THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Lewis Cine loved his visit for the game on Saturday
Rivals100 safety Lewis Cine has been on the UT campus before and has always enjoyed his stops in Austin, but after talking to him last weekend about his experience at the Longhorns’ win over TCU, it sounds like Texas may have moved up Cine’s list.
Cine used words like “amazing” to describe the experience and said the entire scene blew him away – the atmosphere, the crowd, the play of the defense. He had high expectations coming in, but Cine said the visit surpassed everything he was hoping to see.
“It really did. That really showed me some things I really wanted to know about the environment, the play of the team overall and also the defense. To see freshmen making play this early, getting a chance to shine this early, that shows that I can come in and definitely contribute,” Cine said.
The 6-1, 180-pound safety took note of the young DBs that were on the field and said he literally envisioned himself playing in UT’s secondary. When talking to the coaches, the opportunity to play early was a point of emphasis.
“They said this is where I have to be. If I want to start, play as a true freshman, this is where I need to be,” Cine said.
This weekend, Cine will take his official visit to Georgia. He’ll then follow that up with an official visit to Florida and hopes to make his decision shortly after that last trip. Texas faces some tough competition, but Cine said last weekend elevated UT’s chances.
“It really did,” Cine said. “I saw everything I needed to see.”
One ace Texas could have up its sleeve is UT’s academic reputation, particularly with the McComb’s School of Business.
“I’ll go by where I’m comfortable, what school plays to my strengths and how I can ball in their schemes. That’s pretty much how I look at it. Also my major,” Cine said when asked how he’ll land on one school. “I’m going to major in business. A lot of schools have that so that will really help me in the future.
“Texas has a great business school. From what I know, after college is over, by how many businesses there are in Austin and the connection of the alumni, you can get a great career.”
2. Texas A&M commitment Demond Demas took his second straight visit to Texas
It seems like it’s been much longer, but it was only a little more than two weeks ago when 2020 Rivals100 wide receiver Demond Demas pulled a huge surprise and committed to Texas A&M. In the two weekends that have followed, Demas has made his way to Austin to watch the Longhorns knock off both USC and TCU.
I talked about it last week, but I’d say it’s pretty safe to essentially consider Demas uncommitted at this point. I’m sure he’s saying the right things to A&M people, but if a player takes two consecutive visits to an arch rival in the weekends following his commitment – and is decked out in that rival’s colors on those visits – it’s pretty much game on.
Demas did tell me following his most recent visit to Austin that things went well, and he once again enjoyed the chance to be around the team.
“I had a lot of fun talking with the players and the coaches,” Demas said.
On the surface, that comment doesn’t mean much, but Demas isn’t exactly being bashful about his continued interest in Texas. He’s been front and center at the last two games knowing people would be watching his every move, he’s been in the locker room celebrating after the wins and he’s done it all wearing Texas gear.
Will Demas officially open up his recruitment? I’m not sure and I’m not sure it really matters. Regardless of he keeps his name on the Texas A&M commitment list or not, it’s pretty clear that he’s going to strongly consider other programs, and schools like Texas and Alabama are going to be major threats in this one. The Longhorns have already done a good job of getting him on campus, and there’s no reason to think he won’t be back for multiple other visits over the course of his recruitment. The biggest challenge for Texas in eventually winning out in this one will be to continue to show offensive improvement and continue to stockpile wins. Do that and I’ll take UT’s chances in the long run.
3. My perception for that is possible this season has completely changed
Two weeks ago, while sitting down with the Austin Lunch Bunch, we were talking about how the forecast for the rest of the season looked after Texas lost to Maryland and looked uninspired against Tulsa. I’ll admit it … at that time, I wasn’t too optimistic based on what we’d seen from the Longhorns through the first two games of the season. But as we talked, I noted that perceptions can change in a hurry, and rather dramatically, in the world of college football and college football recruiting. If Texas was able to go out and beat USC and TCU, our conversations would be much different than they were after the Tulsa game.
Not only did Texas flip its own script, there have been some other shake-ups in the conference that now have this race looking like the Longhorns have a legitimate chance to compete for the Big 12 title, along with a few others.
Oklahoma no longer looks like the Big 12 juggernaut after being pushed to the brink by Army in Norman. Oklahoma State came crashing down to earth. TCU obviously wasn’t quite what I thought it was before heading to Austin. Texas Tech appears on the rise. West Virginia may be the best of the bunch, but Texas will get the Mountaineers in Austin.
Interestingly, ESPN’s Football Power Index thinks the world of Texas at home, but doesn’t have faith in the Longhorns in Big 12 road games. Currently, the FPI has Texas losing to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, while winning all its home games and road contests against K-State and Kansas. That seems unlikely, but would give Texas a very respectable 8-4 regular season record to end the season.
My Big 12 rankings after four weeks:
1. West Virginia – I’m kind of surprising myself with this pick, but WVU does get OU at home. And it’s impossible to completely ignore OU’s performance in the Army game.
2. Oklahoma – This team can play with anyone in the country when it’s hitting on all cylinders, but it’s also been a bit up and down.
3. Texas – The Longhorns have really surged; I would have put them in the middle of the pack at best after the first two weeks.
4. TCU – I still think this will be a very dangerous team as the season wears on.
5. Texas Tech – Color me impressed after last weekend, but I’m not sure I believe in Kliff Kingsbury’s team week in and week out.
