THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
This staff is full of recruiting surprises
Once again, the Texas Longhorns reeled in another top prospect. Once again, the story was a bit of a surprise. From Ron Tatum picking the Longhorns over Oklahoma, to Cameron Rising's out-of-the-blue decision to decommit from OU and commit to Texas, we should have learned by now that you can't assume anything with the current UT staff. Just when you think you know what might happen, something completely unexpected catches everyone by surprise.
Enter Caden Sterns, the Longhorns' newest commitment. Sterns, of course, had been committed to LSU since late last year and he had been so openly positive about his decision, he had kind of fallen off the radar. I know Texas really liked his talent, but in my conversations a couple months ago, even people closest to Sterns and close to the Texas program thought the Longhorns didn't have a great shot, so the focus was on other players.
Once again, credit the UT staff for staying on a prospect who at one time looked like he was locked in for another school. Those efforts to chip away, including a stop by Cibolo Steele this spring, paid off enough to get Sterns on campus on Saturday, and the staff did enough during that visit to quickly win him over.
Normally in recruiting, the stories are pretty easy to follow and in today's day and age of social media, the number of actual recruiting surprises are few and far between. Herman and his staff have certainly broken the mold on that line of thinking, and it's made covering recruiting fun.
If someone had asked me, any other recruiting reporter or any Longhorn fan a little more than two weeks ago to name the next Longhorn commitment, I'm not sure anybody would have guessed any of the five pledges Texas has secured since April 22 (Cameron Rising, Reese Moore, Ron Tatum, Cameron Dicker, Caden Sterns). The Texas coaching staff has been full of surprises this spring, and they've all been extremely positive.
Speaking of that, any guesses on the who and when of the next Longhorn commitment?
Tom Herman doesn't undervalue kickers, and I love that about him
One of the first recruiting moves the new coaching staff made when hired last year was securing a pledge from JUCO kicker Joshua Rowland, who wasn't even remotely on Texas' recruiting radar under the previous staff. Whereas Charlie Strong and his staff seemed to pretty much ignore special teams scholarships (aside from punter Michael Dickson falling in their laps), the current UT staff seems to value the kicking game, and we once again saw it last week with a commitment from Lake Travis standout Cameron Dicker.
As the guy on the OB staff who takes a ribbing from the other staff members for my constant touting of the importance of kickers, consider me a big fan of the emphasis Texas is putting on recruiting the position. It's likely that the Longhorns will find themselves in some close games next fall, and having what should be a reliable leg in Rowland could very well be the difference in a couple wins or losses.
More about Dicker, who ranks as one of the top-10 kicking prospects in the nation by respected kicking coach Chris Sailer.
--- He told me last week he's hit from 60 yards and feels very comfortable with anything inside 50.
"Fifty-plus is where the fun begins," Dicker said.
--- Dicker moved to Texas from Shanghai in 2010. He was born in Hong Kong and has also lived in Taiwan.
--- Dicker was also being recruited by TCU, Arkansas and Oklahoma State. He visited all three of those programs, in addition to Texas. He actually committed to Texas last Wednesday but waited until Thursday to announce his decision.
"Just being on the (Texas) campus, I felt more comfortable than I did at any other school I visited," Dicker said. "I felt like it was home for me. I just wanted to wait a little bit. I didn't commit right away, wanted to make sure I visited the campus and committed that day."
Texas made a strong impression on quarterback Tanner McKee
Somewhat lost in the weekend news of Caden Sterns committing to Texas is the fact that top quarterback Tanner McKee, a Rivals250 member out of Corona (CA) Centennial, visited the Longhorns on Saturday.
The 6-6, 220-pound McKee told OB on Monday that the UT visit "went great" and he "loved the visit."
McKee said his biggest takeaway from the visit was that it felt like one big family when on the UT campus and how excited everyone was to be a part of the program.
We'll have a bit more from McKee later in the week and while it seems like Texas did a good job of winning him over, this one still feels like it could be a longshot for the Longhorns. I should probably have already learned my lesson to not call anything a longshot based on what we've seen so far, but the idea of two top national quarterbacks from California both committing to Texas seems like an awfully tall order. In McKee, you have a player who would basically be a 2020 recruit because he'll take a two-year church mission, so the timing of a commitment would fit despite the Longhorns already having two pledges in this year's class, but I just can't wrap my head around Texas landing him, Cameron Rising and Casey Thompson.
