THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Bryce Foster is open among his five finalists
Five-star offensive lineman Bryce Foster recently released a top five of Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, LSU and Oregon. The Katy Taylor standout was at last weekend’s Rivals Camp in Houston, where he was once again dominant. Foster gave us the lowdown on why those schools are the ones that are still on his list.
“Texas, obviously Hayden (Conner) is going there and coach (Herb) Hand moved there from Auburn, and I’ve had a really good relationship with him since the end of my eighth grade year beginning of ninth grade year. He was my second offer. He’s been the only coach to offer me at two schools so that's pretty cool. They're also really close to home, I have family up there.
“A&M, I have family ties there and our high school, Katy Taylor, we’re considered the Aggie pipeline and stuff like that. So I have a lot of friends that are up there playing. Also my brother went there and I've been there so many times. It’s already like that family atmosphere.
“Oregon, they've always been like my dream school, ever since I was little. My grandmother loved Oregon ever since she was little because she lived over there. I remember the first game I watched from them was when they played Auburn in the national championship when Cam Newton was quarterback. I got the blanket set out, had an Oregon bedsheet and I was I was sitting and I was waiting for it, hoping they would win. That was always my dream school and they're trying to change the fact from being like a super spread and fast-paced school to trying to commit to that old line type way.
“With LSU, coach O, I've talked to him for quite a while. I've gone to a few of their camps. I went to their camps in like fourth grade and fifth grade and sixth grade and I played D line at that point, not O line. So I already had a pretty good relationship with Coach O. He was coaching me and is a really good coach. And then coach Craig Cregg, they just want to Joe Moore award (awarded to college football’s top offensive line unit), which is really impressive and speaks for itself. And also they're pretty close to home as well.
“And then for OU, coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh, his reputation really speaks for itself. He put four guys in the NFL Draft last year, won the Joe Moore award last year, so that's pretty impressive. They're really a big track school as well. They do want me to throw. He came to our meet yesterday so it was pretty cool.”
Foster checked in at 328 at the Rivals camp, which is an impressive drop in weight after he was 340+ at the Texas Elite Day in January. The nation’s top-ranked guard prospect has set up his OU official visit for the Sooners’ spring game but he’s still working out dates for the others. Oregon will likely be in November, when Katy Taylor has an off week.
Foster, who also excels in throwing the shot and discus, has been very open that track and field will be a big part of his decision. He met with UT throwing coach Zeb Sion the last two times he was in Austin and said Zion’s resume and reputation are something he’ll factor into his decision.
“They're definitely one of the top throwing colleges in the nation right now. They have a guy named Tripp Piperi and he's a three-time national champion I want to say. He'll definitely be going to the Olympics. I remember throwing against his younger brother and he'll be just as good. But (Sion) has coached a lot of guys that are Olympic-level ready and a lot of national championship throwers which is a really big deal to me,” Foster said.
Foster will be signing during the early window in December, but he doesn’t have a firm commitment date. Most likely, it’ll be very late in the process, possibly even on the first day of the December signing window. At this point, he said he’s genuinely torn among his top five.
“I mean right now it's kind of a long shot. I mean I honestly couldn't tell you who's leading and who's not. But one big thing would be coaching stability,” Foster said. “That would be one of the biggest things. That's also another reason I chose those five. But right now I really don't know. Right before I take all my officials I'm making a spreadsheet and I'm going to have a little journal entry and write what I like, what I don't like, kind of a rating. I’m going to do that for all five and based on that and double check everything, I’ll have like a gut feeling and then from there I’ll be like ‘All right, I think I know here I’m going.’”
2. The young offensive linemen in the state again dominated the Rivals Camp in Houston
Coming out of the Rivals camps in 2019, and that includes the Five-Star Challenge, I remember my biggest takeaway being just how good the young offensive line class in the state was for the 2021 class. It was more of the same on Sunday, with the offensive line group again dominating the day.
Some thoughts from Sunday’s camp …
Bryce Foster was once again flat out dominant. I mentioned to another Rivals guy that I honestly can’t remember Foster ever losing a rep at one of these camps. I’m sure it’s happened, but he just makes it look so easy every time I watch him. Foster has some of the thickest calves I’ve ever seen in my life, he’s explosive (as his throws in track and field indicate), he moves pretty well and once he gets his hands on the defender in those one-on-one settings, it’s game over. I had the slightest bit of concern when he checked in at over 340 pounds on his recent UT visit, but he said he’s put in hard work and been smart with his food to get his weight down and he appeared to be in top form on Sunday.
