THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas still has a shot with Mookie Cooper
It was a pretty big surprise when Rivals100 athlete Mookie Cooper decommitted from the Longhorns less than a month after giving Texas a verbal pledge, and my initial thinking was that the Longhorns probably wouldn’t be much of a factor moving forward. It’s not often that a player decommits from a school only to re-commit at a later date, after all.
In talking with Cooper this week, it’s a bit premature to count Texas out of this one. The St. Louis Trinity Catholic standout said his decision to open up his recruitment was more about him wanting to be thorough with the process than it was anything that he felt about Texas.
“I just wanted to reopen my recruitment, make sure I made the right choice. I think I got caught up in the moment, they hype behind it a little bit when I visited,” Cooper said.
The speedy playmaker said he stays in touch with the Texas staff – mostly Drew Mehringer, Bryan Carrington and Tom Herman – and the Longhorns are still a team he’s going to strongly consider. In fact, Cooper said the Longhorns will get one of his five official visits (he mentioned Oklahoma and Illinois as two others that will get visits).
“Nothing changed with Texas. We still talk the same. They’re still recruiting me, basically things are still the same. There’s no love lost at all,” Cooper said.
His decommitment came on the heels of an unofficial visit to Illinois, which had people thinking Cooper might be in for a quick flip to the Fighting Illini. According to Cooper, while Illinois is in the mix, the timing of him re-opening his recruitment was just coincidental. He said he pretty much knew prior to the Illinois visit that he was going to open things back up.
“That visit had nothing to do with it. I had just gone up there, but the visit, going to Illinois, had nothing to do with it,” Cooper said. “I had been there before, it just happened that the visit was right before (the decommitment). That just wound up being the timing of it.”
Now that he’s back on the market, Cooper said he wants to take his time with the process. He doesn’t plan on making a decision until close to one of the two signing dates (he’s not sure which one yet), and basically said he’s back to square one. The good news for Texas is that the Longhorns are still very much a part of the equation.
2. James Brockermeyer has seen his stock shoot up in recent weeks
Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal offensive lineman James Brockermeyer has seen a flood of new offers come in recently, including recent scholarships from Oklahoma, Michigan and Oklahoma State. Last week, Brockermeyer was also invited to participate in the All-American Bowl.
On Friday, Brockermeyer took an unofficial visit to Texas (with his father, former UT all-American Blake Brockermeyer, and his brother, fellow 2021 OL prospect Tommy Brockermeyer) and he said it was a good visit overall.
“It was really good to see how coach (Herb) Hand coaches, how he interacts with the players there,” Brockermeyer said. “We got to sit in meetings, see how he teaches stuff, see how the players interact with him.”
Texas has yet to offer Brockermeyer, who is being recruited as a center, but that could change this spring once Hand gets a closer look.
“Coach Hand told me he’s going to come back to All Saints this spring for an evaluation of me, so we’ll see what happens then,” Brockermeyer said.
At 6-3 and 240 pounds, Brockermeyer is an intriguing center prospect who is now up to six total offers. His stock has really shot up in recent weeks, and his offer list should continue to grow as more coaches see him during the spring evaluation period. The flood of recent offers probably has Brockermeyer’s head spinning a bit, but he said he’s grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to him.
“I think I bring a lot of effort. I think I play with good technique, not going to beat myself a lot. And I’m really aggressive,” Brockermeyer said. “It’s really cool being offered. All these schools bring great things to the table. I’m just honored.”
James and Tommy are twins, so the possibility of them playing at the same school would seem high. According to James, staying together in college would be a positive, but neither brother is going to be locked in to a school because the other wants to go there.
“I think it would be cool. But if he wants to go to a school that I’m not comfortable with and vice versa, I’m not going to follow him. But it would be cool to play together,” James said.
If Texas offers, the Longhorns would certainly receive strong consideration. Father Blake was an all-American at Texas in 1994 and brother Luke is a redshirt freshman linebacker for the Longhorns.
