THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. The offer to Marques Caldwell could tip the scales in UT’s favor
When I spoke with defensive back Marques Caldwell after a Texas junior day visit back in February, he was already committed to Oregon but was pretty open about his strong feelings for Texas, saying if UT did wind up offering it would give him a lot to think about.
That offer came through on Friday after a Jason Washington evaluation, and when I spoke to Caldwell over the weekend I could almost sense his smile coming through the phone.
“I had gone up there for junior day, coach Washington loved me, and I loved everything about Texas. Throughout my recruitment, before I even got my first offer, Texas was a big priority for me,” Caldwell said. “They were one of my favorite schools growing up, them and Michigan. I went to a camp last year, but I was under the weather so I ended up not participating. The next time I went up there for junior day, he loved me, and we’ve been talking from there. He wanted to see me in action, came to my school for a spring practice. After that, we talked and stuff, he said he loved everything I did, coming downhill, taking the right angles, making plays. He came back a couple weeks later and I got the offer.”
Caldwell remains committed to Oregon but said he’ll speak with those close to him to weigh all his options. A visit to Texas will almost certainly happen.
“I’m just going to talk to my parents, just weigh my options more. But this offer, I really like it. It’s crazy,” Caldwell said. “I’m going to sit back and take a step back, just evaluate my options, go from there.”
Caldwell said likely he’ll get to Austin this summer for an unofficial visit and will take an official visit to Texas as well. Oregon, where he’s still committed, will get a visit. Ole Miss and TCU are also strong possibilities.
“I’m committed to Oregon. I loved it when I went up there for a visit, for Saturday Night Live (last summer). I loved everything about Oregon. The only thing that would push me from Oregon is do I want to be that far? I hate the cold too. That’s another thing. If something happened, how am going to get back and forth?
“I like the energy Texas brings. Just to know, Texas is back. Everything is going the right direction with Tom Herman. And all the coaching staff, the juice that’s up there right now is crazy.”
This one’s still up in the air with Caldwell currently committed to Oregon, but it feels like Caldwell to Texas has a very strong chance of happening now that he has the UT offer, and the guess here is that it could happen pretty quickly.
“Texas is a big priority to me, but I just have to sit back, talk to my family, things like that,” Caldwell said.
2. USC made a strong impression on wide receiver Jake Smith during his official visit
Scottsdale (AZ) Notre Dame Prep wide receiver Jake Smith narrowed his focus down to Texas and Southern Cal a couple weeks ago, and plans to have a decision sometime in June. Smith made his second visit to Texas for the Orange-White game and the vibe coming out of that one was that Texas was in a good spot to land the speedy wide receiver, but official visits to both UT and USC remained, meaning there was still room for movement in this one.
Last weekend, Smith took his USC official visit and as one would expect, the Trojans impressed. Smith told Rivals.com’s USC site that he “had a blast” and “loved” his visit, and it does sound like the Trojans gave him a lot to think about heading into next weekend’s official visit to see Texas. USC stressed to Smith that he’d have a chance to play early and the coaches have some creative ideas in mind to get the ball in his hands … all good selling points.
The obvious question … did USC do enough on the visit to surge into the lead? Smith isn’t naming a specific leader out of his two finalists, but I’ve heard through the grapevine that one recruit who spent time with Smith over the weekend feels USC will in fact win out in the end. Of course, recruits who spent time with Smith in Austin during the weekend of UT’s spring game feel the same way about Texas’ chances.
This one is still technically undecided and while it does sound like USC did a terrific job over the weekend and helped its chances, with Texas getting the last visit, I think there’s still reason for Longhorns fans to feel confident. Smith and his family have loved their first two visits to Texas, they’ve developed strong relationships with the UT staff, and Texas should make a strong move of its own when Smith visits on the weekend of June 1.
3. Jason Washington continues to recruit at an extremely high level
Texas cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator Jason Washington was named one of Rivals.com’s top 25 recruiters of the year for his work in the 2018 cycle (safeties coach Craig Naivar was as well), and Washington continues to recruit at a high level again this year.
Texas has already secured a commitment from top national corner Kenyatta Watson, and Washington was a large part of that. Watson and his parents all really clicked with Washington, and Washington’s track record of developing corners into NFL players was a big part of the reason Texas won out over Notre Dame.
In speaking to Marques Caldwell, he too sung Washington’s praises, noting that the two have developed a strong relationship and detailing Washington’s history of success with tall corners.
“Coach Washington is always going to bring energy. If you don’t have it, he’s going to give it to you,” Caldwell said. “He’s a really a great guy, just a special dude. He always has a smile. I love that about coach Washington. If you’re having a bad day, he’s going to lift your spirits.”
Caldwell said Washington has done as good a job of recruiting him as any coach he’s dealt with, and Washington does a good job of making a player feel wanted while also not smothering him.