Hayden Conner, like Foster, is usually terrific in these settings, and that’s not always easy to do for an offensive tackle facing off against defenders with no pads on who are able to use their quickness to their advantage. Conner was once again very good from his left tackle on Sunday and of the reps I saw him take, he was the clear winner on just about all of them. Conner took a tumble in the rankings recently but he should have helped himself with this camp performance and he’ll have another chance to shine at the Five-Star Challenge this summer.
Like the two linemen mentioned above, Donovan Jackson consistently dominates at these camps and he did it again on Sunday. Jackson doesn’t have the physical presence that a guy like Foster or Conner has, but he’s such a technician at his position that he rarely gets beat. He has good hands, his footwork is terrific and he just seems to be able to diagnose what is going to happen before the defender tries to make his move. Jackson showed up wearing an Ohio State jacket and said he’s locked in with his commitment.
Texas O-line offer Matthew Wykoff looked the part physically, checking in at 6-5 ½ and 301 pounds. I didn’t get to see a ton of his reps but on the ones I did watch, he moved pretty well and did a good job of riding defenders to the ground when they’d try an inside move.
2022 OL Kam Dewberry lined up on the other side of the line from Conner and pretty much had his way with his opponents in the reps I saw. He’s not quite as physically imposing as some of the other elite OTs in the state from the 2021 class, but Dewberry moved very well in this setting and punched his ticket to the Five-Star Challenge.
These camps don’t present favorable match-ups for linebackers who are charged with the task of covering running backs and tight ends, but Terrence Cooks more than held his own. In fact, he won pretty much all the reps I saw him take, which is pretty rare to see … usually it’s the offensive guys taking advantage of getting to work in space. Cooks ability to cover ground would make him an ideal fit in the Big 12.
Manvel 2022 linebacker Justin Medlock wasn’t really on my radar coming into the camp, but he is now. Medlock said he’s been in touch with Texas and will visit soon, and he was absolutely fantastic in his coverage skills on Sunday. He’s a bit undersized at about 6-0 and 205 but Medlock moves very well, he made plays on the ball all day and a case could have been for him to be linebacker MVP.
Texas linebacker commitment Derrick Harris was one of the more impressive physical specimens at the camp, checking in at 6-3 and 219 pounds with an 82-inch wingspan. It’s easy to see what Texas likes in Harris but he did struggle a bit at times in this event when lined up in coverage … not totally unexpected considering Harris is more of a combo LB/DE who excels at moving upfield.
UT running back offer Jonathon Brooks caught my attention right away when he showed up wearing a Longhorns sweatshirt. He mostly worked on the opposite side of the field from where I was watching so I saw only a couple reps … one on which he was blatantly interfered with, another where he juked the defender to get open for an easy touchdown grab. Brooks is a pretty big, well put together back, checking in at 6-foot and 186.5 pounds.
2023 running back Rueben Owens is still a pup being a freshman, but he already looks the part and he was one of the better running backs at the camp. He checked in at 5-11 and 179 pounds. Think Zachary Evans in a couple years when you predict how his body will fill out … muscular, lean, very athletic … it’s easy to see why so many schools, including Texas, have already offered.
Recent Texas tight end offer Landen King was fantastic. He’s got more of a wide receiver build right now (6-4 ½, 206.5) so it’s no surprise that he moves very well and linebackers had a lot of trouble keeping up with him. He ran some really nice routes and caught just about everything that came his way from the reps I saw.
3. The Kobe and Gianna Bryant celebration was way more moving than I expected
I have to admit, as a guy who grew up a Lakers fan, I had what you could call an on and off type of fandom when it came to Kobe Bryant. I loved Bryant’s flair, his athleticism and his competitiveness when he first came into the league. He was unlike anything I had seen at that age, and him playing for the team I rooted for made me an immediate fan. As his career wore on, there were things about Bryant that kind of pushed me away, and I at times found myself being a Lakers fan almost in spite of his presence on the team.
