The 3-2-1 is presented to you by Midtown Urology:
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. The play of the Texas offensive line could directly impact UT’s recruiting efforts this year
As if Herb Hand didn’t have enough on his plate trying to rebuild the Texas offensive line and jump-start the Longhorn offense with his role of co-offensive coordinator - in talking to some key recruits over the weekend, they made it clear that Hand’s unit will directly impact how strongly they consider the Longhorns.
All-everything 2020 running back Zachary Evans, who will be recruited by just about every school in the country and has Texas high on his list, was asked at Sunday’s Under Armour Camp how much he’s paying attention to running back depth charts. According to Evans, he’s not worried about each team’s backfield (nor should he be … he’ll be as talented as any back on any roster). In talking to him after he was done doing interviews, the five-star standout mentioned that he’s more concerned about what each team is doing along the offensive line.
As he put it, he hasn’t always had the most dominant offensive lines paving the way for him, and he knows a running back’s success largely depends on the guys up front. With that in mind, he said he’ll be closely monitoring the offensive line play and recruiting of the teams on his list. He got a look at the UT line at a recent scrimmage and said it looked good (including springing a couple long runs) and he’ll get another look at Saturday’s Orange-White game.
Five-star offensive lineman Kenyon Green had a similar story, saying he wants to see improvement in some of the teams he’s considering, including Texas and Texas A&M. If a team is making strides with its offensive line play (and win/loss total) from the spring to the fall, it’s a factor that will impact Green’s eventual decision.
“They’re trying to come up off of okay seasons,” Green said of in-state schools Texas and Texas A&M. “They’re working. I’ve been there a lot, and they’re putting in a lot of work. I just want to see what they’re going to do this season.”
Improved offensive line play could certainly have a trickle-down effect on other prospects as well. As they say, it all starts up front and if Hand can work his magic and get the Texas o-line performing at a high level, it’ll have a ripple effect that will help the quarterbacks, receivers … basically everything from top to bottom … and improved play by the offense will certainly help recruiting, including having a direct impact on guys like Evans and Green.
2. Recruiting momentum can be a fickle thing
This has already been an interesting recruiting cycle. Early in the year, Texas A&M seemed to have all the momentum, with the Aggies reeling in several key commitments while Texas sat at only one pledge (albeit a huge one from Roschon Johnson). A&M’s fast start under new coach Jimbo Fisher had Aggie fans puffing their chest out claiming (yet again) they were ready to dominate the recruiting landscape.
It wasn’t too long after that when we saw A&M lose a couple key commitments (including its own hotshot QB) and Texas start to surge with many of the Longhorns’ top targets. Texas won head-to-head battles over A&M for both T'Vondre Sweat and Jordan Whittington, the latter of those two being one of the most hotly-contested battles of the 2019 recruiting season. Texas was trending up, A&M seemed to be in a lull after its fast start, and the Longhorns appeared to have seized all momentum.
Fast forward to the last week, and things appear to have once again shifted. Oklahoma has experienced tremendous success with five commitments in the span of four days, including pledges from highly-ranked Texans Jamal Morris, Arjei Henderson and Theo Wease. Texas A&M picked up a big pledge from tight end Baylor Cupp and is poised to potentially snag a commitment from one of the Longhorns’ top targets in DeMarvin Leal. Meanwhile, Texas is fighting some tough competition to land Garrett Wilson and Nana Osafo-Mensah, two recruitments (along with Leal) that are suddenly all too uncomfortable for Longhorn fans.
It wasn’t the most positive recruiting week for Texas and potentially losing Leal is going to really sting, but we’ve seen in the past 18 months that this UT staff can more than hold its own in recruiting, and I’d expect momentum to shift a few more times over the course of this recruiting cycle.
3. Keondre Coburn and D’Shawn Jamison are both hoping to contribute right away
While in Houston covering Sunday’s Under Armour All-America Camp, one of the unexpected perks was seeing Texas signees Keondre Coburn and D’Shawn Jamison on the field helping out and cutting up.
