavily involved here and Umanmielen has also talked up Arizona, but the more he visits UT, the more I like Texas’ chances.
If you’re looking for a 2021 wildcard, offensive tackle Tommy Brockermeyer makes sense considering his brother is on the team and his dad is a former Longhorn great.
None of those players have indicated they’re close to pulling the trigger on a commitment, but if you’re looking for three players who have Texas at or near the top of their lists, those are some strong candidates.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. How big of a priority is Zach Evans for Texas, and how much patience are fans going to need in his recruitment?
Five-star running back Zachary Evans is arguably the top prospect in the nation. He’s considered by most to be a once-a-decade type talent at his position and the best the state of Texas has produced since Adrian Peterson. His talent alone makes him the top priority in the 2020 class for the Longhorns, but when you factor in the Longhorns’ need at running back, I’m not sure it’s really that close of a race for the top spot.
Evans won’t be in Austin this weekend and will instead take an unofficial visit to Clemson, which has caused some unnecessary hand-wringing among the Texas fan base. My advice … and I’ll repeat this often … don’t get too hung up on every single move Evans makes. He’s taking a thorough approach to the recruiting process, he’s not going to rush into a decision and this one is nowhere near the finish line so there’s no use getting too worked up about everything Evans says or does, or everything that is reported on what he might be thinking. Would it have been nice to have him on campus this weekend? Of course. But remember, Texas hosted him a couple weekends ago with other high-profile targets on a visit when the coaches were able to spend more one-on-one time with Evans than they would have been able to this weekend, when the number of visitors will be greater
Evans has probably 100s of people pulling at him in every different direction, but so far in this process (and he’s been in the spotlight for a while) he and those close to him have been very upfront and direct, which is all you can ask. Evans doesn’t do a ton of interviews, but when he does he’s honest and forthcoming. His support system, particularly his brother, has always been quick and thorough any time I’ve asked him questions … again, as a reporter, that’s all you can ask.
Bottom line … I still like Texas’ chances in this race as much as anyone’s, but there’s a long way to go and Evans will take several unofficial and official visits, so fans would be wise not to overreact to his every move at this early stage of the process.
2. Who are some of the top players expected in Austin this weekend?
This list seems to be changing be changing by the minute, but here are some of the players who have confirmed they’ll be on campus this weekend.
2020 Prospects
ATH Mookie Cooper – St. Louis Trinity Catholic (UT offer)
DE Jason Harris – Gilbert (AZ) Higley (UT offer)
S Bryson Washington – Houston C.E. King (UT offer)
CB Ryan Watts – Little Elm (UT offer)
CB Dwight McGlothern – Cedar Hill Trinity Christian (UT offer)
DE Princely Umanmielen – Manor (UT offer)
DB Myles Slusher - Broken Arrow (OK) (UT offer)
LB Brennon Scott – Dallas Bishop Dunne (UT offer … a maybe to visit)
ATH Jahari Rogers – Arlington (UT offer … a maybe to visit)
OL/DL Braedon Nutter – Tomball Memorial
DE Robert Wooten – Stafford
WR Javian Hester – Tulsa Booker T Washington
RB Sevion Morrison - Tulsa Edison
DE Martez Poynter – St. Louis Trinity Catholic
RB D’Aunte Prevost - Arlington Bowie
TE/WR Bayne Tryon – Cy-Fair
TE Shamar Thomas – Beaumont Ozen
DT Sawyer Goram-Welch – Longview
DT Kendall Johnson – South Oak Cliff
RB Tahj Brooks - Manor
2021 Prospects
OL Tommy Brockermeyer – FW All Saints Episcopal (UT offer)
WR Shadrach Banks – North Shore (UT offer)
WR Latrell Neville – Houston Willowridge (UT offer)
DE Tunmise Adeleye – Katy Tompkins (UT offer)
DE Landon Jackson - Texarkana Pleasant Grove (UT offer)
OL Hayden Conner – Katy Taylor (UT offer)
DE Marcus Burris – Texarkana Pleasant Grove
RB Cody Jackson – Richmond Foster
DB Joshua Eaton – Spring McArthur
QB Charles Wright – Austin High
QB Samari Collier – DeSoto
WR/DE Devin Grant – Antonian Prep
2022 Prospects
DT Jaydon Wannstedt – St. Louis Lutheran
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas signs two players from the state of Arizona yet again in 2020
The Longhorns did a great job of recruiting the state of Arizona in the 2019 class with commitments from Jake Smith and Brayden Liebrock, and I’m expecting similar success in 2020. By my count, Texas currently has five offers out in the state. If the Longhorns hit on two of them, that would be an outstanding .400 average (assuming no other offers go out). Guys like Kelee Ringo, Jason Harris and Lathan Ransom have already expressed a strong interest in Texas so I’ll take my chances here.