Perhaps the UT staff can pull another rabbit out of its hat, and we'll certainly keep tabs on McKee as his recruitment goes on, but this one has the feel to me that the odds will catch up with the Longhorns and McKee will land elsewhere. That being said, he was extremely impressed with what he saw in Austin so I wouldn't rule anything out just yet.
Photo by /San Antonio Express-News
TWO QUESTIONS
What is Texas getting in Caden Sterns?
New UT commitment Sterns doesn't do a lot of interviews, but I did catch up with Cibolo Steele head coach David Saenz on Monday, and Saenz raved about what Sterns brings to the table. What I found interesting was that Saenz talked more about Sterns' character than he did his ability on the field, and he loves his ability on the field.
"He's just, first and foremost, a great person, a great kid," Saenz said. "What are his strengths? It's his work ethic, he's a student of the game, the way he mentors our younger players. It's pretty awesome to see that. For a player of his caliber to take that time to mentor younger guys, it's truly a blessing to have him on our team.
"It's great to have a player like him as a leader on our team, in the locker room, the community, the classroom and the hallway. He represents the Steele Knights very well. Texas got a great commitment and he's going to represent the University of Texas very well."
Saenz has been an assistant coach for Steele for 10 years and was co-defensive coordinator last year. He said Sterns' combination of physical tools, instincts, work ethic and character put him up there with any player who has come through the Steele program.
"It's awesome to have that caliber skill set. But again, he does the best with what he has. He's an extremely hard worker, a student of the game. A lot of the play he makes, you really can't coach," Saenz said. "His instincts are pretty amazing, whether it's angles, playing the ball in the air. The way he goes about his business is what truly make him unique.
"He has a lot of upside. He's 17 years old. But the way he works, the frame he's got, his body type, it's there to put the weight on. His work ethic is second to none, as good as anyone we've had here, including his older brother ... he has a vision, he sees what his brother has done (recently signed a rookie free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs) and he wants to do that for himself. "
Is there a recruit nobody is talking about who Texas has a great shot at landing?
If we're talking about players who have flown under the radar in terms of media exposure, offensive lineman/defensive tackle Junior Angilau may win the award for the player who has avoided the media spotlight the most.
Angilau actually spent a few days in Austin during the weekend of the Orange-White game, but unless you've really been paying attention, you may not even know his name. Simply put, he's been tough to track down.
I did recently catch up with his mother, Leslie Angilau, to get her thoughts on the UT visit. From the sound of things, I'm not sure the stay in Austin could have gone much better.
Texas is recruiting Angilau as an offensive lineman, and Leslie said they pretty much loved everything about the visit - from the coaches, to the food, the facilities, the academics and the weather.
"That was a super fun visit. To spend time with the kids - his sister went and myself - it was fun. I personally loved the weather," Leslie said. "We had snow like that Monday. It was nice to come to the warm weather. I would definitely say Junior loves the food, hands down. He was definitely excited about the portion sizes and food in general.
"I think really , me as a mom, what impressed me the most, was how they started off with life after football. That was awesome. Whatever Junior decides to do, definitely if he's blessed to go above college, what happens after football and how they prepare you, that was one of my favorite takeaways."
Angilau has a lengthy list of offers that includes Texas, Alabama, Arizona, BYU, Cal, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington and Wisconsin, among others.
Along with Texas, he has taken visits to BYU, USC and Utah. The Texas visit may have made the strongest impression. It certainly did with Angilau's mother.
"He has a few (schools he likes)," Leslie said. "I personally love Texas. That definitely was a great visit."
Leslie said her son will "definitely" be returning to Austin for an official visit. There's still a long way to go with this one, but Texas is absolutely in contention.
ONE PREDICTION - Sunday's commitment from Caden Sterns all but closes the door on Leon O'Neal
This one isn't exactly me going out on a limb, but with Texas securing a commitment from Rivals100 safety Caden Sterns on Sunday night, the odds of Leon O'Neal winding up at Texas drop considerably. Rumors have been floating around that O'Neal may have been close to pulling the trigger on a Texas A&M commitment recently (he still may be), so Texas was likely facing an uphill battle there anyway. Sunday's news should all but finalize things on O'Neal's decision.