Another reporter and I were able to corral the two, who were in great spirits and both let it be known they’re ready to get started on their UT careers (despite the anticipated butt kicking by Yancy McKnight).
Coburn told us his focus since National Signing Day has been on his workouts and conditioning, finishing strong with his books, while also throwing the shot and discus in track and field. As for his upcoming arrival on the Forty Acres in late May, he said he’s excited and ready to take whatever is thrown at him.
“They tell you what to expect, but I just have to man up and get ready for whatever comes my way,” Coburn said. “Just take it and go with it. I’m ready to get to college.”
The big d-tackle said he’ll be at the Orange-White game on Saturday. With Texas fairly thin along the interior of the defensive line, Coburn figures to have a chance to play early. The coaches have told him as much, although he knows (and they’ve said) it’ll require him to put in a lot of work.
“They’re telling us the same thing – you can come in and play early, but you have to work for it. Nothing is guaranteed,” Coburn said. “I can go up there, if I do everything right, I could start. But I’m not worried about other people, I’m worrying about me. I have to get right first of all before I can even think about that. I’m just ready to get to college and get started.”
Jamison, the do-it-all athlete from Houston Lamar, said he’ll start off focusing on defense and special teams (he’s been told nickel and corner on defense), but he’s not ruling out the possibility of playing some offense as well. In fact, he’s been sharpening his offensive tools.
“As of now, I’ve been working on a little bit of slot receiver, trying to get my quickness back up. I can’t just rely on my speed. I’ve been training on my routes, trying to catch the ball, keep my eyes on the ball,” Jamison said. “That’s one of the main things I’ve been doing out here.”
Jamison and Coburn are both on meal plans given to them by Texas and they’re trying to stick to the workout plans McKnight gave them when they signed. Jamison said he’s at about 180 pounds and wants to get to 190, which shouldn’t be a problem once he gets to campus.
“Right now, they’re just telling me to work out, get your weight up, because once you get up there, it’s all business,” Jamison said. “I have to gain a little bit of pounds, so I’m just trying to get my eating habits right, going out and working out, running, getting my conditioning right. I’m just trying to be prepared for college.”
1. What are UT’s chances with David Gbenda?
Let me start off by saying that my money (so to speak) is still on linebacker David Gbenda picking Texas (70 percent on the recruiting board). With that out of the way, I should also point out that this one’s a little tougher to predict than I originally thought it would be. First off, Gbenda is planning to take his time with the process, which means more variables could come into play as time wears on. Secondly, he really does speak glowingly about every program you ask about … so much so that I was joking with a writer who covers another school that no matter who you cover, you come away thinking Gbenda LOVES that program every time you talk to him. Bottom line … the Katy Cinco Ranch standout is incredibly personable and likeable, and he really is enjoying the recruiting process.
I do still favor Texas though, mostly because Gbenda has been a regular visitor to the Forty Acres this spring, the relationship he’s built with other recruits who like Texas, his admiration for Todd Orlando and the success he sees some of the young Longhorn defenders having this spring. I caught up with Gbenda again at Sunday’s Under Armour Camp and asked him to reflect on his visit to see a UT scrimmage a couple weekends ago.
“Really what stood out for me was seeing the family vibe the team has and seeing the development Tom Herman has going on over there. Seeing the scrimmage and stuff and really seeing how the new players are coming in, like B.J. (Foster),” Gbenda said. “What I really like, they told me the same thing – you can come in this program and you can work for it. I got to see it first-hand, if you come in, really buy into it and work, you have a possibility to play and star.”
Gbenda did visit Texas A&M last weekend for the Aggies’ spring game and said that trip also made an impression, including the direction Jimbo Fisher has A&M heading and the quick installation of the Aggeis’ new defense. He’s going to talk to his father this week about return to Austin on Saturday for the Orange-White game, which would give him a chance to compare and contrast the two.
“That’s something I really want to see. I saw the atmosphere of Kyle Field, now I want to see the atmosphere down there because I feel it’s something crazy over there (at Texas),” Gbenda said.