6. Oklahoma State – Mike Gundy is a hell of a coach, but his team always seems to have a stinker or two every year. Last week was awful.
7. Iowa State – I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team move up the list.
8. Kansas State – The Wildcats have looked awful against anyone with a pulse.
9. Baylor – Don’t look now but Charlie Brewer is playing well. We’ll see what they’re made of this week when they play OU.
10. Kansas – The Jayhawks do have a couple wins, so they’re at least showing a pulse.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. What’s the latest with Roschon Johnson?
Texas quarterback commitment Roschon Johnson was at two UT home games last year – Maryland and Kansas. He was back on campus last weekend for UT’s win over TCU. Needless to say, his most recent experience was drastically different than the two games from last season.
“The experience was crazy. Super exciting,” Johnson said. “The atmosphere was off the wall compared to the other games I’ve been to. It was a great experience to have, especially with UT getting that atmosphere back at DKR. It was great.”
Like Cine, Johnson said while sitting in the stands, he was actually picturing himself playing in that environment.
“That was the main thing I was doing the whole game, envisioning myself playing in front of everybody with the atmosphere being like that. I was picturing myself out there,” Johnson said.
A key component of Texas’ 2019 class, Johnson spent some time talking to the UT coaches before and after the game. Johnson feels the addition of this year’s recruiting class to last year’s stellar group will be enough to take the program to the next level.
“Yesterday I was thinking about our ‘19 class mixing in with the ‘18 class, lighting DKR on fire. With Jake (Smith), (Jordan) Whittington, Brayden (Liebrock), Jared (Wiley), we have a bunch of skill guys that can really ball out. Jake is one of those guys who pretty much has it all as far as athleticism. It should be fun to play with him.”
On the field, Johnson suffered a sprained ankle a couple weeks ago and has been on the sideline. He’s hoping to play this week but is taking things day by day.
Johnson was accompanied on the visit by teammate Jaylen Garth, a player who told OB he really enjoyed the experience. Johnson works on Garth some to answer any questions Garth has on Texas, and he speaks to other prospects like Elijah Higgins, but Johnson said he doesn’t want to force anyone into a decision they’re unsure of.
“I do work on (Garth). But I don’t really like to pressure anybody, put too much in their ear,” Johnson said. “They know they have to make a decision sooner or later. I don’t bother (Garth) too much.”
2. Will Texas close with a better in-state recruiting class or out-of-state class?
Out of the Longhorns’ 17 current commitments, nine come from within the Lone Star State, while eight of the pledges are non-Texans. Never in my wildest dreams did a think I’d see a scenario where anywhere close to half of a Texas Longhorn recruiting class would be from out-of-staters.
What’s more impressive is the fact that the non-Texans make up the higher-ranked group among the two segments.
The average star ranking for the in-state commitments is 3.44, compared to 3.875 for the out-of-state commitments. Texas has three in-state commitments with RRs (RivalsRankins) of 5.6 and two others with ranks of 5.7. Only one out-of-state commitment currently ranks at 5.7, two are 5.8 and all others are ranked at 5.9.
It’s a very good in-state class, headlined by guys like Jordan Whittington and Tyler Johnson, but if Texas holds onto its current out-of-state pledges, it looks pretty clear that the non-Texas prospects will be the ones that carry this group to what should be a stellar class ranking. Texas could certainly get an in-state bump if the Longhorns are able to land a couple guys out of a grouping that includes Rivals100 member Lewis Cine, along with Rivals250 members Elijah Higgins and Jalen Catalon, but the biggest fish that remain on UT’s radar are still from out-of-state prospects, including five-star prospects Bru McCoy and Trey Sanders.
Texas’ national recruiting efforts this year have been widely-discussed, but I’m not sure fans are appreciating the true magnitude of what the UT staff has done this year in going out and finding and securing top talent from all over the country. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen in close to two decades of covering UT recruiting, and it’s really helped salvage a class that’s seen some tough sledding within the Lone Star State lines. It’ll be interesting to see if this same national approach is used in future years, or if Texas returns more to its roots and leans primarily on in-state prospects. Some of that answer will depend on how the Longhorns finish the season - keep building momentum on the field and in-state recruiting will take care of itself.
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas misses on one remaining safety target but lands another
With the Longhorns securing a commitment from Tyler Owens on Monday, the numbers in the 2018 defensive back class have become very tight. Texas has four commitments in the fold (Owens, Kenyatta Watson, Chris Adimora and Marques Caldwell). After taking six DBs last year (although D’Shawn Jamison is currently playing offense), it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Texas will take two more DBs in this year’s class. Frankly, landing one more may be pretty difficult.
Lewis Cine is high on Texas coming off his weekend visit, but with upcoming trips to Georgia and Florida in the works, you have to figure that those two will make strong impressions as well. Georgia is the team to watch here, and if it pushes for a commitment, the smart money is still on the Bulldogs winning out.
If Cine does side with someone like Georgia, the Longhorns should remain in good standing with top target Jalen Catalon. The Mansfield Legacy standout listed Texas in his top four on Monday, along with Arkansas, TCU and Oklahoma. Catalon doesn’t strike me as the type that’s going to be worried too much with DB numbers, so I still like UT’s chances in this one in the long run.
