THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas made a strong impression on Shemar Turner over the weekend
DeSoto defensive lineman Shemar Turner made his way to Austin on Saturday for an unofficial visit, the second UT visit in about a five-week span for the Rivals250 member.
According to Turner, it was another productive trip to Austin, especially the chance to meet with the Texas coaches, including recently-hired defensive line coach Mark Hagen.
“I got to talk to the defensive coordinator and both D-line coaches and tom Herman at one time,” Turner said. “Since we had a longer time to be there, we spent more time talking about things, the perks of coming to Texas, social aspects, the alumni base, school stuff, everything.
Up next, Turner will visit Oklahoma on Tuesday. On Saturday, he’ll be at LSU and then he’ll visit Georgia on March 21. Turner has yet to narrow his list of schools – he’s holding close to 40 offers – but said that will be happening soon.
As of right now, Turner has yet to set any official visits, but that should be changing soon as well. Texas’ chances of getting a visit would seem to be high based on Turner’s interest in the Longhorns, but he says he’s still open to all schools that are recruiting him.
“They have a pretty good shot,” Turner said of UT’s chances of making the cut when he trims his list. “But everybody has a pretty good shot right now.”
At the same time Turner was visiting Texas on Saturday, the Longhorns also hosted Port Arthur Memorial defensive end Jordon Thomas. Turner said the two chatted for a bit after Thomas finished a photo shoot and while the two don’t know each other extremely well, Turner said he enjoyed their conversation.
“We don’t know each other like that, but we did say that whatever college we go to, it would be nice to have another d-end coming in with us,” Turner said.
A four-star prospect, Turner is ranked No. 132 on the Rivals250. He’s up to 282 pounds so a future at defensive tackle could be in the making.
“The way this weight is going, I might be an interior guy,” Turner said. “But I can play end too. I’m quick enough play D-end.”
The highlight of Saturday’s visit, Turner said, was getting more face time with the UT staff, including some of the newer faces.
“I like the new coaches. They’re all high energy,” he said.
2. The vibe on the visits from Jordon Thomas and JoJo Earle was also positive
Like Shemar Turner, Jordon Thomas made his second visit to the Forty Acres in a little more than a month. Like Turner, Thomas said it was another positive visit.
“Everything went well,” Thomas said. “They treated me like family.”
In recent weeks, Thomas has made mention that he could be close to a decision and his primary focus is on Texas and Texas A&M. Following Saturday’s visit, he told OB that his commitment probably won’t happen until sometime in the fall. And along with visits to Austin and College Station, he’ll also be taking a trip to LSU. We’ll see if the upcoming visits shake things up at all, but I like Texas’ position in this one coming out of last weekend.
Another big visitor from last weekend was wide receiver JoJo Earle. I haven’t caught up with the Aledo standout directly, but in talking to a source close to the situation, it sounds like the visit went well and Texas really helped its chances with the Rivals250 member. The day was focused on Earle and his family, who accompanied him on the visit. Texas wasn’t in Earle’s top five that he released back in January, but it sounds like Sunday’s visit may have been a big first step towards getting UT back in the hunt with this one.
3. Texas should be a factor for top 2022 safety Bryan Allen
It was Aledo standout JoJo Earle visiting Texas on Sunday. The day before, it was Aledo’s 2022 standout safety Bryan Allen who was in Austin for an unofficial visit.
According to Allen, who already holds a UT offer, one of the highlights was seeing the facility improvements Texas is making.
“What stood out for me was the construction. They were telling me how they’re going to build new entrance for the football players, how they’ll come out before the game,” Allen said. “When the football players come out, there will be a longhorn logo and smoke coming out of it. It’s going to be cool once they build it. It’s going to be nice.”
Allen said he really connected with cornerbacks coach Jay Valai and Valai broke down what it will take to play in Texas’ defense. The two seemed to really connect and Allen said he feels he’d be a good fit in what Texas wants to do. It’s still very early for Allen, only a sophomore, but after Saturday’s visit, Texas is squarely in contention.
“From what I’ve seen, what I’ve been told by the coaches, I think they fit greatly in my options,” Allen said
Up next, Allen said he’ll visit LSU this coming weekend.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. What to expect from the Rivals Camp in Dallas this week?
It was a few weeks ago when the Rivals Camp Series made its way to Houston, and the event will be back in the Lone Star State this weekend for a stop in the DFW area.
Among the guys holding UT offers I’ll be watching will be new wide receiver offer Hal Presley, safety Andrew Mukuba, safety JD Coffey, defensive lineman Landyn Watson, wide receivers Blaine and Bryson Green, linebacker Clayton Smith, safety Isaiah Nwokobia, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, running back Brandon Campbell, DB Hunter Washington, safety Bryan Allen, running back Emeka Megwa, wide receiver Armani Winfield, defensive tackle Bear Alexander, tight end Donovan Green and running back Jaydon Blue.
A few players of note who don’t have offers from Texas who are expected to be in attendance … lLinebacker Jordan Crook, linebacker Jai Jones, defensive tackle Byron Murphy, quarterback Kaidon Salter, recent Baylor commit Cicero Caston (visited UT for junior day in January), quarterback Jalen Kitna, QB Alex Orji, wide receiver Jaedon Wilson, wide receiver Jordan Hudson and wide receiver Decoldest Crawford (good player, but mostly just like his name).
Of note, the Dallas Under Armour camp is on Sunday, but due to that camp and the Rivals camp being so close to one another, Rivals personnel won’t be allowed at that event. I will be at the Under Armour Houston camp next weekend.
2. What’s the interest level of the two new in-state wide receiver offers from Monday?
Texas had been putting offers on the table for a large number of out-of-state wide receivers in the early part of this year, but on Monday the Longhorns extended two scholarships to in-state pass catchers – Mansfield Summit’s Hal Presley and Royse City’s Ketron Jackson.
In talking to both players on Monday evening, they both mentioned that they grew up watching the Longhorns. Texas is definitely in the mix and should get visits from both players, but it sounds like the Longhorns are in a large group of potential landing spots for both Presley and Jackson.
“It’s obviously big because I’ve been watching them ever since I was little,” said Presley. “It’s always been a dream to get that offer. It’s a big one.”
Presley is hoping to set up a visit with the UT staff soon. He mentioned USC, Cal and Baylor as schools that are standing out.
Jackson is fresh off an Arkansas visit and the Razorbacks are a school that’s at the top of his list, but he mentioned that he doesn’t have one specific leader. Texas A&M and Baylor are two other schools that are standing out, but Jackson said if he can get to Austin and likes what he sees, Texas should make a quick move up his list. He’ll be in Austin for Texas Relays later this month.
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas lands Jordon Thomas and Shemar Turner
I already have my FutureCast pick in for the Longhorns on Jordon Thomas and I’m not about to change that after he visited last weekend. It’s hard to ignore the fact that Shemar Turner has now taken two visits to Texas in the last month-and-a-half so I’ll put my money on Texas there as well. Turner hasn’t even released a formal list of favorites and he has several upcoming visits so the confidence level in that pick would be below that of Thomas, but if Texas can keep getting him on campus for repeated visits the Longhorns should have a great shot of eventually closing that one out.