“That would obviously be very near the top. Them, Michigan and Iowa all up there right now,” Brockermeyer said. “I just have to take some more visits, see how things go.”
3. Texas continues to be in a good position with safety Chris Thompson
Rivals100 safety Chris Thompson Jr. was another prospect who visited Texas last week and was in attendance for Friday’s practice. The Longhorns have always been high on the Duncanville standout’s list and that’s not likely to change anytime soon, which is key with Thompson working towards an early decision.
Thompson has been on the Texas campus numerous times over the course of his recruitment, and his father told me last week’s visit made another strong impression.
“We’re very familiar with UT. The highlights were speaking with the academic schools and watching the coaches and players in action at practice,” Mr. Thompson said.
Thompson, who holds about 35 scholarship offers, has been a top priority for Texas for more than a year. The UT staff has done a good job in this one, stressing the opportunity for Thompson to shine in a program that has a history of producing top defensive back talent.
“Texas’ pitch has been playing ball close to home, in a program that is on the rise, and becoming a major contributor at a place they define as DBU,” Mr. Thompson said.
The 6-2, 180-pound Thompson doesn’t have an official list of favorites, but the Longhorns figure to remain in the race until the very end. Schools like LSU and Texas A&M are also heavily involved. Thompson plans to narrow his focus soon and a summer decision is likely, his father said.
“Overall, Texas is in the picture. Chris is in the process of trimming down his list. Major D1 programs are still coming in which makes the decision even more difficult but Chris looks to make a decision soon ... hopefully by the beginning of his senior season,” Mr. Thompson said.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. How serious are Zachary Evans and Damieon George about playing together?
Usually, when there’s talk of a “package deal” in recruiting, my advice is to not take that stuff too seriously. Every year, there are guys who mention they’re locked in to play together in college, but it’s rare that those dreams come to fruition.
In the case of North Shore teammates Zachary Evans and Damieon George, there just might be some legitimacy to those two playing together at the next level. Both George and Evans said at Sunday’s The Opening Regional in Houston that they not only want to play together in college, they’re insisting on it.
“There’s no ifs, ands or buts,” Evans said.
In fact, when I asked Evans about the conversations he’s having with college coaches, he said the first thing he wants to know when he talks to them is whether or not they’ve been in touch with George recently. If they haven’t, his interest dips.
If this “package” deal pans out, it could actually work in UT’s favor. The Longhorns are one of the few schools that are very high on both players’ lists (Georgia, LSU and Alabama are others) and Texas is making both players a priority.
According to George, he and Evans are planning to visit Alabama for the Crimson Tide’s spring game, so that could be a situation worth watching, but I can certainly see this one falling UT’s way if the two stick to their plans to playing together in college. If that plan fizzles, I still like where the Longhorns sit with Evans, but George could wind up in the SEC.
2. Does Texas have any chance of flipping Demond Demas?
The good news as it relates to UT’s chances with Rivals100 wide receiver Demond Demas is that any apparent disconnect between Demas and the Texas staff is officially a thing of the past. In talking to Demas over the weekend, he said things are perfectly fine between him and UT, and the Longhorns are one of many programs that are continuing to recruit the Tomball standout.
The bad news is that Demas seems pretty locked in to his A&M commitment, including him showing up at Sunday’s The Opening Regional wearing an A&M sweatshirt and an A&M shirt underneath as well. Demas did say he’d like to take some visits – and he’s been to UT numerous times since his A&M commitment – but it feels like Texas has a lot of work to do if it has any chance of winning out in this one.
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas lands Kitan Crawford
Tyler John Tyler athlete Kitan Crawford was at Friday’s practice with his mother, stepdad and girlfriend. The speedy cornerback told me this week he’s still keeping an open mind (he may drop a top five this week), but he did say that Texas helped it’s position after last week’s visit. Crawford doesn’t have a firm timetable for a decision, but the guess here is that the Longhorns are the team to beat and Texas wins out when he does make a move.