Gbenda said he plans to sit down with his mother and father soon to discuss official visits. His plan right now is to not take those trips until the fall so he can watch some of the 2018 season and factor each team’s success into the equation. He does see the opportunity for early playing time at Texas, which should only help UT’s chances, and he’s seen first-hand this spring that the current Longhorn staff will play young pups if they come in prepared.
“They told me, they’re not going to promise early playing time. Coach Orlando has told me personally, seeing how there’s a need and want for linebackers over there, if I came in early I could really have a chance to get more playing time than if I came in later,” Gbenda said (he’s unsure if he’ll enroll early). “That’s something that’s really shown from the depth chart. They’re graduating two linebackers and Dele (Adeoye) was there doing some good things also. So to just really see that, he’s told me basically to come in, do your thing, learn it because it’s going to be a learning process and you’re going to fumble around and stuff, but it’s really the time aspect of learning.”
If you really want to be torn on what Gbenda’s thinking, take a look at the photo below. A couple of us reporters from the UT market asked him for a pic, and he politely obliged. He even threw up the Horns unsolicited. Great sign, right? I thought so, until it was pointed out that he had a Texas A&M bracelet on his wrist. We all got a good chuckle out of that, including Gbenda, who actually offered to take the bracelet off for a retake. As I’ve said, great kid on and off the field.
2. How big of a loss is it if Texas misses on DeMarvin Leal and Garrett Wilson?
Honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the idea that Texas could potentially miss out on DeMarvin Leal and Garrett Wilson, two of the program’s top recruiting targets and two players who seemed to be favoring the Longhorns up until as recently as last weekend in the case of Leal.
IF Texas loses Leal to A&M and IF Texas loses Wilson to Ohio State, there’s really no way to sugarcoat those outcomes – those would be huge losses on arguably UT’s most important defensive prospect overall and arguably the most important offensive prospect left on the board. The sting would be intensified considering Wilson is from Austin (Lake Travis) and Leal plays a short drive down the road in Converse (Judson), not to mention the confidence level with both prospects over the last few months.
The silver lining on both stories? If Texas misses out, I do believe the Longhorns will still have a legitimate shot to win out with one or both in the long run.
In Leal, you have a player who has been so high on UT for a long time that it’s easy to see a scenario where he winds up back on campus at some point, especially considering a commitment to A&M would seem to have been a bit of a quick-trigger decision based largely on the high of last weekend’s official visit. He also has people close to him that really do like the Texas program and staff, so an A&M commitment this week won’t exactly be the nail in the coffin (even A&M reporters feel the same way).
In Wilson, you have a young man who lives in Austin and has a great relationship with those within the program. Wilson doesn’t strike me as the type of young man that’s going to be flippant with his decisions, but if Texas can keep in close contact and show the ultra-talented receiver that the UT offense is on an uptick, it could impact Wilson’s thinking in the long run. Hell, it’s not out of the question that Wilson could love what he sees on this weekend’s UT official visit so much that he winds up siding with the Longhorns … but it’ll take a picture-perfect weekend, including a strong showing by the passing game on Saturday night.
Bottom line … Texas isn’t in the place it would want to be at this point, but neither recruitment is over regardless of what Leal and Wilson decide.
ONE PREDICTION – Texas makes a move (back) up Noah Cain’s list after this weekend
When I spoke to Rivals100 running back Noah Cain at the Rivals 3-Stripe Camp in Dallas about a month ago, he was pretty clear that Ohio State had surged in his recruitment and the Buckeyes were the team that was standing out at that time. Cain also noted that he wasn’t locked into any firm list, and things could always change.
I’m expecting some of that change to happen this weekend. Just like a few weeks ago when Texas hosted Nana Osafo-Mensah, this staff doesn’t often (ever?) host a prospect and not make a strong impression. Cain will probably get the red-carpet treatment from Stan Drayton and the entire staff, and the Texas coaches should have little problem detailing to him how he’d have a chance to be a featured part of the offense from day one. Ohio State isn’t going away on this one, but I look for Texas to move back up his list after a strong visit.
