THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. The recruiting implications of this week’s game could be huge
I’m pretty much stating the obvious with this one, but there’s nowhere else to start other than to talk about this week’s game against LSU, which looks like it could be one of the biggest contests I’ve ever covered in terms of the turnout of top flight recruits (confirmed list of visitors can be found here).
Simply put, this is the type of game that could really elevate the already stellar recruiting efforts that the current staff has put in over the past few years. Texas already recruits at an elite level, but having a large number of the state’s top prospects in attendance for what should be an absolutely electric atmosphere can only help the Longhorns’ recruiting momentum.
As Tom Herman said on Saturday night, Texas has to play well in order to capitalize on the opportunity. A win would be huge but I’m not sure I’d classify this game as a must-win from a recruiting perspective. As long as the Longhorns don’t go out and completely lay an egg, recruits will be impressed, they’ll get a feel for what Texas is building and they’ll get to see first-hand what kind of games they’d get to play in should they side with the Longhorns.
If Texas does win, it will be interesting to see if the Longhorns get an immediate push in the way of commitments, or if the impact will much more broad and spread out over the coming months. I’m certainly not ruling a commitment out this weekend (see my prediction later), but the guess here is that the results of this game – particularly a win – will be bigger with the underclassmen prospects that are on Texas’ radar than it will with the 2020 class. The Longhorns already have 18 commitments in this year’s recruiting class and with very limited numbers remaining, there’s not a lot of room for a game like Saturday to have an immediate impact. More than causing a bunch of 2020 players to want to jump on board, it would probably be impactful in helping solidify any and all of the commitments that are in attendance … or maybe even cause a player or two to want to flip their commitments from other schools to Texas.
Looking beyond the 2020 class, a good atmosphere and win this weekend could be huge with the 2020 and 2021 prospects. Elite targets like Ja'Tavion Sanders, Tommy Brockermeyer, James Brockermeyer, Tunmise Adeleye, Landon Jackson, Derrick Harris and Donovan Jackson are just a small handful of top in-state targets who are expected to be in attendance, and Texas should be able to help its standing with each of these guys. Could an electric environment be enough to propel the Longhorns over the top? It’s certainly not out of the question.
2. Texas made a strong move with 2021 OL Jager Burton after last weekend’s visit
2021 offensive lineman Jager Burton made his way to Austin on Saturday and took in the Longhorns’ win over Louisiana Tech. The Rivals250 member out of Lexington (KY) picked up an offer during the visit and it sounds like the Longhorns will definitely be a factor in this one as Burton works his way through the recruiting process.
“I flew down Saturday morning really early. We got there way before the game, looked around the city, walked around campus, got the vibe before game. That was really cool. I really like the feel of Austin,” Burton said. “I love Austin. I was at the facility at about 4. When we got there, my whole family was greeted and got shown around. After we got shown around, I met coach (Herb) Hand, talked to him for a bit. After that, we went down to the field. When I went to the field, coach Herman was there, they brought me out on the field and that’s when he offered me. That was really special.”
The backstory of Burton’s interest in Texas is pretty interesting. It turns out the Longhorns were one of a few schools he followed growing up, and when Herb Hand started following Burton on Twitter, the visit came together pretty quickly.
“I have three schools I grew up watching - Texas, Oregon and Kentucky. Texas was always a dream school of mine,” Burton said. “Coach Hand followed me on Twitter one day. I told my head coach I was interested in Texas, asked him to get ahold of them. Then coach Hand told me to call him and we talked like two times before I came out there.
“Texas, felt like every time I watched football, a Texas game was on and a lot of people would want to watch Texas. I just started watching and following them.”
The visit on Saturday made a strong impression on Burton and his family, so much so that Burton said he’ll definitely be back in Austin for a second visit at some point.
“They’re really high up there for me. I’m for sure going to take an official visit there. It’s going to be one of my five official visits for sure,” Burton said. “I think it would be an awesome official. They’re pretty high on my list. It’s the only game I’ve been to this season because of it being the first week, but I know for sure I’m going to take official there.”
Burton has a busy fall schedule of games he’ll see. This weekend he’ll see Clemson host A&M. He’ll be at games to see Kentucky, Alabama, Penn State and Ohio State in the coming weeks. Clemson is pegged as the early leader due in part to his best friend (2020 OL Walker Parks) being committed there, but Burton said the impact of Parks being at Clemson is being a bit overstated.
“Clemson is a big school I wanted really bad. It’s a rare thing to have (an offer from there). It’s the same thing with Texas,” Burton said. “They’ve only offered a few in my class outside of Texas. If you’re in Texas, why go out of state if you don’t have to? So that one was big.
