THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas A&M continues to try with Juan Davis, but he’s not interested
It feels like it was forever ago when Everman tight end Juan Davis gave Texas a commitment following a UT summer camp back in July of 2019. At the time of his pledge, Davis was a bit of an under-the-radar prospect without many offers. Fifteen months later, he’s still somewhat under the radar and while he doesn’t have the most lengthy list of scholarship offers, Davis did pick up invitations from programs like Baylor and Texas A&M after he committed to Texas.
Through all the interest from other schools and some coaching shake-up on the Texas staff, Davis has stayed solid with his Texas commitment. In talking to him this week, he said nothing has changed.
“I’m 1,000 percent. I’m with Texas,” Davis said.
Most schools have seen the writing on the wall and have officially backed off in their efforts to get Davis to flip. Just one – Texas A&M - continues to push.
“Texas A&M tries, but I don’t really buy into it,” Davis said.
Davis has done a little bit of everything for his Everman team during his high school career. He’s played some quarterback, helps on special teams and this year is mostly playing out of the slot. The 6-3, 222-pounder said he feels his versatility is one of his strengths.
“I think I can do anything,” Davis said. “I have good catching skills, a little bit of speed.”
As for Texas, Davis plans to enroll in January. He stays in close contact with Jay Boulware and while he didn’t get to watch the Longhorn’s win over Baylor last weekend, he’s been able to see Texas’ other contests and likes that the tight ends have been heavily involved in the game plan.
“I talk to coach Boulware like very two days. We don’t even talk about me being there. We just talk about our bond, things like that,” Davis said. He’ has a very good personality. He’s just a very good guy for me.”
2. Erick Cade could be close to a decision
Offensive lineman Erick Cade continues to methodically work through the recruiting process. Every time I talk to the Denton Braswell product, he seems to have narrowed his focus a little more, and this week he told me he’s now trimmed things even more after cutting Arizona State from the mix.
“I’m about down to just three. The Texas Longhorns, LSU and Alabama,” Cade said.
The 6-7, 330-pound Cade could be close to the finish line in his recruitment if things go as planned. He said he’d like to commit in late October or early November before signing in December. Right now, he does have one school that’s atop his list.
“That would be Alabama. Outside of Texas, they talk to me more,” Cade said. “Coach (Kyle) flood had called me an hour or so before they started playing their last game. He really, really stays connected.”
With Texas, Cade stays in touch with offensive line coach Herb Hand, and those two have built up a good bond.
“Coach hand, he calls and texts me a lot. I talk to him a lot,” Cade said. “He tells me he needs me to come play. He talks to me about definitely having a spot there.
“We have a pretty good relationship. I like him a lot. He’s pretty intense, but it’s kind of fun the way he approaches all the stuff. It’s hard to tell you what he’s like if you haven’t met him. He’s just Texas. He loves Texas.”
Cade said he texts with Hand about every other day, and the two talk on the phone about once a week.
Initially, Cade wanted to take all his official visits and commit at a later date, but with the recruiting calendar having been put through a blender due to COVID, he’s now ready to move his process up. As for staying in state or leaving, Cade said he’s open to either one.
“Distance doesn’t matter that much,” he said”. At the end of the day, I’m going to go where I see myself doing the best.”
3. This week feels like it could be a swing game for Tom Herman
I know a lot of you reading this already have your minds made up on Tom Herman’s future at Texas and we won’t see eye to eye on this, but this week’s game against Oklahoma State feels like it could be a real turning point for Herman and where this Texas program ultimately goes.
Beat a good Oklahoma State team and the Longhorns are sitting at a respectable 4-2. Not great, and Texas would still have losses on the ledger to two teams it could have (should have) beaten, but a 4-2 mark, two straight wins and with a win over a top-10 opponent on the road would certainly qualify as the Longhorns having re-established some momentum after the slow start. Throw in upcoming games against West Virginia and Kansas, and Texas would almost certainly be looking at a 6-2 start to the season and would remain very much in the race for the conference championship game.