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. The play of the Texas offensive line could directly impact UT’s recruiting efforts this year
As if Herb Hand didn’t have enough on his plate trying to rebuild the Texas offensive line and jump-start the Longhorn offense with his role of co-offensive coordinator - in talking to some key recruits over the weekend, they made it clear that Hand’s unit will directly impact how strongly they consider the Longhorns.
All-everything 2020 running back Zachary Evans, who will be recruited by just about every school in the country and has Texas high on his list, was asked at Sunday’s Under Armour Camp how much he’s paying attention to running back depth charts. According to Evans, he’s not worried about each team’s backfield (nor should he be … he’ll be as talented as any back on any roster). In talking to him after he was done doing interviews, the five-star standout mentioned that he’s more concerned about what each team is doing along the offensive line.
As he put it, he hasn’t always had the most dominant offensive lines paving the way for him, and he knows a running back’s success largely depends on the guys up front. With that in mind, he said he’ll be closely monitoring the offensive line play and recruiting of the teams on his list. He got a look at the UT line at a recent scrimmage and said it looked good (including springing a couple long runs) and he’ll get another look at Saturday’s Orange-White game.
Five-star offensive lineman Kenyon Green had a similar story, saying he wants to see improvement in some of the teams he’s considering, including Texas and Texas A&M. If a team is making strides with its offensive line play (and win/loss total) from the spring to the fall, it’s a factor that will impact Green’s eventual decision.
“They’re trying to come up off of okay seasons,” Green said of in-state schools Texas and Texas A&M. “They’re working. I’ve been there a lot, and they’re putting in a lot of work. I just want to see what they’re going to do this season.”
Improved offensive line play could certainly have a trickle-down effect on other prospects as well. As they say, it all starts up front and if Hand can work his magic and get the Texas o-line performing at a high level, it’ll have a ripple effect that will help the quarterbacks, receivers … basically everything from top to bottom … and improved play by the offense will certainly help recruiting, including having a direct impact on guys like Evans and Green.
2. Recruiting momentum can be a fickle thing
This has already been an interesting recruiting cycle. Early in the year, Texas A&M seemed to have all the momentum, with the Aggies reeling in several key commitments while Texas sat at only one pledge (albeit a huge one from Roschon Johnson). A&M’s fast start under new coach Jimbo Fisher had Aggie fans puffing their chest out claiming (yet again) they were ready to dominate the recruiting landscape.
It wasn’t too long after that when we saw A&M lose a couple key commitments (including its own hotshot QB) and Texas start to surge with many of the Longhorns’ top targets. Texas won head-to-head battles over A&M for both T'Vondre Sweat and Jordan Whittington, the latter of those two being one of the most hotly-contested battles of the 2019 recruiting season. Texas was trending up, A&M seemed to be in a lull after its fast start, and the Longhorns appeared to have seized all momentum.
Fast forward to the last week, and things appear to have once again shifted. Oklahoma has experienced tremendous success with five commitments in the span of four days, including pledges from highly-ranked Texans Jamal Morris, Arjei Henderson and Theo Wease. Texas A&M picked up a big pledge from tight end Baylor Cupp and is poised to potentially snag a commitment from one of the Longhorns’ top targets in DeMarvin Leal. Meanwhile, Texas is fighting some tough competition to land Garrett Wilson and Nana Osafo-Mensah, two recruitments (along with Leal) that are suddenly all too uncomfortable for Longhorn fans.
It wasn’t the most positive recruiting week for Texas and potentially losing Leal is going to really sting, but we’ve seen in the past 18 months that this UT staff can more than hold its own in recruiting, and I’d expect momentum to shift a few more times over the course of this recruiting cycle.
3. Keondre Coburn and D’Shawn Jamison are both hoping to contribute right away
While in Houston covering Sunday’s Under Armour All-America Camp, one of the unexpected perks was seeing Texas signees Keondre Coburn and D’Shawn Jamison on the field helping out and cutting up.