“It (Parks being committed to Clemson) has an impact, but I think people are kind of exaggerating the impact. I wouldn’t make my decision solely off of where Walker is going. I have to make my decision for me too.”
3. Jalen Milroe was impressive in his season opener
Katy Tompkins and Texas QB commitment Jalen Milroe cruised to a 66-14 win over Fort Bend Austin in last week’s season-opener. It was a cakewalk win for Tompkins, and Milroe said it was a combined effort from everyone involved.
“It felt great, knowing the hard work we put in this summer, getting together with the guys, bonding, hanging out, having the opportunity to play together now. For the seniors, knowing it’s their last ride. We were giving it our all for the seniors,” Milroe said. “We really enjoyed the game last night. We were constantly getting after it, each and every play. The offensive line did great the whole game. We had some guys who it was their first year on the varsity. They did very well.”
Individually, Milroe didn’t get to put up huge numbers because of the blowout win, but he was incredibly efficient. He said he finished 10-12 passing for 210 yards, and four of those completions went for touchdowns. He didn’t run the ball the entire game.
“Actually, our running backs broke every time they touched the ball, so I didn’t need to run. I’ve never had a game like that,” Milroe said.
Milroe will be in Austin this weekend to see the game against LSU. Not only is he excited to see the environment, he’s hoping to do some more recruiting on the Longhorns’ behalf while he’s in town.
“Honestly, this is another time for me to see the atmosphere on game day. I’m excited for it. I’ll be able to see how the stands are, how the environment is on game day knowing I’m going to Texas. I’m going to be a part of it, so I want to see how it is, the atmosphere, the players, the fans, the coaches on a game day,” Milroe said. Now being a heavy recruit at Texas, I want to see how it is to be a player at Texas. I’m very excited to see how the offense, the defense is going to do, the program as a whole.
“I’m pretty sure almost all the 2020 and 2021 commits, they’re all coming up for the game. And some guys who are close to committing are coming too. So hopefully we get some good news.”
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. How does Big 12 stack up after week one?
The Big 12 is actually undefeated through one week of the college football season (take that, SEC!) and it could very well extend that perfect mark through two weeks if the Longhorns can handle their business against LSU. How I’d rank the conference through one week of action …
1. Oklahoma – Still the defending champs and that offense looks like it will once again be phenomenal. The Sooners probably won’t be tested until they meet Texas in October.
2. Texas - A dominating win in the opener. We’ll see just how good this team is on Saturday night.
3. Oklahoma State – The Cowboys put a beating on Oregon State on the road. Mike Gundy looks like his team will once again have an elite offense.
4. Iowa State – I thought for a second about dropping ISU after it struggled with Northern Iowa, but UNI is traditionally a really good program. The Cyclones will face a tougher test this week against Iowa.
5. TCU – It’s hard to gauge most of the conference since it played outmanned competition, but TCU handled its business easily.
6. Texas Tech – The Red Raiders actually looked pretty good and if Alan Bowman stays healthy, this could be a dangerous team.
7. Baylor – The Bears dominated Stephen F. Austin, as they should.
8. Kansas State – Six Wildcats scored TDs in a win over Nichols.
9. West Virginia – The Mountaineers had to come from behind to beat James Madison.
10. Kansas – The Jayhawks rallied late to beat Indiana State in Les Miles’ debut.
2. Why does cancer have to suck so badly?
I wanted to use this space for something a bit different this week.
Sadly, Orangebloods, UT, and the Austin Lunch Bunch recently suffered a loss with the passing of @BRHornz , who died a little more than a week ago after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Brian Bryant was a professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas. He’d been an Orangebloods subscriber since 2001 and I was fortunate to get to know him from my regular visits to the Austin Lunch Bunch over the last decade-plus. Despite his unwavering support for his beloved Boston Red Sox, Brian was always a favorite of mine at the lunch bunch with his cool, calm demeanor, his sense of humor and his genuine love for the Texas Longhorns. That gang of regulars that has been meeting for lunch every Wednesday is a great group of guys who I sincerely consider friends, and Brian will be genuinely missed by all of us.
To give you an idea of what kind of man he was, Brian reached out to me about one week before he passed to let me know his time on this earth was coming to an end. Even at that time, his message wasn’t about him, it was him telling me he appreciated my work and his final words were for me to “Be a great Dad!!!”
Our OB family has suffered too many losses over the years, and the passing of @BRHornz is yet another reminder of the connections that so many of us have formed through this message board. Rest in peace, Brian. You’ll be missed.
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ONE PREDICTION - Texas picks up a commitment this weekend
This isn’t necessarily a prediction I feel extremely strong about, but I have heard word that there’s a top prospect who could be strongly considering giving the Longhorns a commitment. If things go well this weekend, I could certainly seeing that news popping.
