THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas will have a lot of targets in this week’s Five-Star Challenge
The Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge will take place this week, with players arriving in Atlanta on Wednesday for media check-in day and the competition on the field set to take place on Thursday.
A quick look at some of the players with Texas interest that will be at the event …
QB Bryce Young – Has Texas high on his list but with the Longhorns having one QB commitment in the 2020 class, this one is an uphill battle.
RB Trey Sanders – The nation’s top back visited Texas recently but has been quiet about that visit.
WR Garrett Wilson – He chose Ohio State over Texas and will be a tough flip.
WR Trey Palmer – Texas has offered, but he’ll be tough to pull out of Louisiana.
WR Elijah Higgins – Austin product visited UT a couple times recently.
RB Zach Evans – Top 2020 prospect is very high on Texas. He couldn’t make the Heat Wave event but Teas still looks good there.
OL Kardell Thomas – He keeps mentioning Texas but this one’s an extreme longshot.
OL Brandon Bragg – Is the door at all open now that he’s committed to Stanford?
OL Chris Morris – 2020 OL out of Memphis who holds an early UT offer.
OL Stacey Wilkins – He’s visited Texas once and is expected back for an official in September.
OL Chris Akporoghene – He’ll be an interesting interview. Big-time prospect who visited Texas a couple weeks ago.
DL McKinnley Jackson – Five-star DT from the class of 2020. Doesn’t hold a UT offer, but probably worth seeing if he’d have an interest.
DL Marcus Stripling – He’s been pretty quiet of late so this should give us a chance to see where Texas fits in.
DL Lloyd Sumerall – Has a UT offer but going to be tough to get him out of Florida.
DL Prince Dorbah – Will be interesting to see how the 2020 Highland Park product performs against this type of competition.
LB De’Gabriel Floyd – Can’t wait to see how the Texas commit moves around.
LB Rian Davis – He recently took his UT official visit and told OB the Longhorns are tied atop his list with Georgia.
LB Derek Wingo – 2020 LB with a UT offer.
LB Christian Harris – Has a UT offer so we’ll gauge his interest, although he listed a top four on Monday that didn’t include Texas.
DB Derrick Stingley – Recently committed to LSU, don’t look for him to waver.
ATH Devonta Lee – Another guy who has talked up UT but his actions don’t back up that interest.
ATH Kelee Ringo – 2020 athlete with a UT offer.
2. The dead period is upon us
College football officially started a dead period on Monday, meaning recruiting should slow down over the next month (it ends on July 24).
I’ve seen a lot of talk on the boards about what is and is not allowed during the dead period. Per the official NCAA website:
“During a dead period a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period.”
Basically there cannot be any off-campus or on-campus face-to-face contact between college coaches and prospects. Phoning, social media and contact through platforms like FaceTime are still allowed, so there can still be recruiting done from a distance. And while things will slow down in the coming weeks in terms of campus visits, Texas did a good job of closing with a bang before the dead period kicked in, including the Heat Wave party, a couple official visitors and other key interactions over the last two weekends.
3. Texas made another strong impression on David Gbenda
When Texas offered Katy Cinco Ranch linebacker David Gbenda back in early March, there were a lot of assumptions that Gbenda might shut the process down early and give the Longhorns an early commitment. Those thoughts weren’t stemming from anything Gbenda was saying – he has been very open in stating that he would take his time and not rush into a decision – but with Gbenda flying a bit under the radar at the time, there was some thought that he might pounce at the UT offer.
Here we are nearly four months later and Gbenda has stuck to his word of taking things slowly and taking several recruiting visits ensure sure he makes a well-informed decision. Recently, Gbenda spent the day on the Texas campus as part of the Heat Wave pool party, and Texas once again impressed.
“The highlight really was just really communicating with all the players, seeing them in a different atmosphere,” Gbenda said. “There was a pool thing, so I really enjoyed my day there. It was a lot of fun.”
Gbenda spent time talking to Moro Ojomo during the day and has stayed in close contact with recent UT commitment Peter Mpagi for a while. Mpagi committed during the Heat Wave event, and both Mpagi and Ojomo have been doing some recruiting on Texas’ behalf.