Another reporter and I were able to corral the two, who were in great spirits and both let it be known they’re ready to get started on their UT careers (despite the anticipated butt kicking by Yancy McKnight).
Coburn told us his focus since National Signing Day has been on his workouts and conditioning, finishing strong with his books, while also throwing the shot and discus in track and field. As for his upcoming arrival on the Forty Acres in late May, he said he’s excited and ready to take whatever is thrown at him.
“They tell you what to expect, but I just have to man up and get ready for whatever comes my way,” Coburn said. “Just take it and go with it. I’m ready to get to college.”
The big d-tackle said he’ll be at the Orange-White game on Saturday. With Texas fairly thin along the interior of the defensive line, Coburn figures to have a chance to play early. The coaches have told him as much, although he knows (and they’ve said) it’ll require him to put in a lot of work.
“They’re telling us the same thing – you can come in and play early, but you have to work for it. Nothing is guaranteed,” Coburn said. “I can go up there, if I do everything right, I could start. But I’m not worried about other people, I’m worrying about me. I have to get right first of all before I can even think about that. I’m just ready to get to college and get started.”
Jamison, the do-it-all athlete from Houston Lamar, said he’ll start off focusing on defense and special teams (he’s been told nickel and corner on defense), but he’s not ruling out the possibility of playing some offense as well. In fact, he’s been sharpening his offensive tools.
“As of now, I’ve been working on a little bit of slot receiver, trying to get my quickness back up. I can’t just rely on my speed. I’ve been training on my routes, trying to catch the ball, keep my eyes on the ball,” Jamison said. “That’s one of the main things I’ve been doing out here.”
Jamison and Coburn are both on meal plans given to them by Texas and they’re trying to stick to the workout plans McKnight gave them when they signed. Jamison said he’s at about 180 pounds and wants to get to 190, which shouldn’t be a problem once he gets to campus.
“Right now, they’re just telling me to work out, get your weight up, because once you get up there, it’s all business,” Jamison said. “I have to gain a little bit of pounds, so I’m just trying to get my eating habits right, going out and working out, running, getting my conditioning right. I’m just trying to be prepared for college.”
******
TWO QUESTIONS
1. What are UT’s chances with David Gbenda?
Let me start off by saying that my money (so to speak) is still on linebacker David Gbenda picking Texas (70 percent on the recruiting board). With that out of the way, I should also point out that this one’s a little tougher to predict than I originally thought it would be. First off, Gbenda is planning to take his time with the process, which means more variables could come into play as time wears on. Secondly, he really does speak glowingly about every program you ask about … so much so that I was joking with a writer who covers another school that no matter who you cover, you come away thinking Gbenda LOVES that program every time you talk to him. Bottom line … the Katy Cinco Ranch standout is incredibly personable and likeable, and he really is enjoying the recruiting process.
I do still favor Texas though, mostly because Gbenda has been a regular visitor to the Forty Acres this spring, the relationship he’s built with other recruits who like Texas, his admiration for Todd Orlando and the success he sees some of the young Longhorn defenders having this spring. I caught up with Gbenda again at Sunday’s Under Armour Camp and asked him to reflect on his visit to see a UT scrimmage a couple weekends ago.
“Really what stood out for me was seeing the family vibe the team has and seeing the development Tom Herman has going on over there. Seeing the scrimmage and stuff and really seeing how the new players are coming in, like B.J. (Foster),” Gbenda said. “What I really like, they told me the same thing – you can come in this program and you can work for it. I got to see it first-hand, if you come in, really buy into it and work, you have a possibility to play and star.”
Gbenda did visit Texas A&M last weekend for the Aggies’ spring game and said that trip also made an impression, including the direction Jimbo Fisher has A&M heading and the quick installation of the Aggeis’ new defense. He’s going to talk to his father this week about return to Austin on Saturday for the Orange-White game, which would give him a chance to compare and contrast the two.
“That’s something I really want to see. I saw the atmosphere of Kyle Field, now I want to see the atmosphere down there because I feel it’s something crazy over there (at Texas),” Gbenda said.