After reading and hearing so many stories about what kind of father Bryant was before his tragic passing, what kind of love he shared with his wife, what kind of person he was behind the scenes, I’ve come full circle on my feelings … I think my issues with Byrant and hang-ups on some of the things he did both on and off the court clouded my perception of what kind of person he had grown to become, and it probably robbed me of being the type of fan I now wish I had been throughout his career.
I didn’t watch every minute of the celebration of life ceremony, but the parts I saw were absolutely heart-wrenching and the tributes at the memorial (and several behind-the-scenes stories about Bryant’s character that have come out in recent weeks) paint a beautiful picture of a man who was able to overcome some mistakes and develop into the type of devoted and loving father and husband that should truly be celebrated.
Watching that memorial, I was absolutely blown away by the strength of Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, to get up in front of the world and talk about the loss of her daughter and husband. I cannot imagine having the courage and composure to get through that. The story from Lakers GM Rob Pelinka about the last texts he received from Bryant just before the helicopter crash, the story of Bryant learning to play Moonlight Sonata by ear as a way to honor his wife and daughters … just incredible stuff. The highlight just may have been the speech delivered by Michael Jordan. It was touching, it was funny, it was inspiring.
There was so much packed in to Monday’s memorial service that it’s impossible to touch on it all, but if you didn’t get a chance to watch any or all of it, do yourself a favor and find it online.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. Where does Texas stand with LB Terrence Cooks?
Pearland Shadow Creek linebacker Terrence Cooks came into last weekend’s Rivals Camp with a goal of improving his stock. After taking home linebacker MVP honors, he did just that.
“I don’t think a lot of people have seen me play so I’m trying to show everyone why I’m one of the bigger names. I’m just trying to ball out,” Cooks said before hitting the field on Sunday. “I have speed, aggressiveness, IQ, endurance. I feel like I’m one of the faster guys out here.”
Cooks measured in at 6-2 and 208 pounds. Recently, the rangy linebacker took a visit to Texas and he said he liked what he saw, including the time spent with new linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler.
“What stood out to me about the visit was the coaches. I like the way they brought in all new coaches. The new coaching staff is relatable, family oriented,” Cooks said. “I like coach Holtzer, the linebacker coach. I like a lot of the kids there. I talk with (Derrick Harris) and (LJ Johnson) a lot too. So there’s a lot that I like.”
Harris, the Texas linebacker commitment, has mentioned Cooks a few times as a guy he’s trying to get to join him in Austin. Cooks said he hears Harris’ message, but it’s too early to make any declarations about who is leading. He does plan to decide this summer, if he can find some clarity on which school suits him best.
“I’m just blessed to be in the situation that I am. You never know. Everybody will see when it comes to August,” Cooks said. “I want to be able to recruit players to my school. I don’t understand why people wait to last minute. If you know where you're going to go, you might as well just commit.”
Cooks will be at OU on March 1. He said he plans to visit Texas, LSU and Baylor this spring as well, possibly for spring games. He has yet to set up any official visits, but said he’d like to do those in the summer. As for any potential leaders, Cooks said he’s keeping an open mind.
“I haven’t even thought about that to be honest. I'm just kind of doing my own thing,” he said.
2. Could Texas land a top national back for the second consecutive year?
Rivals100 running back TreVeyon Henderson has been a tough guy for me to get on the phone over the past few weeks. When Texas first offered earlier this month, Henderson mentioned via text that he had a strong interest in the Longhorns but he and I haven’t been able to connect for a more “detailed” interview.
I’m still working to get Henderson on the line, but he did confirm via text on Monday that he’ll be taking a Texas official visit in April. Henderson said he also plans on taking official visits to Oklahoma, Michigan and LSU.
A Rivals100 member out of Hopewell (VA), Henderson’s a USA Today All-American who accounted for nearly 3,200 all-purpose yards last year and scored 53 touchdowns. I don’t really like comparing anyone to Jamaal Charles in the same way I hate making a comparison to Vince Young, but Henderson does have some Charles-like characteristics in his running style. Take a look …
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ONE PREDICTION – Terrence Cooks winds up committing to Texas
Cooks doesn’t really tip his hand on leaders when you talk to him and his visit to OU on Sunday could certainly shake things up, but there seems to be a lot of confidence from other recruits that the Cooks will be a Longhorn in the end. I’m not putting in a FutureCast yet, but I’ll go with Texas as it stands right now.