“He’s not going to bug you every day. He’ll hit you every now and then to let you know he’s thinking about you. He’s a great recruiter, one of the best in the country,” Caldwell said.
******
TWO QUESTIONS
1. What will Texas get if it lands a commitment from Jake Smith?
Should Texas land Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep wide receiver Jake Smith, we thought it would be a good idea to go to his head coach, George Prelock, to get some insight into what type of player the Longhorns would be getting. According to Prelock, Smith is the total package of versatility on the field and high character in the locker room.
“It comes down to he’s an outstanding athlete. The speed doesn’t lie, you see it on film,” Prelock said. “He runs a 4.37, so that’s elite at any level. On top of that, he’s outstanding student … works hard in the classroom. You don’t have to worry about him there. He is a natural leader.”
In high school, Smith does a little bit of everything on the football field. He’ll line up at receiver. He’ll take the ball on jet sweeps. He’ll line up in the backfield and run wide or between the tackles. He’s a threat on special teams. Both Texas and USC have stressed that they’ll showcase his versatility in their offenses, and Prelock said Smith really excels with anything he’s asked to do.
“He’s a guy you have to keep tabs on, especially at the high school level. You can move him around, so it makes it hard for defenses to key on him. He has some versatility. You can put him in the backfield. He’s almost 6-1, is 190 pounds, so he’s not afraid to run in between the tackles either,” Prelock said. “In terms of versatility, you can give it to him on the edge, in space, or right up the gut.”
As good as Smith is on the field, Prelock said the thing that stands out the most about the standout wide receiver prospect is his character and work ethic.
“It’s first off, when it comes down to it, he’s a great kid. We’re blessed to have him,” Prelock said. “When you have a good kid, it’s really easy. It makes my life easier, but not only because of his athleticism. Most importantly it’s who he is as a teammate. He’s really good with teammates, helps people out, hasn’t gotten egotistical, wants everyone to get better. He knows if he challenges them, they’ll also challenge him, and everyone gets better.
“Kids obviously look up to him. If things don’t get done right, he’ll call guys back and say let’s replay that, run a paly back. He basically leads by example. People say he’s so talented, that’s because he works so hard at practice. He steals reps, loves football so he loves football practice. He really wants to get better at his game, better at his craft.”
2. Texas’ focus on out-of-state recruiting in the 2019 class continues to expand
It seems like with every day that passes during the spring evaluation period, new offers are going out by the Texas staff. And, the majority of those offers have been to non-Texans.
According to the Rivals.com database, Texas has extended 114 total scholarship offers for the 2019 class. Seventy-seven of those offers (67.5 percent) are to out-of-state prospects. That really is a staggering number when you think about the recruiting pattern that Texas has employed over the last 15 years or so. Long gone are the days when Mack Brown would talk about the incredibly low number of prospects Texas offered and signed.
So what’s the reason? Tom Herman detailed the current philosophy to @Anwar Richardson earlier this month:
“If there’s a kid in Texas we believe we can win a national championship with, and he wants to come, or we believe he wants to come to Texas, then we’re going to take him. What that means is in a given signing class, we’re going to take four linebackers, and you think, great, there are four in the state we can win a national championship with, we feel good about the first two, the third one commits somewhere already, and the only one you don’t have a good feeling on, that doesn’t mean take the fifth-best linebacker in the state if you don’t believe he can win a national championship. It means cast your net a little wider, and find other people in other places you can win a national championship with.”
Three of the Longhorns’ six commitments are from out-of-state players (Georgia, Arizona, California) and there very well could be a couple more in the near future. Texas continues to look at talented players from all over the map for a variety of reasons – the talent being down in-state at certain positions, ties to certain players/schools, A&M and Oklahoma’s fast recruiting starts – and so far, the Longhorns have been extremely successful.
A lot can change over the next seven months, especially once the 2018 season starts, but this is looking more and more like it will be a Texas class that will feature double-digit out-of-state signees, which is new territory for most Longhorn recruiting fans. What will be interesting is to see if this pattern holds true in the long run or if this year winds up being more of an outlier. The guess here is that if the Longhorns go out this fall and win a bunch of ball games, it will help Texas regain its stranglehold on in-state recruiting and the focus will shift back to more in-state recruiting. Regardless, it’s good to know that the staff has once again adapted when necessary and is able to have success in its national recruiting efforts in a year when it’s been needed.
******
ONE PREDICTION – Texas lands a commitment from Jake Smith in June
This is a bit of a rehash since I predicted in this column a few weeks ago that Smith would choose Texas over USC, but it’ll probably be a prediction that will be made regularly until Smith actually makes his decision, and it’s worth re-addressing since Smith just visited Southern Cal.
The Rivals250 receiver is expected to pick either Texas or USC in June. USC did a good job on its visit last weekend, according to Smith, but with Texas set to get the last visit, this one just makes too much sense for the Longhorns. Even a USC source I spoke with on Monday felt Texas would ultimately win out after getting Smith’s last official visit.