Gbenda said he plans to sit down with his mother and father soon to discuss official visits. His plan right now is to not take those trips until the fall so he can watch some of the 2018 season and factor each team’s success into the equation. He does see the opportunity for early playing time at Texas, which should only help UT’s chances, and he’s seen first-hand this spring that the current Longhorn staff will play young pups if they come in prepared.
“They told me, they’re not going to promise early playing time. Coach Orlando has told me personally, seeing how there’s a need and want for linebackers over there, if I came in early I could really have a chance to get more playing time than if I came in later,” Gbenda said (he’s unsure if he’ll enroll early). “That’s something that’s really shown from the depth chart. They’re graduating two linebackers and Dele (Adeoye) was there doing some good things also. So to just really see that, he’s told me basically to come in, do your thing, learn it because it’s going to be a learning process and you’re going to fumble around and stuff, but it’s really the time aspect of learning.”
If you really want to be torn on what Gbenda’s thinking, take a look at the photo below. A couple of us reporters from the UT market asked him for a pic, and he politely obliged. He even threw up the Horns unsolicited. Great sign, right? I thought so, until it was pointed out that he had a Texas A&M bracelet on his wrist. We all got a good chuckle out of that, including Gbenda, who actually offered to take the bracelet off for a retake. As I’ve said, great kid on and off the field.
2. How big of a loss is it if Texas misses on DeMarvin Leal and Garrett Wilson?
Honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the idea that Texas could potentially miss out on DeMarvin Leal and Garrett Wilson, two of the program’s top recruiting targets and two players who seemed to be favoring the Longhorns up until as recently as last weekend in the case of Leal.
IF Texas loses Leal to A&M and IF Texas loses Wilson to Ohio State, there’s really no way to sugarcoat those outcomes – those would be huge losses on arguably UT’s most important defensive prospect overall and arguably the most important offensive prospect left on the board. The sting would be intensified considering Wilson is from Austin (Lake Travis) and Leal plays a short drive down the road in Converse (Judson), not to mention the confidence level with both prospects over the last few months.
The silver lining on both stories? If Texas misses out, I do believe the Longhorns will still have a legitimate shot to win out with one or both in the long run.
In Leal, you have a player who has been so high on UT for a long time that it’s easy to see a scenario where he winds up back on campus at some point, especially considering a commitment to A&M would seem to have been a bit of a quick-trigger decision based largely on the high of last weekend’s official visit. He also has people close to him that really do like the Texas program and staff, so an A&M commitment this week won’t exactly be the nail in the coffin (even A&M reporters feel the same way).
In Wilson, you have a young man who lives in Austin and has a great relationship with those within the program. Wilson doesn’t strike me as the type of young man that’s going to be flippant with his decisions, but if Texas can keep in close contact and show the ultra-talented receiver that the UT offense is on an uptick, it could impact Wilson’s thinking in the long run. Hell, it’s not out of the question that Wilson could love what he sees on this weekend’s UT official visit so much that he winds up siding with the Longhorns … but it’ll take a picture-perfect weekend, including a strong showing by the passing game on Saturday night.
Bottom line … Texas isn’t in the place it would want to be at this point, but neither recruitment is over regardless of what Leal and Wilson decide.
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas makes a move (back) up Noah Cain’s list after this weekend
When I spoke to Rivals100 running back Noah Cain at the Rivals 3-Stripe Camp in Dallas about a month ago, he was pretty clear that Ohio State had surged in his recruitment and the Buckeyes were the team that was standing out at that time. Cain also noted that he wasn’t locked into any firm list, and things could always change.
I’m expecting some of that change to happen this weekend. Just like a few weeks ago when Texas hosted Nana Osafo-Mensah, this staff doesn’t often (ever?) host a prospect and not make a strong impression. Cain will probably get the red-carpet treatment from Stan Drayton and the entire staff, and the Texas coaches should have little problem detailing to him how he’d have a chance to be a featured part of the offense from day one. Ohio State isn’t going away on this one, but I look for Texas to move back up his list after a strong visit.