On the flipside, lose this game and whatever small steps forward that Texas took in getting a home win over Baylor will essentially go out the window. A loss in Stillwater would essentially take the Longhorns out of the Big 12 race with four games remaining on the schedule, it will increase the calls for Herman’s job and it could take away whatever wind is left in the sails for this year’s Texas team, setting things up for an extremely disappointing season that held so much progress about six weeks ago.
Emotions and opinions in the world of sports can take drastic swings from week to week, and this game in Stillwater feels to me like it could substantially move the needle in one direction or the other, and it could ultimately have a big say in any decisions that are made later in the year. I sure wasn’t expecting this to be a talking point coming into the season, but that’s where we are in following this program.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. How does the Big 12 stack up after last week’s action?
1. Oklahoma State (Last week: 1) – Being ranked No. 6 in the country seems like a big stretch, but as the only undefeated team left in the conference OSU is the easy choice for the top spot.
2. Kansas State (Last week: 2) – The Wildcats continue to make it look easy.
3. Oklahoma (Last week: 4) – The Sooners seem to be hitting their stride a bit after a slow start.
4. Iowa State (Last week: 2) – The Cyclones just missed capitalizing on a huge opportunity last week with a loss in Stillwater.
5. Texas (Last week: 7) – A much-needed win over Baylor was nice, but there’s a lot of work to be done.
6. TCU (Last week: 6) – This may a bit generous for a team with one win, but that’s the Big 12 for you.
7. Texas Tech (Last week: 8) – My guess is Tech gets thumped by OU this week in Lubbock.
8. West Virginia (Last week: 9) – With Kansas State coming up this weekend, WVU will likely take another L.
9. Baylor (Last week: 5) – I was not impressed with what I saw from Baylor last week. At all.
10. Kansas (Last week: 10) – Just terrible.
2. How will the rest of the season play out?
We are officially halfway through the season, and I’m still not sure what to make of this Texas team. Could the Longhorns go up to Stillwater on Sunday and knock off the undefeated, No. 6-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys? Absolutely. In fact, it wouldn’t shock me at all. Could Texas get thumped next week and wind up losing three or four of its remaining five games? That wouldn’t shock me either.
It’s a pretty slow recruiting week, so I’m going to put my prognostication hat on and try to predict the outcomes of the Horns’ remaining games.
@ Oklahoma State (ESPN FPI chances of winning – 51.4%) – LOSS – I think it’s a one-score game that goes down to the wire, but I’ll give the nod to the home team.
West Virginia (ESPN FPI chances of winning – 84.4%) – WIN – It should be an easy win, but Texas will probably make it closer than it needs to be.
@Kansas (ESPN FPI chances of winning – 97.0%) – WIN – Kansas is awful.
Iowa State (ESPN FPI chances of winning – 76.1%) – WIN – Iowa State’s probably the better team right now, but Texas will be up for this one.
@Kansas State (ESPN FPI chances of winning – 66.6%) – LOSS - These types of games in Manhattan rarely work out for Texas.
So by my count, that would put Texas at 6-4 on the season.
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ONE PREDICTION – Erick Cade to Alabama
With Erick Cade potentially deciding very soon, I’ll go ahead and use this space for a prediction on his commitment, although he’s an extremely tricky one to figure out.
Cade’s always honest and forthcoming when we talk, which I greatly appreciate. He told me this week that Alabama is leading the pack, so putting my chips on the Crimson Tide would normally be an easy choice, but that’s not the case in this one. Bama already sits at 22 commitments, including four offensive linemen, and it still has some big fish on its board. One person this week told me Bama would probably prefer that Cade waits on his decision to see how their numbers work out.
Texas’ position with Cade is also a bit unclear. Cade tells me he stays in regular contact with Herb Hand several times per week, but I’ve been told by a source that Texas hasn’t really been actively pushing for a commitment here. If Alabama falls through and Cade wants to commit to Texas in the near future, I’m not completely sure how that would play out.
Again, I’m using this prediction space on Cade because he’s a storyline that could be close to coming to an end, but his situation is a tough one to read clearly. In the end, it wouldn’t shock me at all if Cade decided to slow things down a bit to get a clear read on his options.