“Peter, he’s a friend, talks to me,” Gbenda said. “We’ve been talking every day, him recruiting me. The coaches too.”
Gbenda visited with his father and though he left earlier in the day than most other prospects, Gbenda said it was another good opportunity for him to build his relationship with the Texas coaches, players and recruits on UT’s radar. Texas continues to actively recruit him, but Gbenda said the efforts by the staff are more business-like rather than some pushy sales pitch.
“At this point, seeing how I’ve been there multiple times, it’s more in the sense of you know what it is, you know what you’ve got here, you come here (to visit) so you have interest in us, we have interest in you,” Gbenda said. “I talk to coach Orlando, when we get on the visits, I talk to coach Herman too.”
Gbenda is finalizing a list of some other schools he wants to consider and visit. Texas and Texas A&M have been the staples of this recruitment, and Gbenda said he’d like to visit TCU and Ole Miss. His plan is to release a list sometime this summer and then likely commit during his senior season. Expect Texas to make the cut.
“I like the type of defense they play, plus the linebackers that have come previously have been successful,” Gbenda said. “I get a home feel around Austin and the education there is strong so it would help me get a job after football.”
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. What are UT’s chances with five-star athlete Bru McCoy?
Santa Anna Mater Dei athlete Bru McCoy released a top eight on Friday that included Texas, Southern Cal, Oregon, Washington, Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida State and UCLA.
McCoy doesn’t say much publicly to tip his hand, but most who have covered his recruitment closely believe that Southern Cal is the clear team to beat. While that’s probably true, I continue to hear that the Longhorns are a legitimate threat in this one. In fact, one person told me if McCoy doesn’t pick USC, his guess right now is that Texas would be the team to beat.
McCoy did take an unofficial visit to UT in the spring (he was joined by Texas commitment De’Gabriel Floyd) and there’s a good chance he returns for an official visit. This one won’t be easy and I’m not predicting Texas will win out, but I do feel the Longhorns’ chances are better than most realize. If Texas can turn in a good 2018 season and the recruiting efforts of some other West Coast guys have any impact, the Longhorns do have a puncher’s chance in this one.
2. What are five stories we’ll be following closely at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge?
1. Where does Texas stand with five-star running back Trey Sanders?
Sanders hasn’t said much since his Texas visit a few weeks ago, but we continue to hear that the Longhorns are a strong player in this one. Getting a chance to sit down with the IMG standout and talk to him face to face should give a pretty good indication of just how serious he is about Texas.
2. Does Texas have any shot with Garrett Wilson?
The guess here is that Wilson will stay locked in with his Ohio State commitment, but I am curious to hear if he’s keeping the door open just a crack. If he is, things could always swing back towards Texas a bit if the Longhorns have a successful season. I’m not expecting it, but it’s worth checking on.
3. Where does Texas fit in for Elijah Higgins?
The Austin Bowie product seemed to favor Texas very early, but after taking visits to Stanford, Florida and Ohio State, Texas now has work to do. Where does Higgins have UT slotted after a couple recent visits, and will UT get an official visit?
4. What did IMG OL Chris Akporoghene feel about his UT visit?
Akporoghene was in town for the Heat Wave pool party a couple weeks ago, but I have yet to connect with him. I’ll get a chance to pick his brain on what kind of impression UT made, where Texas fits in and if he and the other IMG guys have talked about the possibility of playing together at a school like Texas.
5. Will any new players pop onto the radar?
It doesn’t happen often, but there are times at an event like this when a player will mention a school like Texas somewhat out of the blue. Could UT commitment De’Gabriel Floyd convince any new players to give the Longhorns a look? We’ll see.
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas flips Marques Caldwell from Oregon
Alvin defensive back Marques Caldwell committed to Oregon in October of last year, but he’s been very open about his interest in Texas going back to a visit for a UT junior day in February. When the Longhorns offered Caldwell last month, I thought he would make a quick move and flip his commitment to Texas. Caldwell went quiet for a bit and is taking some time to process his options, but after taking an unofficial visit to Texas over the weekend, this one feels like it will fall UT’s way at some point.
